FORT WORTH — TCU men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon expected his team to land in the quadrant of the bracket that it did. He figured they’d be seeded in the often-competitive eight-nine game. He thought, however, that they’d be on the higher side of that matchup.
“Everybody thinks they’re one higher than they are,” Dixon said. “They’re just happy to get in.”
The TCU men’s basketball players, including Micah Robinson (second from right) react to hearing they’re going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament during a watch party at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, March 15, 2026. TCU will face Ohio State in the opening round.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
On Sunday, inside Schollmaier Arena’s Stuart Family Courtside Club, the feeling was mutual between the university’s two basketball programs.
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The Horned Frogs’ men’s team, which learned its bracket fate first at a watch party inside the arena’s lounge area, is a No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 Ohio State (21-12) in the East Region’s first round Thursday at Greenville, S.C.’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The women, a No. 3 seed in the Sacramento region by way of their Big 12 tournament showing, will host No. 14 UC San Diego (24-8) on Friday at Schollmaier Arena in their opener.
It’s the first time in school history that both programs qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the same season.
“It’s just awesome for our university,” TCU women’s basketball head coach Mark Campbell said. “It’s awesome for our athletic department.”
The women’s bracket is split into two regions — Sacramento and Fort Worth — and the Horned Frogs had hoped for home city advantage at Dickies Arena if they advanced to the Elite Eight for a second consecutive year. There was an audible gasp at the watch party when the Fort Worth region was filled out without them.
“Everything happens for a reason,” senior guard Olivia Miles said. “Who knows, maybe it was a blessing in disguise for us? We’re just grateful that we heard our name called, first of all, and wherever we may be, we’re ready to play anywhere. We’re just excited to be on a hardwood court. That’s all that matters.”
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The men’s team is the third-highest seeded in-state team behind only No. 2 Houston and No. 5 Texas Tech in this year’s bracket. It’s the fourth time in five years that TCU has qualified for the tournament under Dixon. They’re 2-3 in that span.
“I’ll never be satisfied,” Dixon said. “We want to do more. We’ve got to figure it out. We’ve got to figure out how we can do more. Do we always want to be the team punching above our weight? Or do it the other way? You know, below your weight. We’re battling.”
The Buckeyes lost to top-ranked Michigan 71-67 in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals and made the national tournament for the first time in four seasons. The Horned Frogs are 0-4 all-time against Ohio State but haven’t played it since Dec. 29, 1969. Dixon said that the Horned Frogs staff is familiar with Ohio State because they recruited some of their players at one point or another. Junior guard Brock Harding, an Iowa transfer, played the Buckeyes at his previous school.
“I think our team matches up well with them,” Harding said. “I think we have some things they haven’t seen before. I think it’s going to be really hard to match up with our guys down low. We’ve just got a lot of options to throw at them.”
The men, which lost to Kansas in the second round of the Big 12 tournament, played three of the bracket’s four No. 1 seeds in the regular season. They lost to Michigan and Arizona but beat reigning national champion Florida Nov. 27 as part of their Rady Children’s Invitational win in the fall. They’re in position to play the fourth No. 1 seed — and the bracket’s top-ranked overall team — in the second round if they beat Ohio State and if Duke beats Sienna in their first-round game.
“I don’t think we’re going to be intimidated, or anything, by playing Ohio State,” Dixon said, “but we’ve got to play well.”
The women, who beat West Virginia in the conference championship game and will make consecutive tournament appearances for the first time in 16 years, will play the winner of No. 6 Washington and No. 11 South Dakota State at Schollmaier Arena if they advance to the second round. Their Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games, if they qualify, will be held at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center. The Final Four is at Phoenix’s Mortgage Matchup Center.
The Horned Frogs hosted Fairleigh Dickinson and Louisville at Schollmaier Arena in last year’s first and second round. They’ll bring a nation-best 42-game home win streak into Friday’s opener.
“Anyone that gets the chance to play in March knows the advantage that you have playing at your home site,” junior guard Donovyn Hunter said. “The fans, the community, they all showed out for us last year. So I’m super excited that we’re able to do it again.”
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