Throughout its turnaround season, TCU has deftly played the underdog card before most of its biggest men’s basketball games. The Horned Frogs (22-15), who posted only 12 wins last year, have responded with a postseason run to next week’s NIT semifinals in New York.
But a funny thing has happened on the way to Madison Square Garden. TCU, the No. 4 seed in its eight-team NIT quadrant, will arrive in the Big Apple with as lofty of a tournament seed as any remaining semifinalist (Central Florida also received a No. 4 seed). The Frogs’ RPI ranking (No.