By Jeff Wilson
Frogs Today senior writer
SAN DIEGO — That wasn’t even close.
TCU is moving on in the NCAA Tournament.
The ninth-seeded Horned Frogs won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987 on Friday night, smothering No. 8 seed Seton Hall 69-42 at Viejas Arena.
Mike Miles Jr. scored a game-high 21 points and Damion Baugh added 14 for TCU, which completed a 6-0 first-round showing for the Big 12 Conference.
The Frogs’ reward is a matchup Sunday against top-seeded Arizona, which dispatched No. 16 seed Wright State 87-70.
“It’s been 35 years. Thirty-five. That’s crazy,” forward Emanuel Miller said.
As respectful of Seton Hall as TCU was leading up to the teams’ first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament, the Frogs would occasionally let slip that they were looking forward to playing Arizona (32-3).
TCU (21-12) took control of the game in the first half behind a 10-0 run and led by as many as 13 in the first 20 minutes. Most Seton Hall shots were contested , TCU won the rebounding battle, and the Frogs attacked the rim offensively despite the presence of 7-foot-2 center Ike Obiagu.
In fact, the Frogs got Obiagu in foul trouble early. The foul troubles of leading scorer Jared Rhoden crippled the already sluggish Pirates offense.
Each had three fouls in the first half, and Rhoden fouled out with 12:55 remaining in the game. He scored only five points.
TCU led by nine at halftime, but it could have been worse for the Pirates (21-11). They hit back-to-back 3-pointers with under two minutes to go, and Miles missed a layup at the buzzer.
But the Frogs’ defense was stout, holding Seton Hall to 27.6% shooting and forcing nine turnovers. Those helped off-set the eight turnovers TCU committed while shooting 42.3%
They made only one of their seven 3-point tries.
The 3-point shot helped keep Seton Hall within single digits, though the Pirates hit only four of them in the first half.
“We won the first game and we’ve got to look ahead for Sunday,” Miles said.
Jeff Wilson, jeff@frogstoday.com
