Ohio State, the No. 8 seed in the East Region, is going home early. The Buckeyes fell to No. 9 seed TCU, 66-64, in the first game of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday.
TCU took a big lead early on, heading into halftime with a 15-point lead. But Ohio State was able to storm back and even take the lead. TCU, though, stayed right in it, taking the lead with 4.1 seconds left.
Ohio State coach Jake Diebler took a timeout with 4.1 seconds left and the officials ended up putting some more time on the clock. The Buckeyes ended up with 4.3 seconds, inbounding the ball from the far end of the court. Things didn't go well, though.
After a handoff to Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes had to settle for a halfcourt heave that didn't have a chance.
How is that the shot you end up with when you had 4.3 seconds left on the clock? You'll sometimes get shots near the rim with that amount of time.
But everything from the play design to the execution was just bad.
Ohio State is getting roasted for the final play design
"Great defense by TCU on the inbound there almost trapping the dribble up the floor, slowing him down so much they had to chuck it up near half court for a very low percentage shot," one fan wrote.
"4 seconds and you take a half court shot. Ridiculous," one fan added.
"My Upward basketball coach could have drawn up a better play than that - good lord," one fan added.
"Picked the slowest guy on the court couldn’t even get past half court with over 4 seconds left," one fan added.
"Making Thornton the inbounder was a terrible call. Set screens to get him open near half court. Coach didn’t even give him a chance at a good shot," one fan added.
Ohio State is going home, while TCU is facing a likely second round matchup against No. 1 seed Duke on Saturday.
