Ohio State came out on the wrong end of an NCAA Tournament classic, ending their 2025-26 campaign and first Big Dance bid in four years in the first round.
No. 9 seed TCU (23-11) took a 15-point lead into halftime against No. 8 seed Ohio State (21-13), and all seemed lost. The Buckeyes battled all the way back, even taking the lead late in the ballgame, but a Xavier Edmonds layup and final missed shot from Bruce Thornton ended Ohio State's season in 66-64 fashion.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #9 TCU | 39 | 27 | 66 |
| #8 OHIO STATE | 24 | 40 | 64 |
The trio of Micah Robinson, David Punch and Edmonds led the way for TCU, scoring 18, 16 and 16 points, respectively. The Horned Frogs had a great outing on the offensive glass, securing 12 offensive boards.
John Mobley Jr. led the way in defeat for Ohio State as Thornton drew constant double teams in his final game. Mobley picked up 15 points, Devin Royal added 14 while freshman forward Amare Bynum had a great showing in his first NCAA Tournament, finishing with 12 points and some highlight-reel plays. Thornton's final stat line was 10 points with four rebounds and four assists.
First Half
Bruce Thornton opened the scoring for the entire NCAA Tournament with a 3-point basket. Ohio State followed by missing its next seven shots from the field.
TCU ground out an 8-0 run over the next three and a half minutes, grabbing the game's first multi-score lead at 10-5. But the Buckeyes soon found success going toward the basket, with Mobley and Thornton each hitting floaters before leading passes to the rim led to baskets for Christoph Tilly and Devin Royal.
It didn't last, as the Horned Frogs' defense stayed active and physical, forcing turnovers. Guard Micah Robinson and center Xavier Edmonds each canned 3-pointers for TCU, and a second Edmonds 3-pointer handed the purple-clad squad an eight-point lead at 23-15. Mobley stopped the bleeding with his first 3-pointer.
Robinson kept heating up for the Horned Frogs, getting a shooter's roll on a free-throw line jumper and shaking free of Mobley for a 3-pointer in the last few seconds of a shot clock. Taison Chatman threw away a pass for an Edmonds dunk out or a timeout, then Robinson nailed his third 3-pointer.
Ohio State failed to score the final 3:45 of the half. A 3-pointer by TCU guard Brock Harding made it 39-24 at halftime. The Horned Frogs made 7 of their 13 first-half 2-point attempts.
More than those perimeter defense issues, the Buckeyes' attack simply got smothered by TCU in the opening 20 minutes. Ohio State shot a meager 35.7% from the field and 18.2% from three. OSU also turned the ball over six times.
Second Half
Mobley and Tilly hit layups to give a spark of life to Ohio State at the onset of the second half, though TCU exchanged blows back effectively with a David Punch jumper. Mobley answered again with a logo 3-pointer, and the Buckeyes were back within 10 at 43-33 with 14:25 to play.
Mobley nailed nylon on another 3-pointer to keep the Ohio State run going, Tilly tacked on two free throws and Royal capped the 10-0 stretch with a floater to pull the Buckeyes right back to within 43-40.
Guard Jayden Pierre hit a 3-point shot and Punch finished a three-point play to push the lead back to nine, but then Ohio State found its next answer: A 15-1 run to pull ahead for the first time since the score was 5-2. Mobley swished a floater and backup guard Gabe Cupps drained an open three.
Royal scored six of the next eight points for Ohio State, throwing down a two-handed dunk and knocking down a layup, but Bynum had the best highlight of the stretch with a circus layup to give the Buckeyes the lead. It settled at 55-50 OSU after its run. Bynum pushed it back up to 57-53 on a posterizing tomahawk dunk.
TCU stayed in the fight. Edmonds strung three points together on a layup and a later free throw, then a Punch layup regained the lead for the Horned Frogs at 58-57 with less than four minutes remaining.
Back and forth, back and forth the teams went in the final minutes. Royal knotted the game at 61 with two free throws. Robinson knocked down another triple for TCU, but Thornton dribbled himself open and hit a clutch 3-point answer with 34 seconds left.
But Edmonds got to the rim and hit a layup with four seconds to play. A half-court heave by Thornton missed, and Ohio State's season concluded.
Game Notes
- It's the first loss for Ohio State in its five-game series history against TCU, dropping to 4-1.
- Chatman returned to the floor after missing the Buckeyes' Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal loss to Michigan.
