Unbeaten No. 20 Miami faces a new test as MAC tournament tips off in Cleveland
(AP) — The Miami RedHawks have already reached a milestone by changing into the fifth males’s Division I program this century to go undefeated in the course of the common season.
Travis Steele’s staff is aware of the stakes rise when the Mid-American Conference Tournament begins Thursday in Cleveland with a sport towards UMass.
“You’ve got to put a bow on the regular season and act like it’s 0-0 for everybody and go out there and win three games,” mentioned senior guard Peter Suder, the MAC Player of the Year. “It’s easier said than done, obviously, but we had a great regular season.”
The No. 20 PinkHawks (31-0) are the primary squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into a convention tournament. St. Joseph’s (2003-04), Wichita State (2013-14), and Kentucky (2014-15) additionally went unbeaten by means of the common season.
St. Joseph’s is the one staff this century to get tripped up in its convention tournament. The Hawks misplaced to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals however have been nonetheless a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Miami, which has its first MAC regular-season title since 2004-05, can be the primary staff since Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1978-79 to enter its convention tournament unbeaten after not being ranked in the preseason Associated Press poll.
“We’ve had a great year so far. Now it’s that next step. It’s almost like chapter two, and we get to write our own story, and it starts with UMass on Thursday morning,” mentioned Steele, who was a unanimous choice for MAC Coach of the Year.
The PinkHawks had eight one-possession video games in the course of the common season, together with their final three. Last Friday’s 110-108 extra time win at Ohio was the primary time they beat the Bobcats on the street since 2011.
Doubts in regards to the PinkHawks incomes an at-large berth have quieted because the win at Ohio.
“It’s not even debatable. Those kids belong in the tournament over teams who have mediocre records, but because they play in a power conference, they get the edge because all the metrics that are designed for seeing who gets in as an at-large team all favor the power conferences,” mentioned ESPN’s Dick Vitale. “I can’t see the logic of taking teams with 14, 15 losses over a team that has zero losses right now and might lose one game in a tournament. Give me a break. It makes no sense.”
TNT Sports’ Charles Barkley, who will name a sport with Vitale in the course of the First Four, agreed that Miami has earned its spot.
“No matter what happens in this tournament, they should be in,” he mentioned. “My biggest problem with Miami is that I think it’s unfair when people talk about their schedule. Why are they getting penalized? Because the other teams in their conference are not good. That’s not fair to them.”
Miami enters the MAC Tournament main Division I in subject objective share (52.6%) and rating second in scoring offense (90.9 factors per sport). Six gamers common double figures, together with Suder at 14.8 factors per sport.
Brant Byers (14.1 ppg) and Elan Elmer (12.5 ppg) have been All-MAC second-team choices, whereas Luke Skaljac (10.3) was named to the third staff and Antwone Woolfork (10.1) honorable point out.
Suder mentioned he has seen the talk about Miami’s NCAA Tournament credentials however is just not paying a lot consideration.
“It’s pretty hard not to see it. It’s there every time I go on my phone to be honest, but you just have to basically push it aside, just keep scrolling past it,” he mentioned. “Going back all the way to the summer, our main goal wasn’t to go undefeated in the regular season. Our main goal is to definitely win the MAC championship.”
Miami’s primary threats are anticipated to be second-seeded Akron and third-seeded Kent State.
The Zips (26-5), who face Buffalo on Thursday, are in search of their third straight MAC Tournament title. Akron’s solely convention loss was at Miami on Jan. 3 (76-73).
The Golden Flashes (23-8) took the PinkHawks to extra time earlier than shedding 107-101 on Jan. 20. Kent State faces Ohio on Thursday.
The Miami-UMass winner would face both fourth-seeded Toledo or No. 5 seed Bowling Green on Friday.
“I don’t think we’ve felt pressure. I think we’ve enjoyed the moment and the journey,” Steele mentioned. “We’ve been the Super Bowl everywhere we’ve gone. I watch these games after we’ve already played there, and you’re scouting another team. It’s like, man, nobody’s even at that game. There’s like a hundred people there, but when we were there, there were 10,000, and you’re getting everybody’s best shot. So I give our guys a lot of credit for staying focused, blocking out all the outside noise, and focusing on the task at hand.”
