TCU selected as a No. 9 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Utah State on Friday
TCU will face Utah State in thee NCAA Tournament on Friday in Indianapolis.
In a Midwest Region matchup, the Horned Frogs are the No. 9 seed, Utah State is the No. 8 seed.
The winner will likely face the Midwest’s No. 1 seed, Purdue, on Sunday.
TCU held a small gathering with players and fans in the Stuart Family Courtside Club in Schollmaier Arena. It was a historic achievement for the program as it’s the first time in program history that the Horned Frogs have reached the tournament in three consecutive seasons. It’s the fourth appearance under coach Jamie Dixon. Dixon is one of just nine active head coaches with 15 or more tournament appearances.
“I’m excited for our players, I’ve talked to the guys that have been here and they’ve done remarkable with this being the third time in a row,” Dixon said. “Very few schools have done what we’ve done, been to the tournament three times and win games each year. We need to win some this year.”
Now that they know their matchup, the Horned Frogs (21-12 overall, 9-9 in Big 12) are hoping to play their better basketball after losing five of their final eight games. TCU picked up a win over Oklahoma in the second round of the Big 12 tournament to secure its bid, but fell 60-45 to Houston in the quarterfinals.
Despite the poor close to the season, TCU collected big wins including over Houston at home and against Baylor and Texas Tech. The program is seeking its first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since the field expanded in 1985. The Horned Frogs have come close in the past two seasons.
Last season TCU defeated Arizona State on a buzzer beater by JaKobe Coles, but fell to Gonzaga in the second round 84-81. The year prior ,the Horned Frogs defeated Seton Hall before falling to No. 1 seed Arizona 85-80 in overtime. Coles said he hopes that experienced could be the difference in TCU finally breaking through to the second weekend.
“For the guys that have been here at TCU, I think we know that feeling,” Coles said. “The first time you get there, you get those little jitters and stuff. But we’ve played in many big games and many big moments, so I think we’ll be ready. We have guys that played in the NCAA Tournament that weren’t at TCU.”
Avery Anderson (Oklahoma State), Jameer Nelson Jr. (Delaware), Trevian Tennyson (Texas A&M Corpus-Christi) and Ernest Udeh (Kansas) all have tournament experience along with TCU’s veterans.
Utah State (27-6 overall, 14-4 in the Mountain West Conference) lost to San Diego State in the MWC semifinals. The Horned Frogs will dig into the Aggies in the coming days, but know they’ll have a challenge on their hands.
“There’s a lot of urgency,” Emanuel Miller said. “From here on out this could be our last game. Will it be our last game? No, not until the very end. That’s the goal we have and we’re going to play like our life is on the line because it is on the line.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2024 at 5:25 PM.
