Miami (Ohio) secured a decisive 89-79 victory over SMU in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. The RedHawks, who entered the tournament as an 11th seed, overcame their underdog status to advance. The team will now face No. 6 seed Tennessee in the first round of the Midwest Region in Philadelphia.
RedHawks Silence the Doubters
Miami (Ohio)’s coach, Travis Steele, dismissed the notion of an upset, stating, “This wasn’t an upset tonight, at all.” The RedHawks led for the majority of the game. They also achieved their largest victory margin and made a record 16 three-pointers in an NCAA tournament game. Their point total was their highest in a tournament contest since 1958.
Star guard Peter Suder addressed the team’s doubters. “All the doubters that doubted us, all saying we don’t have Quad 1 wins, two wins, all that stuff, I don’t know what they’re going to say now,” Suder said. He added, “We proved the doubters wrong. To win by double digits against a really good team, athletically, physically talented players, it’s huge for this program.”
Controversy Over Tournament Selection
Miami (Ohio) entered the NCAA field as an at-large team after a 31-1 start. Their selection was considered polarizing due to their strength of schedule. The RedHawks did not face a power conference team in nonleague play, as those schools reportedly declined to schedule them. Miami (Ohio) went 31-0 in the regular season before losing to UMass in the Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Steele noted the difficulty of securing an at-large bid. “I mean, we had to basically be perfect in the whole regular season to get that at-large,” Steele said.
The RedHawks’ appearance marks their first tournament showing since 2007. They are also the first MAC team to earn an at-large berth since 1999.
Home Crowd Advantage
The game felt like a home game for Miami (Ohio). The crowd erupted with every three-pointer and scoring burst from the RedHawks. Former Miami and NBA star Ron Harper was also present to support the team.
SMU coach Andy Enfield acknowledged the strong support for Miami. “That was a great crowd, a home game for Miami,” Enfield said. “They probably had 12,000 fans here. Felt like 40 or 50,000.”
Miami players frequently acknowledged their supporters, including Luke Skaljac, whose three-pointer forced SMU to call timeout.
Steele said he believed his team was better than SMU coming into Wednesday’s game, and his players proved him right.