TCU Baskteball: Men Upset in Opener; Women Open Season on November 6

By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

In the Big 12 basketball coaches preseason poll, the TCU men’s basketball team was ranked 10th in the 16-league conference.

That may have been six places too high, considering the result of the Frogs’ season-opener on Monday, November 3, in Schollmaier Arena, on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, Texas.

New Orleans upset the Horned Frogs, 78-74, as TCU dubiously opened its 115th season of men’s basketball.

No, not the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

It was the University of New Orleans. The Privateers. From the Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.

What the heck is a Privateer?

Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

A privateer was a privately owned ship that was authorized by a government during wartime to attack and capture enemy vessels. Operating with a "letter of marque," a privateer was not a pirate because they acted as a legalized form of warfare at sea, essentially a government-sanctioned pirate. These privateers and their crews were entitled to a share of the profits from their captured prizes, which helped supplement a nation's naval forces.

Well, these Privateers certainly carried out warfare against the Horned Frogs.

TCU trailed 44-28 at the half.

With just over seven minutes to play in the game, New Orleans had an unthinkable 21-point lead (68-47). TCU fans were forced to cheer for a comeback in an arena that was three-fourths empty, from an initially paid crowd of 4,741.

The Horned Frogs were even forced to make an early-season appeal to the Hypnotoad, in an attempt to defeat the Privateers.

Nothing worked.

The Frogs had opportunities in the final minute to tie or win the game, but as was the case throughout most of the game, they didn’t sink their shots.

The Horned Frogs fell to 77-38 all-time in season-openers. They had won 18 of their last 19 season-openers, including their last 11 opening games.

TCU’s  women's basketball team will open its season on Thursday, November 6, against North Carolina A&T, in Schollmaier Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm (Central). The game will be televised by ESPN+.

How bad was it for the men's team to lose to New Orleans?

The Privateers went 4-27 last season. 

 

New Orleans finished last in the Southland Conference with a 2-18 conference record last season. 

 

The Privateers' head coach is Stacy Hollowell. He is in his first season as the head coach. 

 

TCU was favored by 21.5 points over New Orleans.

 

This was New Orleans’ first win over a Power Four conference opponent since 2017 and its first win over a Big 12 team since 2007.

 

TCU dropped to 2-1 all-time against New Orleans.

The loss to the Privateers broke TCU’s 19-game winning streak against non-conference opponents at home. The previous loss was against Northwestern State, on November 14, 2022.

“They outplayed us. Got what they deserved. Out-coached us. Out-executed us. Out-toughed us. Out-rebounded us,” said a disgusted and embarrassed TCU head coach Jamie Dixon after the loss. “We weren’t ready to go. I don’t know why. That’s on me. This was extremely disappointing for us. We came out and gave them layup after layup.

“Extremely disappointed for our fans. Extremely disappointed for our program, to play like this. First game of the year. People are really going to look at us as not being very good, so now we’re going to have to go do something about it. I think we’re better than this.

“The rebounding numbers really stand out. Really disappointed with the rebounding. We missed a lot of open shots. We have to get more rebounds than we got.”

New Orleans out-rebounded TCU 38-28.

The Privateers shot 49.1 percent from the field and were led in scoring by Coleton Benson, who had a game-high 22 points and emerged as perhaps the best player on the court.

Jakevion Buckley and MJ Thomas also scored in double-figures, with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Three New Orleans players led with seven rebounds each: Churchill Abass, Panagiotis Pagonis and Thomas.  

The Horned Frogs shot 38.8 percent from the field, including a paltry 11.1 percent (3-of-27) from three-point range.

Sophomore forward David Punch led TCU with a quiet 19 points, on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, and eight rebounds, all of which were career highs.

As he was at various times last season, Punch was much too timid at times during the game, especially after he picked up his third personal foul. 

Against a low-tier major team like New Orleans, the extremely talented and physical Punch should excel and take command of the game, and, if necessary, carry the Frogs on his back to victory.

Sophomore forward Micah Robinson added a career-high 14 points and a career-high six rebounds.

Junior forward Xavier Edmonds scored 11 points. Edmonds, who is a transfer from Salt Lake Community College, was ranked the No. 1 JUCO player in the country after last season, according to JUCOrecruiting.com.

Senior guard Jayden Pierre, who is a transfer from Providence, scored 11 points.

Due to injuries, sophomore guard/forward Jace Posey and senior center Vianney Salatchoum, who is a transfer from FIU, missed the game.

Starting sophomore center Malick Diallo exited the game in the first half with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. He did not return to the game. An MRI on Tuesday revealed that he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. He will miss the remainder of the season.

After watching this group play against New Orleans, and granted, it was the first game of the season, it is hard to envision this team putting together wins in the basketball-talent-rich Big 12.

The Frogs appear to have no sharpshooters.

There is limited height and limited rebounding ability.

There was no consistent defensive pressure or resistance.

There was a limited display of passion, energy and enjoyment.

Come to think of it, as we saw in the flop against New Orleans, it may be hard for this team to even put together wins during the non-conference portion of the 2025-26 schedule.

 TCU Men vs. St. Francis

TCU returns to action on Thursday, November 6, at 7 pm (Central), against Saint Francis, in Schollmaier Arena. TNT will televise the game.

St. Francis, which is known as the Red Flash, is 0-1, after opening its season on Monday, November 3, with a 102-66 loss to the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma.

St. Francis was 16-18 overall last season, 8-8 in the Northeast Conference. 

Saint Francis is a private Catholic university, located in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

St. Francis plans to move down to Division III athletics beginning with the 2026–27 athletic year.

TCU Women vs North Carolina A&T and Team Overview 

The men’s game against St. Francis will be preceded by the season-opening game of TCU’s  women's basketball team. The Frogs will play North Carolina A&T. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm (Central), in Schollmaier Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN+.

North Carolina A&T (Agricultural and Technical) State University is a public, historically black, land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System.

The school’s athletic teams are known as the Aggies. The school is a member of the Division I Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).

The Aggies are 0-1, after losing their opening game of the season on Monday, November 3, to Texas Tech, 78-40, in Lubbock. 

NC A&T was 19-12 overall last season, 15-3 in conference play. 

The TCU women are expected to once again be the showcase of TCU basketball after an historic season last year, when the team reached the NCAA Elite Eight.

The TCU women are the consensus favorite to win the Big 12 Conference this season. 

The Horned Frogs were picked first in the Big 12 Preseason Media Poll ahead of the 2025-26 season. The poll was voted on by Big 12 and national media members.

TCU also topped the projected standings in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The preseason predictions mark only the third time the Horned Frogs have entered a season as the top choice. 

The last time TCU was picked first in a preseason coaches' poll was in 2010, when the Frogs topped the Mountain West Preseason Coaches' Poll.

TCU was first picked to win a conference championship in 2003-04, as a Conference USA affiliate.

TCU was picked fourth in the Big 12 for 2024-25. The Frogs swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships.

In the 2025-26 preseason USA Today Sports Coaches' Poll, the Horned Frogs were awarded the No. 12 ranking, as the Big 12's highest-ranked team. 

TCU debuted at No. 17 in The Associated Press poll. 

The two preseason rankings are the highest ever in program history.

TCU has a 24-game home winning streak. It is the third-longest in college basketball.

The Horned Frogs’ game against North Carolina A&T will feature the debut of 5-foot-10 graduate guard Olivia Miles (#5), who transferred to TCU from Notre Dame prior to this season.

Miles is one of 20 players selected to the 2025-26 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watch List.

The Lieberman Award is voted on and presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Miles is the fourth TCU player to receive Lieberman Award consideration alongside All-Americans Hailey Van Lith (2025), Helena Sverisdottir (2010) and Adrianne Ross (2007, 2008). Van Lith was a top-10 finalist for the award last season.

Miles also is on the watch list for Naismith Player of the Year, and the "Wade Watch" list of candidates for the 2026 Wade Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation's top player, as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Miles has been named 2025-26 Big 12 Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was a unanimous selection to this season's Preseason All-Big 12 team. 

Miles is a three-time All-American, earning second team honors in 2023 and 2025. She was one of 15 players chosen to the Wooden Award national ballot and was a semifinalist for the Naismith Award last season.

Other newcomers who will be making their TCU debut are:

• Senior center Kennedy Basham (#0), 6-foot-7, who transferred from Arizona State, where she led the team in defensive rebounds and averaged 2.6 blocks per game, good for second in the Big 12. She also has played for the University of Oregon.
• Senior guard Veronica Sheffey (#2), who is 5-foot-9 and who transferred from San Diego State, which made the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in 13 years. She also has played for the University of San Diego.
• Graduate forward Marta Suárez (#7), who is 6-foot-3 and who transferred from Cal with 80 career Power Four starts and who averaged double-figure scoring in each of the past two seasons. She also has played for the University of Tennessee.
• Sophomore center Clara Silva (#17), who is 6-foot-7 and who transferred from Kentucky. She is from Faro, Portugal.
• Freshman center Emily Hunter (#44), who is 6-foot-7 and who is from Nolensville, Tennessee.
• Graduate guard Maddie Scherr (#22), is 5-foot-10. She missed last season with an injury after transferring from Kentucky. She has also played for the University of Oregon.
• Sophomore guard Taliyah Parker (#21), who is 6-foot-1 and who transferred from Texas A&M.
• Freshman center Sarah Portlock (#15), who is 6-foot-8 and who is from the Centre of Excellence in Victoria, Australia.
• Freshman guard Clara Bielefeld (#16), who is 6-foot-4 and who made history as the youngest competitor on Germany’s senior national team at the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Championship. She is from Recklinghausen, Germany.