Horned Frogs, Longhorns meet In Elite Eight

Published 5:35 pm Sunday, March 30, 2025

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It’s a Lone Star State showdown when No. 2 seed TCU faces off with No. 1 seed Texas at 6 p.m. Monday (ESPN) at Legacy Arena in the Elite Eight.

It’s the first matchup between the Horned Frogs and Longhorns since Texas left the Big 12 for the SEC and it’s another opportunity for the Horned Frogs to snap a lengthy losing streak against an in-state rival.

TCU has lost nine straight to the Longhorns, including a 65-43 defeat on Feb. 10, 2024, and overall the program is 4-50 all-time against Texas. But this is a very different Horned Frog team than the ones that Texas faced in the past and TCU isn’t ready for its Cinderella season to end just yet.

It’ll be a daunting task to take down the Longhorns as Texas will be the best team TCU has faced since its loss to South Carolina in December.

“There’s not many holes, they’re incredible,” head coach Mark Campbell said Sunday. “They have size and great post play. They have depth and they’re really athletic. They have one of the best point guards in college basketball. They’re a one seed for a reason.”

The Longhorns are led by their dynamic front court duo of Madison Booker and Taylor Jones. The 6-foot-1 Booker is the team’s leading scorer with 16.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per night while Jones stands at 6-4 and averages 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Booker and Jones combined for 29 points and 14 rebounds in Texas’ Sweet Sixteen win over Tennessee on Saturday.

Familiar foes

They’ll be tough to handle, but TCU center Sedona Prince has extensive experience playing against Jones. Jones was at Oregon State while Prince was at Oregon and Prince is looking forward to another matchup against Jones.

“I know Taylor very well. I know her family well,” Prince said. “Played three times in high school basketball tournaments. She was at Oregon State, and I was at Oregon and played a few times there. Now we get to play each other in Texas, which is really cool.

“She’s an amazing player. It’s been fun to match up with her, kind of everywhere along my journey. So I’m excited, it’s going to be a battle down there.”

Coming off of what Campbell called her most physical game of the year against Notre Dame, Prince will once again be the key on both ends of the floor for the Horned Frogs.

Prince is the best rim protector remaining in the tournament and can control the paint with her size. Offensively, she’s hoping she’ll be able to have 1-on-1 battles against Booker or Jones.

“I hope we go 1-on-1, they have the physicality and length to do that,” Prince said. “The struggle with me, the really frustrating part, is when I’m playing shorter posts and they have to double. It’s really frustrating because I want to matchup and show my skills. It’s what I’m going to face at the next level so I hope Vic (Schaefer) lets us go 1-on-1.”

Prince may get her wish as double teaming her means wide open shots for shooters like Madison Conner, Hailey Van Lith and Agnes Emma-Nnopu.

Guards may dominate

In terms of guard play, TCU should have the advantage against the Longhorns. Texas point guard Rori Harmon is a quality floor general that averages 9.3 points and 6.1 assists per game while Shay Holle averages 6.4 points. Both are sub-30% shooters from 3.

Like Prince, Van Lith has some experience against Texas as she helped Louisville eliminate the Longhorns from the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

“I remember they were supposed to beat us by a lot that game,” Van Lith said. “It was a great game, we played really well. We pulled off an upset on their home court which was huge. But this year, they’re a completely different team from the last time I played them.

“They’re elite defensively, their backcourt, they have a lot of athletic, strong guards who can do different things. We know they’re going to be tough, they have that DNA in them, so we’re going to have to match that.”

It’s a winner take all battle between the two best teams in Texas and the winner gets to advance to the Final Four.