PHILADELPHIA — After being shut out from scheduling a high-major opponent during the season, Miami (Ohio) finally got a crack at one in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.
The RedHawks looked the part of a tournament contender. And the sport took notice.
After beating SMU on Wednesday to solidify its spot in the field of 64, Miami (Ohio) took a quick flight from Dayton to Philadelphia. The 11th-seeded RedHawks have less than a 48-hour turnaround before their Midwest Region opener against No. 6 Tennessee on Friday afternoon.
Tennessee star freshman Nate Ament said much of the team got together to watch the Miami-SMU First Four game, and they came away impressed.
“They’re a really good team. They play a really exciting brand of basketball,” Ament said. “It was fun to watch them play. We enjoyed it.
“Again, they’re really talented. We got our work cut out for us. They got talented players at every position, so we have to be locked in from the jump.”
The RedHawks (32-1) were one of the last four at-large teams into the field despite a perfect 31-0 regular season. They played Wednesday for the first time since UMass ended their unbeaten streak in the Mid-American Tournament quarterfinals.
Eian Elmer tied a career high with six 3-pointers on nine attempts to pace Miami with 23 points, while Brant Byers (19 points) and Luke Skaljac (17) combined for another seven triples in the 89-79 victory.
Team leader Peter Suder (14.4 ppg) had a forgettable shooting night but made up for it with seven rebounds and six assists, both team highs.
“There was a lot out there, a lot of hate, a lot of doubt that we couldn’t accomplish what we did (Wednesday), but we do such a good job as a group and a whole of just blocking that noise out, just going out there and competing as much as we can,” said Suder, who had seven points on 2-of-9 shooting against SMU.
Miami drew criticism for its weak schedule, though public records have confirmed RedHawks coach Travis Steele was denied by 20-plus potential high-major foes. But don’t count Tennessee coach Rick Barnes among the haters.
“It’s a great storyline, No. 1, and they’ve earned it,” Barnes said. “If you go through the season and do what they did. Certainly, I thought they were terrific (Wednesday) night.
“Everybody is going to talk about their 3-point shooting, but there’s so much more than that. I understand, and there should be a buzz about them because they’re a really good basketball team and extremely well-coached, play hard, and that do everything you have to do to win that many basketball games.”
The pressure may be off Tennessee (22-11) a bit after it lost four of its last six games and settled for its lowest seed in a streak of eight made tournaments. The Volunteers reached consecutive Elite Eights in 2024 and 2025 but still seek their elusive first Final Four.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie (18.0 points, 5.5 assists, 2.1 steals per game), who made the Sweet 16 with Maryland last year, powers Tennessee along with Ament (17.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and J.P. Estrella (10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
Tennessee’s height may be a mismatch, and the Volunteers rank first in the country in offensive rebounding percentage (45.1) while the RedHawks struggle at 330th (25.7). The Vols’ defense will face a Miami team that ranks second in 2-point percentage (61.4%) and 22nd in 3-point shooting (37.6%).
“How do we make what makes us really special come to life, right? We have to look at that first and foremost,” Steele said. “How do we attack them from an offensive standpoint? … They’re in a three-out-two-in space on the floor, so they have both spots filled with their bigs, and all their bigs are extremely physical, strong, and big.
“So we know we’re going to be in an absolute war down there.”
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
