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Final Score: TCU 66, Ohio State 64.
The Horned Frogs survive as Bruce Thornton misses a half-court shot at the buzzer. I didn't like the play there by Ohio State. Thornton inbounded to Tilly, who handed it back to Thornton. The Ohio State senior never got much momentum and had to jack a shot from half court. The Buckeyes showed a lot of defensive grit and heart getting back into this game, but TCU's David Punch was huge in the second half, scoring 13 of his 16 points. Xavier Edmonds also had 16 points, including the game-winner, while Micah Robinson led the Horned Frogs with 18, including a big three with under a minute to go off a great play by TCU, which was stuck in the mud on that end for much of the second half. Ohio State had double figures from all five starters, with John Mobley Jr. leading the team with 15 points. Thornton finishes his great career with a tough game, 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. TCU advances in an exciting opening game to the tournament and will face the winner of Duke/Siena. Make the jump to see the final game stats and read my live running reactions throughout this first-round nail biter.
Final Four Minutes Live Reactions
Ohio State timeout with 4.1 seconds left. TCU leads 66-64 on an Edmonds layup off a great post feed from Punch. Ohio State should go for the win here with Thornton or Mobley.
Timeout TCU with 26.3 seconds left. The game is tied at 64-64. Thornton hits a big three after TCU's Robinson nailed one. Both guys have had quiet second halves but have responded with big moments here.
Stoppage in play as TCU's Brock Harding is down after fouling Thornton on a break. TCU leads 58-57. Thornton will have two free throws. Mobley missed a three out of the last timeout. Ohio State needs to go back to him. Ohio State's defense ratched up last possession, leading to a difficult three by Pierre. Both teams are in the bonus.
Ohio State takes a timeout with 2:47 remaining as Thornton picked up his dribble and had nowhere to go. This has been a rough stretch for Thornton with a forced layup and reach-in foul. Ohio State needs to go back to Mobley.
Second Half, Under-4 Live Reactions
Ohio State timeout with 3:45 remaining. TCU leads 58-57. Punch and Edmonds are starting to come alive for the Horned Frogs. Punch blocks a Tilly shot at the rim and then runs the floor for a dunk. Ohio State was on a 15-1 run, making seven straight shots at one point. The Buckeyes are feeding the post, with two layups by Devin Royal and a dunk by Bynum. Ohio State has a 34-20 advantage in the paint. TCU's three-point shooting has crashed to Earth this half, going just 1/8. Punch is at a double double with 13 and 12. Ohio State needs to keep pounding the paint as Edmonds is one foul away from disqualification. It should be an interesting last four minutes. This game is up for grabs.
Second Half, Under-8 Live Reactions
Ohio State leads 51-50 with 7:40 remaining. What a turnaround by the Buckeyes, which has swung this game with its defense. TCU has basically only scored off of broken plays this half. That's it. Ohio State's defensive activity has woken up the offense, with Bynum bypassing a three, headfaking and driving for a tough banker and Ohio State's first lead since 5-2. Thornton has only shot one time this half, but that's okay. He is not forcing, and the offense is running more through Mobley. Ohio State was in trouble at half, TCU is now. The Horned Frogs have had no offensive rhythm for 12 minutes and fouls are starting to pile up. Edmonds is out with 4 and Punch has 3. This game has swung in favor of the Buckeyes.
T.C.U. Timeout. The Horned Frogs lead 49-47 with 8:40 remaining. The Buckeyes are coming, thanks to Mobley, who has 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and just dribble drove and found Gabe Cupps for an open three. Ohio State has outscored TCU 23-10 this half.
Second Half, Under-12 Live Reactions
T.C.U. leads 46-40 with 11:43 remaining. The Buckeyes are starting to come alive offensively, getting a 10-0 offensive run sparked by another Mobley three, two Tilly free throws, and a Devin Royal banker in the lane. TCU is just 2/15 from the field this half, with senior Jayden Pierre just hitting a contested pop-back three to stop the Ohio State run. TCU might want to bring some full-court pressure to get this game quicker. Ohio State has gotten itself back into this game with great man-to-man here in the second half, and the Horned Frogs have gone cold! Give credit to the Buckeyes. They have gotten back into this game on the defensive end.
T.C.U. timeout. The Horned Frogs lead 43-33 with 14:10. This game has been an offensive slog so far in the second half. However, Ohio State is doing a great job ratcheting up the defensive intensity. TCU is just 1/10 this half. And Ohio State has just gotten a tough three from John Mobley Jr., who leads the team with 10 points. Ohio State still hasn't found its offensive rhythm but is hanging around thanks to a renewed commitment to defense. On one possession during this stretch, Bynum blocked a shot at the rim, ran out on the wing, and got a dunk. It would be nice for the Buckeyes to get Thornton going. Ohio State has adjusted a bit by having Thornton off the ball at points, with big man Christoph Tilly initiating offense.
Second Half, Under-16 Live Reactions
TCU leads 41-28 with 15:56 remaining. The Buckeyes have turned up the intensity on defense, forcing TCU into an 0/7 shooting start to the half and two turnovers. However, after getting two baskets on the first two possessions of the second half, the Buckeyes have gone cold offensively themselves. TCU has one field goal so far, and Ohio State has only trimmed the deficit by two. Ohio State seems a bit gassed to be honest. The Buckeyes are doing a much better job on defense, but it seems to be affecting their legs on offense.
Halftime Thoughts
TCU is in total control, and Ohio State is in trouble. These first four minutes will be huge for Ohio State to stay in the game. Ohio State has to approach this game in four-minute segments and hope to have this game around 8 points with 10 minutes left in the half. It doesn't look good as TCU has gotten easy shots so far and Ohio State has not! TCU looks like a team with a head coach (Jamie Dixon) with a lot of tourney experience. Ohio State looks like a team that hasn't been to the tournament in a while, with a head coach (Jake Diebler) making his first tournament appearance.
Halftime: TCU 39, Ohio State 24.
It felt like danger time for Ohio State, and it was out of the under-4 timeout. TCU ends the half on an 11-0 run. Great ball movement by the Horned Frogs leads to threes for Robinson (13 points) and Harding (8 points). Robinson and Edmunds (10 points) have had highly-efficient first halves, and have been the best players on the floor. To the aggressor goes the spoils. The turnovers are starting to pile up for the Buckeyes, which have 6. TCU has scored 10 points off of those turnovers. The Buckeyes are sped up and forcing contested threes, going just 2/11 from deep (18%) while TCU is shooting a sizzling 53.8% from deep (7/13). With the exception of a few spurts by the Buckeyes, TCU has been in total control of this game. It felt like TCU should be up bigger during the first 10 minutes, but missed shots at the rim hurt the Horned Frogs early. TCU really picked up its play the last 10 minutes once Punch went out with his second foul. Ohio State senior point guard Bruce Thornton is struggling with the TCU half-court pressure on the ball. Ohio State's best and most composed player has been freshman big Amare Bynum, who has six points. Ohio State must figure out a way to slow down this game. When able to run some sets and cut off the ball, the Buckeyes were able to get some easy buckets at the rim. With that said, not much has been easy on offense for Ohio State throughout the first 20 minutes. Below are the halftime stats.
First Half, Under-4 Live Reactions
Ohio State takes a timeout with 2:28 remaining. TCU leads 31-24. The Horned Frogs' Micah Robinson is having a great first half, scoring 10 points on 4/5 shooting from the field. TCU is the more comfortable team getting better looks than Ohio State, which has 8 assists so far. Overall, TCU is getting whatever shots it wants against the Ohio State drop coverage while making the Buckeyes uncomfortable in the halfcourt. This is a huge stretch for Ohio State to stay within striking distance. TCU has 5 threes on 11 attempts. Ohio State is 2/9 from deep.
First Half, Under-8 Live Reactions
TCU leads 23-18 with 6:08 remaining. After Punch picked up his second foul with 9:30 remaining, TCU has picked up its swarming defense, forcing several Buckeyes' turnovers and speeding up Ohio State in general. This is what TCU's defense looked like during the game's first four minutes. TCU's Xavier Edmonds has hit two threes during this stretch, including one off an offensive rebound. TCU has a 6 to 2 edge on the offensive glass.
First Half, Under-12 Live Reactions
TCU leads 14-13 with 10:39 remaining. TCU leading scorer David Punch just missed another bunny at the rim, though the Horned Frogs retain possession. Ohio State has hit four of its last five shots after a miserable shooting start. This is a typical first-ten minutes of an opening round game, with both teams trying to find their ways. It is nice to see both teams attacking the basket, with point paints even at six apiece. TCU should have more inside points; that's how bad some of these inside misses have been.
T.C.U. Timeout. The Horned Frogs lead 14-13 with 10:57 remaining. After going scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes, the Buckeyes are finally finding some offensive rhythm with baskets at the rim by John Mobley Jr., Thornton, Christoph Tilly, and Devin Royal. Both teams are getting uncontested shots at the basket. TCU is doing a good job of getting into the middle of the Ohio State defense, but needs to finish in close.
First Half, Under-16 Live Reactions
TCU leads 8-5 with 15:22 remaining. The Horned Frogs are making the Buckeyes uncomfortable with an active and aggressive defense. Ohio State has missed its last five shots after Bruce Thornton opened the game and tourney with a made three. TCU's David Punch has two blocks at the rim, and point guard Brock Harding, formerly of Iowa, has 5 points.
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