Why TCU men’s basketball team isn’t playing in a postseason tournament
The TCU men’s basketball program will not participate in a postseason tournament for the first time since 2021.
The Horned Frogs had the option of playing in the College Basketball Crown, a new postseason tournament in Las Vegas launched by FOX this year to rival the NIT, but passed on the opportunity.
TCU isn’t the only program to decline an invite as West Virginia, Penn State, Kansas State and Rutgers also reportedly passed on the Crown Tournament.
Athletic director Mike Buddie said he and head coach Jamie Dixon had a conversation and agreed the program would best served with a different approach to their offseason.
“There are a lot of different levels to that conversation that didn’t really exist,” Buddie said Monday. “(With) the transfer portal opening and closing is the best use of our time recruiting or playing?”
The Crown doesn’t officially start until March 31, after the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and a week after the transfer portal officially opens.
As for the NIT, the Horned Frogs opted out months in advance along with many other power conference teams. Only four teams from the ACC and Big 12 are in the field this year.
Roster retention and acquisition of talent are now paramount in the offseason, but it’s not just about recruiting for TCU.
“If you’re going to play, historically what would happen in a season like this is ‘Let’s play all the younger guys and see what we got,’” Buddie said. “But that’s the last thing you want to do, play all your young players the day after the transfer portal opens.
“See what happens if your guy scores 18 points and grabs seven rebounds. All of those things were factors and health, we were pretty banged up at the end of the year.”
TCU also didn’t want to jeopardize potentially hosting women’s NCAA Tournament games. The Horned Frogs earned a No. 2 seed in the tournament and will host No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
The men’s program finished the 2024-25 season with a 16-16 record.
