TCU opens its 116th season of men’s basketball on Monday night in Fort Worth, and the first test comes against Lindenwood at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+. For fans following along on the radio, the game is available through GoFrogs.com, the Riff Ram App, Varsity App, TuneIn, iHeart SiriusXM 263, and the SiriusXM App.
The Horned Frogs are trying to launch another season the right way after last year’s NCAA March Madness run and Round of 64 win. They also know how much can get attached to one opener.
TCU dropped its season debut last year to New Orleans, 78-74, and the reaction was immediate. A year later, that result looks a lot different in hindsight, but the first game still carries real weight.
The numbers are on TCU’s side. The Frogs are 77-38 in season openers and 63-14 when starting the year at home. That history makes Monday night feel like familiar territory for a program that usually handles opening night well.
TCU brings back 50.8% of its scoring, all from Xavier Edmonds, Brock Harding, Micah Robinson, and Tanner Toolson. Those four were central pieces of last season’s success, and this game gives the first real look at how much they’ve grown since then.
There’s also plenty of curiosity around the new arrivals. Luke Bamgboye is projected to start after transferring from Texas Tech.
The 6-10 forward from London averaged 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks last season and started the final eight games, including both NCAA Tournament contests. He also earned Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive Team honors at VCU, and TCU will lean on him to help set the tone on that end of the floor.
Other newcomers worth watching include Trent Lincoln, the nation’s No. 1-ranked JUCO recruit; Gavin Sykes, who came over from Long Beach State after winning Big West Freshman of the Year and making the second team All-Big West; and DJ Thomas, the sophomore forward from West Virginia who scored a season-high 25 points against Lafayette, the most by a Mountaineer freshman since 2019.
Lindenwood comes in under head coach Kyle Cerdeman after going 18-15 overall and 11-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. This is the first meeting between the programs, and TCU is 2-0 all-time against OVC opponents with wins over Tennessee State and UT Martin.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Frogs a 98.1 percent chance to win.
Jamie Dixon’s team should have the edge on paper, and the expectation is that TCU’s returning core will set the pace early before some of the new faces start making their mark. The opener offers a chance for the Horned Frogs to show a more connected group than the one that took the floor at this point last season.
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TCUs New-Look Rotation Just Delivered The Start Fans Wanted
TCU opened the season in emphatic fashion at Schollmaier Arena, rolling past Lindenwood 98-59 and giving the Horned Frogs an early look at what this revamped rotation can do. Junior forward Micah Robinson set the tone with 19 points, while senior point guard Brock Harding added 17 points and five assists as TCU controlled the game from the start and gave its home crowd the kind of first-night performance that can settle a team in quickly.
The win also carried a milestone for Jamie Dixon, who picked up his 200th victory with the program in a result that felt as much about momentum as celebration. With the opener out of the way, the bigger question for TCU is how this group builds on a debut that was crisp, balanced and convincing, especially with the season still in its early stages and room for the rotation to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
TCUs Defense Is Keeping The Bowl Push Alive For Now
A week after the offense had to grind through a coaching change up front, TCU found a way to keep its bowl hopes moving in the right direction with a 22-16 win over Kansas. The Horned Frogs are back to .500 at 4-4, and the bigger reason they got there was a defense that kept making timely plays when the game tightened up.
Max Carroll, Koron Hayward, Markis Deal and Jamel Johnson all showed up in the kind of spots that can swing a close Big 12 game, giving TCU the stops it needed to stay in control. Jaden Craig did enough through the air to manage the offense, and the Horned Frogs looked cleaner in pass protection than they had been, but this one was still decided by the unit on the other side of the ball and the late push that kept the season from drifting. [Read more 🡒]
TCUs Big 12 Title Path Looks Different Heading Into This Season
The Big 12 womens basketball preseason polls from both coaches and media point to a changed race at the top, with Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor and West Virginia forming the leagues clear first tier heading into the season. The conferences offseason churn is a big reason why, with major additions and returning pieces reshaping the picture for several contenders. Oklahoma State brought in Audi Crooks and Liv McGill, Baylor added Kate Koval and Tianna Thompson, and West Virginia is leaning on Gia Cooke along with newcomers Alexis Bordas and Skylar Forbes.
For TCU, the roster looks different enough to make the title path feel less familiar even after back-to-back regular-season conference crowns. The Horned Frogs have turned to portal help in Jadyn Wooten and Lanie Grant as they try to reload around a new mix of talent, while the leagues lower tier is expected to have a tougher climb with UCF, Cincinnati and Houston projected to struggle. The top of the Big 12 still looks crowded, but the order has shifted just enough to make this race feel wide open again. [Read more 🡒]