GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — David Punch provided some bulletin-board material this week when he told the Columbus Dispatch that TCU would beat Ohio State “nine times out of 10” because of its athleticism.
On Thursday, Punch and the Horned Frogs backed up his bold talk.
Punch delivered a textbook entry pass to Xavier Edmonds, who converted a layup to beat the shot clock with 4.3 seconds left as No. 9 seed TCU held off a furious second-half rally by eighth-seeded Ohio State for a 66-64 victory to open the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bruce Thornton's half-court heave at the buzzer hit all backboard, and the Buckeyes' standout senior leaned forward and put his hands on his knees in dismay near midcourt as TCU began its celebration.
Micah Robinson made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points to lead TCU, Edmonds scored 16 and Punch had 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Horned Frogs (23-11) will play Saturday against Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, which survived an upset scare from Siena.
“I felt like it kind of put a little more pressure on us, but at the same time, I know his words were just a little bit misconstrued and a little twisted,” Edmonds said of Punch's comments. “That’s not 100 percent how he meant it. Still we seen it, and we felt like we had to stand on it. So we wanted to go out there and make sure we won nine out of 10 times.”
The 6-foot-7 Punch hurt the Buckeyes with his physicality in the paint, but no play was bigger than finding Edmonds for the winner.
“We got it to Punch, and he created some space,” Edmonds said. “He didn’t have a shot he wanted, so he kicked it out to me, and I had a good seal and I just went up with it. Credit to him for making a better pass.”
John Mobley Jr. scored 15 points to lead Ohio State (21-13), which was making its first March Madness appearance since 2022.
TCU built a 15-point halftime lead and appeared in control, only to miss 18 of its first 22 shots to start the second half and fall behind 55-50 with seven minutes left.
“I just thought, I’m not going home like that,” Mobley said. “I’m not going home without putting my all to it. I had a talk at halftime, I’ve just got to do better. I was a little sluggish in the first half, can’t do that.”
The Horned Frogs rallied for a 64-61 advantage on a 3 by Robinson with 56 seconds left. Thornton hit a tying 3 with 33 seconds remaining, and TCU called timeout to set up a final play in the halfcourt.
“What a character check for us down the stretch and just going and executing on every play,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “It was multiple guys in a variety of ways.”
Dixon said his players convinced him to change up the defense on Ohio State's possession, which ended with Thornton's tying 3.
“We guarded it well,” Dixon said. “So I’ll let them get away with that one. It was a tough 3 that they hit.”
Both teams came into the tournament playing well. Ohio State won four straight before falling to Michigan 71-67 in the Big Ten Tournament. TCU had won six in a row before losing to Kansas 79-78 in the Big 12 tourney.
Mobley said the loss will drive him and his young teammates in the offseason.
“There is a motivation now of getting back here,” Mobley said. “Ohio State has a great repertoire to come here. We want to keep building that. ... When the guys come in, we’re going to have that and be ready to go for the summer.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
