The TCU Horned Frogs entered the night on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Yet, after a massive upset victory over the No. 10 Texas Tech Red Raiders, they may have played their way safely into the field. Previously projected as an 11-seed across most bracket projections, TCU strengthened its résumé with its 20th win of the season and 10th in conference play.
The victory came against an undermanned yet surging Red Raiders team that had rattled off three straight wins following the season-ending ACL tear
to star junior forward JT Toppin. Even without Toppin, TCU entered Lubbock as nearly a 10-point underdog.
But TCU came out unfazed in a hostile road environment. Texas Tech struck first, scoring six points in the opening minute, but the Horned Frogs quickly answered, taking a 7–6 advantage as the clock ticked under 18:00. From there, both squads traded baskets until TCU took a 14–12 lead at the 14:49 mark. Through efficient offense and stingy defense, the Frogs held their lead for the next eight minutes before a Donovan Atwell three-pointer tied the game at 28–28.
A Jayden Petty triple then put the Red Raiders up by three. It took the Frogs a few minutes to get back on track offensively. TCU’s next bucket came via a Brock Harding triple, cutting their deficit to one at 33-32. With less than two minutes to go, Texas Tech scored six points, to TCU’s four, taking a 39-36 lead into the break.
Xavier Edmonds opened the scoring in the second half, but Texas Tech answered with five straight points to push its lead to six. After a high-powered offensive start, however, the Red Raiders began to cool off as the Horned Frogs tightened up defensively.
Behind a stretch of forced turnovers and dominant rebounding, the Frogs retook the lead at the 13:56 mark on a tough Micah Robinson jumper that made it 45–44. Texas Tech answered with a three-pointer on the next possession, but TCU quickly responded with one of its own.
TCU began to pull away with under nine minutes remaining. A Liutauras Lelevicius three-pointer, followed by a David Punch slam, pushed the Horned Frogs ahead by six with 7:35 left, prompting Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland to call a timeout. Behind a stifling defensive stretch, TCU extended its lead to nine as the clock dipped under six minutes.
Texas Tech answered with five straight points to trim the deficit to 62–58, but the Frogs pushed the lead back to nine over the next two minutes. TCU faced one final scare as the Red Raiders closed the gap with a 7–2 run, cutting the margin to four with 46 seconds left.
The Horned Frogs responded calmly, however, as an Edmonds bucket and a pair of Robinson free throws pushed the lead back to eight. Neither team scored again, sealing TCU’s 73–65 upset victory.
TCU held Texas Tech to its third-lowest scoring output of the season and its lowest-scoring half of the year, limiting the Red Raiders to 26 second-half points. Texas Tech shot 45.2 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three but struggled to generate offense at the free-throw line (6-of-8) or on second-chance opportunities (8 points).
Meanwhile, the Frogs shot 46.7 percent from the floor and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc while dominating the glass. TCU held a 16–7 edge in offensive rebounds, turning those extra possessions into 22 second-chance points. The Frogs also forced 15 Texas Tech turnovers, which led to 18 points.
Edmonds recorded his 10th double-double of the season against Texas Tech, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Robinson added 15 points and set a career high with six steals. Jayden Pierre rounded out TCU’s double-digit scorers with 14 points.
Atwell led the Red Raiders with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Petty added 17 of his own, also knocking down five triples. Christian Anderson finished with 11 points and nine assists but committed six turnovers.
Up next, TCU returns to Schollmaier Arena to face the 17–13 Cincinnati Bearcats in the regular-season finale at 1:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 7.
