‘You don’t luck into the Sweet 16’: TCU not overlooking No. 10 seed Virginia
Many would assume TCU women’s basketball received a break by getting No. 10 seed Virginia in the Sweet 16, instead of No. 2 seed Iowa.
But don’t tell that to head coach Mark Campbell, who is still expecting a major challenge when the No. 3 seed Horned Frogs face the Cavaliers at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Sacramento, California, on ESPN. TCU defeated No. 6 seed Washington 62-59 in overtime Sunday to reach its second straight Sweet 16.
“You don’t luck into the Sweet 16,” Campbell said Tuesday. “There’s no team that lucks into the Sweet 16. Seeds don’t matter, it’s a beautiful thing of March Madness. Virginia has won the play-in game, then an overtime game and a double overtime game. Now they’re in the Sweet 16, so Virginia’s an elite basketball that’s playing really good.”
The Cavaliers are the only double-digit seed still alive in the NCAA Tournament, which shows how improbable their late season run has been. No. 6 seed Notre Dame is the second-lowest seed to make it this far, but this is the fifth straight trip to the Sweet 16 for the Fighting Irish.
For Virginia, this is the Cavaliers’ first tournament berth since 2017 and first appearance in the second weekend since 2000.
Junior Kymora Johnson, a 5-foot-7 guard, has been the primary catalyst for Virginia’s run. Johnson has excelled for her hometown program scoring 28 points in back-to-back wins over Georgia and Iowa. Johnson also had 17 in Virginia’s win over Arizona State in the First Four matchup.
“They have a star at point guard,” Campbell said. “Right now she’s playing as well as anybody in the country. She’s a dynamic playmaking guard. She’s a load, she’s averaging 28 a night right now. We’re attacking the scout, we’re attacking Virginia and figuring out what we need to do to win. Our team’s locked in, we have a bunch of old vets that understand it’s March. It’s magical, but it can be really painful if you don’t bring it for 40 minutes.”
March Madness has always been good for making stars and Johnson has made the most of her moment, but luckily for TCU it won’t be the first time the Horned Frogs have had to deal with a dynamic guard this season.
Campbell is hoping the experience from the Big 12 and some of the key non-conference matchups will be more than enough to prepare TCU for the test ahead.
“Jelani Cambridge at Ohio State is one of the most dynamic playmaking guards in college basketball,” Campbell said. “This kid’s very similar to her. You play Ohio State and get that experience of playing a team like that. Then you go through the Big 12 grind, West Virginia point guard Jordan Harrison’s an elite guard. Iowa State has an elite guard, Baylor’s got an elite guard.
“As you go through the grind of the season there are different players in our league, we’ve played that kind of player. So the kids understand that.”
As talented as all those guards are, TCU’s best source of preparation for any matchup with a dynamic roster is practicing against All-American Olivia Miles.
“Our team’s gone against Olivia Miles every single day for the last seven months,” Campbell said. “Olivia Miles will get you ready to play an elite playmaking guard.”
Johnson also leads Virginia with 5.8 assists per game and she does a good job of creating looks for her teammates. Virginia has used a committee approach to provide secondary scoring alongside Johnson.
Not other Cavalier averages double figures, but there are five other players that average at least 7.7 points per game.
“I think they have really good guards,” TCU center Clara Silva said. “We watched the game yesterday against Iowa and they fight, fight until the end. They had like three games in five days, but they kept fighting and never gave up.”
After surviving Sunday’s scare against Washington, the Horned Frogs know how perilous March Madness can be, especially if you allow a perceived underdog to get early momentum.
The Cavaliers have shown they’re capable of knocking off some of the best teams in the country as they upset Notre Dame and Louisville in conference play before the upset over Iowa on Monday.
Virginia isn’t your typical 10 seed, and TCU is making sure not to treat it as such.
“We’re excited, we’ve got a great opportunity out there,” Campbell said. “I take every weekend as a four-team tournament. We got South Carolina and Oklahoma, they’re gonna battle it out. Then us and Virginia, so I’m just excited we’re down to 16 teams left in the country. We’re one of those 16 that got an opportunity to go fight and battle for 40 more minutes together.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
