Ohio State
TCU
Buckeyes Ready for NCAA Tournament, Play TCU on Thursday
3/16/2026 8:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NCAA Tournament 1st Round -- Ohio State vs. TCU
Date: March 19, 2026
Time: 12:15 p.m.
Venue: Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, S.C.
TV: CBS
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats: NCAA.com
Records: Ohio State 21-12 | TCU 22-11
Rosters: Ohio State | TCU
Season Stats: Ohio State | TCU
Game Notes: Ohio State Media Center
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State has earned a No. 8 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament and will open with the first game of the day on Thursday against No. 9 seed TCU. Tip-off is set for 12:15 p.m. and the game will televised nationally on CBS. Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson will call the action.
The game can also be heard on the Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield. Paul Keels and former Buckeye captain Ron Stokes are on the call. Westwood One will air the game nationally with Noah Eagle and LaPhonso Ellis calling the action.
- This is Ohio State’s 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance. The Buckeyes are 52-30 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with one title coming in 1960.
- This will be Ohio State’s first game in Greenville, S.C.
- Thursday’s game will be the fifth meeting all-time between Ohio State and TCU and the first in the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes have won the previous four meetings but the team’s haven’t met since an 89-80 Buckeye victory in Fort Worth on Dec. 29, 1969.
- This is the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Buckeyes since 2022 when the seventh-seeded Buckeyes took down Sister Jean and Loyola Chicago in the opening round and then fell to No. 2 seed and eventual Final Four participant Villanova in the second round in Pittsburgh.
- This will also be the first NCAA Tournament appearance for all of the Buckeye starting lineup as well as several other rotation players. Only two Buckeyes have NCAA Tournament experience as Puff Johnson was part of North Carolina’s run to the championship game in 2022 and Josh Ojianwuna played in four NCAA Tournament games as a freshman and sophomore at Baylor in 2023 and 2024.
- The Buckeyes went 1-1 at last week’s Big Ten Tournament, beating Iowa 72-69 on Thursday and then falling to top-seeded Michigan 71-67 in the quarterfinals on Friday. Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes in the win over Iowa as he notched game highs of 24 points and six rebounds. Christoph Tilly played well inside, finishing with 16 points while Amare Bynum had four dunks as part of his 11 points, four rebounds and a season-high four assists. Against Michigan, Thornton again led all scorers with 20 points while Devin Royal notched a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
- The loss to Michigan was the lone Buckeye loss in the last five games as they shoved their way into the tournament by playing their best ball of the season.
- Bruce Thornton has set numerous records this season. He is the program’s all-time leading scorer, the first four-time captain and the program’s leader in free throws made. He has also now scored more points at the Big Ten Tournament than any Buckeye and has become just the second Big Ten player with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. We could probably keep going on his list of accomplishments but bottom line, he’s really good.
- Junior Devin Royal topped 1,000 career points last Friday with his go-ahead three-pointer in the second half of the game against Michigan. He is the 62nd Buckeye all-time to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.
- TCU is also playing well as of late, winning nine of its last 11 games since Feb. 7. David Punch leads the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg).
#GoBucks
