TCU Women's Basketball On The Move in Big 12 Standings & Bracketology

A pair of top-20 wins put No. 12 TCU women’s basketball back on the upswing in both the Big 12 Conference regular season title race and NCAA Tournament projections.

TCU & The Big 12 Conference Title Race

The Big 12 title race is seemingly coming down to five teams: TCU, No. 15 Baylor, No. 19 West Virginia, No. 20 Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State. The Horned Frogs, Bears, and Mountaineers all have 11 conference wins. TCU holds the tiebreakers over both teams, giving it sole possession of first place, at least for the moment. The Horned Frogs will close out the season against the Bears on Sunday. March 1.

Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are not completely out of conference title contention with 10 wins each, but would need losses from the teams above them to really get back into the mix. TCU beat Oklahoma State this season, but lost to Texas Tech in Lubbock.

This week’s schedule for the Horned Frogs features a road trip to Houston, the worst team in the conference, on Wednesday and then a home game against Iowa State on Sunday. Iowa State has found its footing after a 2-5 start in conference play. Big 12 preseason player of the year Audi Crooks roams the paint for the Cyclones and averages 25.3 points per game. Crooks causes matchup problems, but TCU has the deeper roster.

If TCU can go 2-0 this week and beat Cincinnati on the road next Wednesday, the season finale versus Baylor could be a winner-take-all pseudo Big 12 championship game for the second consecutive season. The Bears would need to win their next three games as well - at Texas Tech and then home versus Arizona and Kansas State - to make that happen, but the potential for another nail-biting finish exists.

Bracketology: TCU

The Horned Frogs swung back up to a No. 3 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology projections. This version would bring McNeese State (14 seed), Minnesota (6 seed) and Rice (11 seed) to Fort Worth for the NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds. TCU remains in the Sacramento region for Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games.

This placement aligns with the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee initial top 16 rankings, which were revealed on Saturday. TCU was the only Big 12 team on the list at No. 12.

If the Horned Frogs can win out, they should lock in a host seed.

Guard Donovyn Hunter and the TCU women's basketball team are projected as a three seed in the NCAA Tournament. | Brian McLean - On Assignment Photo/KillerFrogs.com for TCU On SI

Bracketology: Big 12 Projections

The Big 12 has eight teams projected in the Big Dance. TCU is the highest-seeded team, followed by West Virginia as a 5 seed. Colorado and Arizona State moved from “First Four Out” into the field while Utah dropped out.

Here’s where all the Big 12 teams are projected to go. Teams are grouped by region.

Sacramento Region 2		Host School
TCU	3 Seed	TCU
Oklahoma State	8 Seed	UCLA

Sacramento Region 4
Texas Tech	7 Seed	Michigan
Iowa State	9 Seed	Texas
Arizona State	11 Seed	Duke

Fort Worth Region 1
West Virginia	5 Seed	Kentucky

Fort Worth Region 3
Baylor	6 Seed	Maryland
Colorado	12 Seed	Ole Miss

Bubble Teams
Utah	First Four Out
Kansas	Next Four Out

Bracketology: TCU & The National Picture

Not surprising the No. 1 seeds are still UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina. Texas briefly dropped to a two seed in Friday’s projections after losing to Vanderbilt, but bumped back up following a win over No. 21 Tennessee and Vanderbilt’s loss at Georgia. UCLA is the top seed in TCU’s region.

Maryland, Duke and Iowa are three seeds alongside TCU. Duke is in position to win the ACC while Maryland and Iowa are several games behind Big 10 leader UCLA. When looking at key tournament seeding metrics like Quad 1 wins, the Horned Frogs have the best winning percentage (66%, 4-2 record) among the three seeds, but the Blue Devils, Terrapins and Hawkeyes have all played more Quad 1 teams and posted the same record (6-5). All three teams are top 14 in the NET.

LSU, Michigan, Vanderbilt and Louisville currently hold the No. 2 seeds. Those teams are ranked 5-8 in the NET and have racked up anywhere from four to seven Quad 1 wins. The Horned Frogs could maybe sneak into the two line by going 4-0 to close out the season and make a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament. Even still, the Horned Frogs would need help from the teams above them (i.e. losses) to move up enough spots.

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament is March 15.

TCU & The Big 12 Conference Title Race

Bracketology: TCU

Bracketology: Big 12 Projections

Bracketology: TCU & The National Picture

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