GREENVILLE, S.C. — TCU wasn’t short on confidence for Thursday’s NCAA tournament opener against Ohio State, with forward David Punch setting the stage of the matchup by saying he believed the Horned Frogs would beat the Buckeyes “nine out of 10 times.”
That, forward Xavier Edmonds said, added a bit of pressure on the Horned Frogs to back up Punch’s prediction.
“His words were just a little bit misconstrued and a little twisted,” Edmonds said. “Still, we saw it, and we felt like we had to stand on it.”
Given Ohio State’s raucous comeback from a 15-point halftime deficit, it’s hard to say what might happen if these two played nine more times, but on Thursday, Punch and Edmonds delivered. Punch connected on a nifty pass to Edmonds in the paint with four seconds to go for a go-ahead layup, helping TCU advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 66-64 victory.
TCU was dominant from beyond the arc in the first half, but a brutal shooting performance after the break allowed the Buckeyes to claw back into the game, taking a 51-50 lead with just over seven minutes to play.
With Edmonds in foul trouble, Punch put the Frogs on his back late, however, finishing the game with 16 points, 13 boards and a pair of assists, including the go-ahead dish to Edmonds.
Ohio State had one final shot at the win, but Bruce Thornton couldn’t find an open man near the basket and settled for a half-court heave that fell short.
The win ensured Punch’s boast proved accurate, but TCU wasn’t done delivering a message to Ohio State.
“We just felt like them as a Big Ten team, they just haven’t felt or seen a defense like ours,” said Edmonds, who finished with 16 points and eight boards. “Being in the Big 12, and the different level of physicality and intensity, we just wanted to go out there and show them what Big 12 basketball is about.”