(Photo credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images)

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- If there is one team with a top eight seed thrilled to taste this side of March, Ohio State could be that crew.

Thursday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament, a four-year wait for senior Bruce Thornton and the Buckeyes ends with the opening game of the Round of 64 in Greenville, S.C.

The Buckeyes arrive with confidence, battle-tested in the Big Ten, only to find a similar outfit in the path to the second round, No. 9 TCU.

Up until the tail end of the regular season, neither was a lock for the tournament.

Ohio State (21-12) enters a winner in four of its last five games, including victories over NCAA Tournament teams in Purdue and Iowa.

TCU (22-11) dropped six of its first nine Big 12 games, before winning nine of 10 to clinch a tournament spot for the fourth time in five years.

Dancing for the first time since 2022, Ohio State grinded through a schedule dotted with 14 games against NCAA Tournament teams. The Buckeyes were 4-10 in those games, but Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler senses TCU might be playing better than most of Ohio State's 2025-26 opponents.

'I think they're a really good team and I think we're a really good team,' Diebler said. 'You look at the way these two teams have played recently, it's exciting. We're anticipating a big-time game. We're going to be fighting, possession by possession.'

The winner likely will face No. 1 Duke in the second round on Saturday.

Diebler's team ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 79.8 points per game, led by the program's all-time leading scorer Thornton (20.3 points per game). For the four-year Buckeye, who reached 2,154 career points, the spotlight is not only welcome, it's deeply appreciated.

'How we play as a team, how we've been practicing, how we've been preparing, it's just a collective effort,' Thornton said. 'From our recovery, from the nutritionists, we're just trying to prepare ourselves to be the best Ohio State team we can possibly be. I'm glad we can show it to the world.'

Sophomore John Mobley Jr. adds 15.6 points per game followed by Devin Royal's 13.7 average.

TCU used a gauntlet of a regular season to get to Greenville. The Horned Frogs faced three No. 1 seeds in Florida, Michigan and Arizona, also facing a pair of No. 2's in Houston and Iowa State. Veteran head coach Jamie Dixon's team went 2-3 against that group of teams, earning impressive wins over Florida and Iowa State.

'I don't think we're going to be intimidated or anything by Ohio State, but we know we've got to play well,' Dixon said. 'It doesn't matter who we play, we've got to play better. Teams that play their best stay out of foul trouble and stay healthy. I hope that's us.'

TCU is paced by David Punch's 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest, followed by Xavier Edmonds' 12.6 ppg and 6.6 rpg.

Dixon, 60, took Pittsburgh to the NCAA Tournament 11 times in 13 years and has now brought the Horned Frogs to four tourneys in the NIL era. As pleased as Dixon is to be back in the tournament, he knows a run over the next few weeks can continue to solidify the basketball program's place in the Big 12 pecking order.

'We've got to do things better. We're not where we want to be, but we're battling,' Dixon said. 'Rules have changed. The game has changed, become a whole different thing. The reality is you can be as good as you want to be.'

--Jack Batten, Field Level Media