Greenville, SC — march madness opened with a stunner: TCU edged Ohio State 66-64 as Xavier Edmonds converted a layup with 4. 3 seconds remaining. The opening game left more than half of projected brackets in tatters and set an urgent tone for the tournament. The upset unfolded Thursday afternoon in Greenville and reshaped the early field.
TCU stuns Ohio State — Edmonds’ late play decides
TCU held off a furious Ohio State comeback to secure a 66-64 victory, with Xavier Edmonds’ decisive layup coming as the shot clock expired with 4. 3 seconds left on the clock. The Horned Frogs led by as many as 15 at halftime but struggled through a second-half shooting slump, missing 18 of their first 22 attempts after the break. Ohio State rallied into the lead late, only to see Bruce Thornton’s half-court heave at the buzzer strike the backboard and fall short.
Micah Robinson paced TCU with 18 points, Edmonds finished with 16, and David Punch added a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. John Mobley Jr. led Ohio State with 15 points in the program’s first tournament appearance since 2022. TCU, which improved to a 23-11 record, will return to the court on Saturday to face either Siena or the top overall seed, Duke.
March Madness fallout: brackets and early upsets
The opening-game result ruined a large share of submitted brackets as fans scrambled to reconcile pre-tournament predictions with a late-game heroics outcome. More than half of brackets were effectively damaged by the result in the first matchup alone, changing the immediate calculus for millions of entrants. Elsewhere on day one, a 12-seed High Point beat Wisconsin 83-82 on Chase Johnston’s layup with 11 seconds remaining, and 16-seed Siena led Duke by 11 at halftime in another headline upset thread.
Pryce Sandfort of Nebraska provided an early hot streak in the tournament, drilling consecutive 3-pointers in back-to-back possessions and energizing his team and fans. Those developments underscore how quickly seeding and expectations are being tested in the opening slate.
Immediate reactions and key moments
On the court in Greenville, Ohio State’s players showed visible frustration in the final seconds as TCU began celebrations; one Buckeye leaned forward and put his hands on his knees in clear dismay after the final sequence. TCU executed a late timeout to advance a final play that delivered Edmonds to the rim for the game-winner. The Horned Frogs’ second-half recovery on a late 3 from Micah Robinson set up the tense finishing sequence.
Stat lines and late-game execution dominated postgame discussion, with emphasis on clutch play, missed opportunities, and a dramatic finish that will be replayed by bracket setters and tournament watchers alike.
What comes next
Expect bracket chatter to remain feverish and for selection shockwaves to reverberate as the field settles into round-of-32 matchups. TCU travels forward to face Siena or Duke on Saturday; Ohio State’s tournament run ends with an early exit. Early upsets and tight finishes on day one mean march madness is already delivering unpredictable outcomes and headline moments that will shape storylines for the coming rounds.
Posted 2: 48 PM ET; updated 4: 02 PM ET.
