TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball
The TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball team represents Texas Christian University, located in Fort Worth, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. Since 2016, the Horned Frogs have been led by TCU Lettermen's Hall of Fame member, head coach Jamie Dixon. TCU has competed in the Big 12 Conference since 2012 and previously competed in the Mountain West Conference, Conference USA, Western Athletic Conference and Southwest Conference. The Horned Frogs play their home games on campus at Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena, formerly known as DanielβMeyer Coliseum, which reopened in December 2015 after a $72 million renovation.
History
Early years
The Horned Frogs began varsity intercollegiate competition in men's basketball in 1908, when the university was located in Waco, Texas. In their first recorded game, the Frogs faced then-cross-town rival Baylor in a 6β37 loss; the Frogs notched their first recorded program win that same season versus the Waco YMCA. TCU moved its campus from Waco to Fort Worth, Texas, after a fire destroyed the central Texas' school's main building in 1910. TCU competed as an independent and as part of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association until joining Southwest Conference competition for the 1923β24 season, where the Frogs won their first-ever SWC game in a January 9, 1924, game at Rice University. During the early, independent and TIAA years, TCU was led by at least six different coaches from 1908 through 1923, and played five or fewer games or did not field teams in 7 of those 15 seasons.1920sβ1970s Southwest Conference era
The Horned Frogs were led into the Southwest Conference in 1923 by a new basketball and football coach, Fort Worth native Matty Bell. Bell transformed the program, accruing a 71β41 record over his six seasons at TCU and leading the Horned Frogs to second, third and fourth-place finishes during his tenure. Bell was succeeded by Francis Schmidt, who left the Arkansas Razorbacks to coach TCU basketball and football. On the gridiron, Schmidt led the Frogs to their first SWC title and the gridiron in 1932, and on the hardwood, Schmidt led the Frogs to a combined 72β24 record over five seasons and Southwest Conference championships in 1931 and 1934. The 1931 SWC championship was the Frogs' first league title in men's basketball. Schmidt departed Fort Worth after five seasons to become the head football coach at Ohio State.Coach Schmidt's departure after the 1934 SWC championship season was followed by a 16-year drought for TCU basketball. TCU football coach Dutch Meyer fared far better leading the Frogs' football team, where he claimed two national championships, in 1935 and 1938, and three SWC football titles over his 19-year football-coaching tenure, than he did in his three seasons at the helm of TCU basketball. Meyer's basketball record from 1934 through 1937 totaled on 10β37. Meyer was replaced by former TCU basketball and football player Mike Brumbelow, who had two SWC wins over the following four seasons, with an overall record of 22β64. Brumbelow was quickly replaced by Hub McQuillan, who led the Frogs to middle-of-the-league finishes in the first 5 of his 7 years as head coach of TCU basketball.
Buster Brannon, a former TCU player under Francis Schmidt, led Horned Frogs basketball for nearly two decades, from 1948 through 1967. Brannon amassed a 205β259 record over 19 seasons and led the Frogs to four Southwest Conference championships in 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1959, and the program's first three NCAA tournament appearances in 1952, 1953 and 1959. Brannon's recorded faded in the 1960s, when the Frogs finished near the bottom of the league almost every year until Brannon's retirement from coaching in 1967. The Brannon era saw the opening of DanielβMeyer Coliseum in 1961. Johnny Swaim, a former player for Brannon, coached the Frogs from 1967 through 1977. Swaim led the Frogs to Southwest Conference titles and the NCAA tournament in 1967, his first season at the helm, and in 1971. The Frogs' 1967 NCAA tournament appearance saw the Frogs' first-ever tournament win and the program's only appearance in what is now known as the Elite Eight. Swaim abruptly retired from coaching after the 1977 season, remaining in Fort Worth as a businessman until his death in 1995. After Swaim's retirement, Tim Somerville led the Frogs for the following two seasons, notching only a 10β43 record.
Jamie Dixon era
On March 21, 2016, TCU hired Pitt head coach and former Horned Frogs' letterman Jamie Dixon as the Frogs' next head basketball coach. Prior to his return to Fort Worth as the 22nd head coach of TCU basketball, Dixon spent 13 years as the head coach at Pitt, won four national coach of the year awards, and ranked as the 9th winningest, active Division I head coach. Dixon's impact at TCU was immediate, where in his first season he landed Jaylen Fisher, the highest-rated recruit in TCU history, led the Frogs to their best conference record and finish, best overall record, and first postseason tournament since joining the Big 12 in 2012, and knocked off the No. 1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks in the 2017 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas Cityβmarking the program's first-ever win over a #1 ranked team. The Horned Frogs won the 2017 NIT Championship on March 30, to cap off Dixon's first season with a 24β15 record. The Horned Frogs qualified as an at-large bid for the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, snapping a 20-year drought.TCU made the NCAA tournament in 2022. They defeated Seton Hall 69β42 in the first round winning an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 35 years.
Postseason
NCAA tournament
The Horned Frogs have appeared in 11 NCAA tournaments. Their combined record is 7β11.The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1978 edition.
| 1952 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd-place game | Kansas | L 64β68 W 61β44 | |
| 1953 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd-place game | L 54β71 W 58β56 | ||
| 1959 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd-place game | L 73β77 W 71β65 | ||
| 1968 | Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Houston | W 77β72 L 68β103 | |
| 1971 | First round | Notre Dame | L 94β102 | |
| 1987 | No. 4 | First round Second round | No. 13 Marshall No. 5 Notre Dame | W 76β60 L 57β58 |
| 1998 | No. 5 | First round | No. 12 Florida State | L 87β96 |
| 2018 | No. 6 | First round | No. 11 Syracuse | L 52β57 |
| 2022 | No. 9 | First round Second round | No. 8 Seton Hall No. 1 Arizona | W 69β42 L 80β85 OT |
| 2023 | No. 6 | First round Second round | No. 11 Arizona State No. 3 Gonzaga | W 72β70 L 81β84 |
| 2024 | No. 9 | First round | No. 8 Utah State | L 72β88 |
NIT
The Horned Frogs have appeared in eight National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 17β7. They were NIT champions in 2017.| 1983 | First round Second round Quarterfinals | W 64β62 W 78β76 L 57β67 | |
| 1986 | First round Second round | W 76β69 L 75β77 | |
| 1992 | First round Second round | W 73β61 L 51β67 | |
| 1997 | First round Second round | W 85β62 L 72β82 | |
| 1999 | First round Second round Quarterfinals | Nebraska | W 72β71 W 101β89 L 68β77 |
| 2005 | First round Second round Quarterfinals | W 60β58 W 78β68 L 73β85 | |
| 2017 | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship | Fresno State Iowa Richmond UCF Georgia Tech | W 66β59 W 94β92OT W 86β68 W 68β53 W 88β56 |
| 2019 | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Sam Houston State Nebraska Creighton Texas | W 80β76 W 88β72 W 71β58 L 44β58 |
CBI
The Horned Frogs have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational. Their record is 1β1.| 2012 | First round Quarterfinals | Milwaukee Oregon State | W 83β73 L 81β101 |
Retired numbers
TCU has retired five numbers.;Notes