FORT WORTH, Texas − Thirty-five years old.
Drown: Could this be the win that sparks Notre Dame basketball into 2025-26?
This is how much time has passed since Notre Dame basketball ventured to the great, great state of Texas to play a regular season basketball game. This was before the days of the Big East and, today, the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame was independent during its last visit to Texas. It was February 8, 1990, the penultimate year under head coach Digger Phelps, when the schedule took them to the Dallas suburbs to play SMU.
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Drowns: How one shot, one win helped propel Notre Dame basketball to two decades of success
Notre Dame (6-3) is back for the first of two Texas Hoops stops the 2025-26 regular season. While an ACC game at SMU awaits in February, Notre Dame is in Fort Worth the first Friday in December to take on TCU (5-2).
It’s a long way to go for the Irish without a victory. Might as well have one.
Notre Dame basketball (6-3) against TCU (5-2)
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Date: Friday December 5
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Start time: 8:00 p.m. (South Bend time).
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Location: Schollmaier Arena (8500), Fort Worth, Texas
What channel is Notre Dame at TCU basketball on?
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Radio: 960 WSBT-AM in South Bend. Also on SiriusXM on ACC Radio and channels 955 and 956. You can also listen live for free on Audacy.
History of the series between Notre Dame basketball and TCU
Notre Dame leads 5-0 – 2-0 at home and 3-0 at neutral sites, dating back to the first game of the 1971 NCAA tournament in Houston.
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Notre Dame and TCU last met on March 18, 1997, at Purcell Pavilion, with Notre Dame winning 82-72 in the second round of the National Postseason Invitation Tournament. Former Irish All-American and current general manager Pat Garrity had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Phil Hickey added 13 points, 12 rebounds and three assists while Pete Miller had 16 points and four rebounds.
Notre Dame vs. TCU Basketball Stories
∎ The Horned Frogs have been inactive since Thanksgiving week defeating No. 10 Florida and Wisconsin at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
∎ TCU is 3-2 at home with two four-point losses to New Orleans (oof!) and No. 2 Michigan (whoa!)
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∎ Notre Dame is 0-2 against Big 12 teams this season (10-point losses to Kansas and Houston in Las Vegas) and 75-38 (66.3%) all-time against current Big 12 teams. It last beat a Big 12 team on November 17, 2023, a 66-64 overtime victory over Oklahoma State in the Legends Classic.
Keep an eye on…
Notre Dame G Cole Certa
Certa has to travel for his 3-point game. He has been good at home, averaging 10.8 points, shooting 45.1 percent (14 of 31) from 3 and scoring at least 12 points, including a career-high 22 in the season opener against LIU Brooklyn, in five home games.
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On the outside, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Certa is averaging 3.2 points on 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) 3s. He doesn’t care if he’s missed five games in a row or 10 in a row. Certa’s ultra-confidence allows him to believe his next shot is going to come, as evidenced by Tuesday’s game-clinching deep 3 with 16.2 seconds left in a 76-71 victory.
Someone from the Irish bench is expected for a big game on the road. A brilliant road game. Why not Certa?
TCU G Brock Harding
The 6-foot, 160-pound junior guard from Moline, Ill., after two seasons at Iowa under former Notre Dame assistant coach Fran McCaffery, brought home some hardware while helping the Horned Frogs win the Rady Kids’ invitation to San Diego during Thanksgiving week.
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Harding had 19 points, four rebounds and 12 assists in an 84-80 victory over defending national champion Florida. He followed that with 16 points, four rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes in a 74-63 win over Wisconsin to become the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Harding, the 2023 Illinois Mr. Basketball, is averaging 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists in a team-high 33.3 minutes per game. He’s shooting .394 percent from the field, .292 percent from 3 and .688 percent from the free throw line. He ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (6.2) and 13th in attendance/turnover ratio. Last season at Iowa, Harding had five or more assists in 20 games.
A Deeper Dive into Notre Dame Basketball
Notre Dame Basketball Schedule 2025-26
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October 17 in Butler (W, 77-76) Exhibition
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October 24 DEPAUL (L, 69-62) Exhibition
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November 3 LIU BROOKLYN, 7 p.m. (W, 89-67; 1-0)
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November 7 DETROIT MERCY, 7 p.m. (W, 102-70; 2-0)
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November 11 EASTERN ILLINOIS, (W, 78-58; 3-0)
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November 16 at Ohio State, (L, 64-63; 3-1)
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November 19 BELLARMINE, 7 p.m. (W, 86-79; 4-1)
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November 24 against Kansas (L, 71-61; 4-2)
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November 25 against Rutgers (V, 68-63; 5-2)
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November 26 against Houston (L, 66-56; 5-3)
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December 2 MISSOURI (ACC/SEC Challenge), (V 76-71; 6-3)
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December 5 At TCU, 8 p.m. (ESPN+)
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December 10 IDAHO, 7 p.m. (ACCNX)
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December 13 EVANSVILLE, 2 p.m. (ACCNX)
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December 21 PURDUE FORT WAYNE, 12 p.m. (ACCNX)
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December 30 At Stanford, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
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January 2 In California, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)
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January 10 CLEMSON, 6 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
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January 13 MIAMI (Florida), 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
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January 17 At Virginia Tech, 12 p.m. (ACCN)
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January 21 At North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
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January 24 BOSTON COLLEGE, 6 p.m. (ACCN)
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January 27 VIRGINIA, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
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January 31 in Syracuse, 6 p.m., (The CW)
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February 4 at Louisville, 7 p.m. (ESPN/U)
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February 7 FLORIDA STATE, 4 p.m. (ACCN)
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February 10 At SMU, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
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February 14 GEORGIA TECH, 12 p.m. (The CW)
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February 21 in Pittsburgh, 2 p.m. (ACCN)
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February 24 DUKE, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
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February 28, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 12 p.m. (The CW)
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March 3 STANFORD, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
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March 7 At Boston College, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
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ACC Tournament March 10-14 (Charlotte) to be determined.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article was originally published on South Bend Tribune: A big week for Notre Dame basketball ends with rare visit to Texas
