Miami (Ohio) downs SMU in First Four: ‘Deserve’ to be here
DAYTON, Ohio — Miami (Ohio) discovered itself in a singular place Wednesday evening on the First Four.
The RedHawks had been a polarizing 30-win staff in the lead-up to NCAA match choices. Was Miami good or only a product of a weak schedule? Were all the perfect convention groups that prevented the RedHawks fooling around or good?
After a 31-1 begin, Miami made the NCAA subject, however simply barely as an at-large, and would tip off in the First Four, 40 miles from its campus in Oxford, Ohio. The Eleventh-seeded RedHawks had been a 6.5-point underdog towards SMUalthough neither they nor the hundreds who got here to help them felt that method.
“The reason people love March Madness is they love to see quote, unquote, upsets,” coach Travis Steele stated. “This wasn’t an upset tonight, at all.”
Miami left little doubt about its match viability or the historic path it has taken, beating SMU 89-79 at UD Arena. The RedHawks led for a lot of the sport, recorded their largest victory margin and made their most 3-pointers (16) in an NCAA match sport, and posted their highest scoring complete in a match contest since 1958. They superior to face No. 6 seed Tennessee in a first-round Midwest Region matchup Friday in Philadelphia.
Steele stated he believed his staff was higher than SMU coming into Wednesday’s sport, and his gamers proved him proper.
“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,” star guard Peter Suder he stated. “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.”
Miami didn’t face an influence convention staff in nonleague play — the college repeatedly acknowledged that these colleges didn’t need to schedule the RedHawks — and went 31-0 in the common season earlier than falling to UMass in the Mid-American Conference match quarterfinals. Despite all of Miami’s profitable, a schedule energy that hovered close to the underside of Division I created an odd at-large profile for the match choice committee to take into account.
“I mean, we had to basically be perfect in the whole regular season to get that at-large,” Steele stated.
A MAC staff had not earned an at-large berth since 1999, when Miami surrounded All-American Wally Szczerbiak to the Sweet 16. The RedHawks had been one of many final at-large groups in started and their first match look since 2007 in close by Dayton.
The constructive was Wednesday’s crowd, purple and raucous, erupting with each 3-pointer and scoring burst from the RedHawks. Former Miami and NBA star Ron Harper was among the many supporters and celebrated in the locker room.
Miami gamers steadily acknowledged their supporters, together with Luke Skaljacwhose 3-pointer with 7:15 left pressured SMU to name timeout.
“That was a great crowd, a home game for Miami,” SMU coach Andy Enfield stated. “They probably had 12,000 fans here. Felt like 40 or 50,000.”
The crowd included Miami’s males’s swimming and diving staff, some carrying solely Speedos and caps, who sprinted down the aisle behind SMU’s basket early in the second half to distract free throw shooter Corey Washingtonsimply as they do at Millett Hall, Miami’s house court docket.
“What really surprised me was the swim team, when they came out,” Miami ahead Antwone Woolfolk he stated. “That was elite.”
Miami’s willingness to take and make 3-pointers propelled its offense, because the staff had extra made 3s (10) than 2-point makes an attempt (9) in the primary half. But the undersized RedHawks additionally held up inside, because the rebounding was even at 35. They collected 12 offensive boards, together with Suder’s with 3:08 to play that arrange a 3-pointer by Eian Elmer that elevated the lead to 81-68.
Steele challenged his staff after the UMass loss, because the RedHawks had been outrebounded 41-24 and allowed 54 factors in the paint and 23 second-chance factors.
“We crashed the glass,” stated Woolfolk, Miami’s tallest starter at 6-foot-9. “We put pressure on the rim, instead of letting pressure get put on us.”
The rebounding efficiency strengthened Steele’s pregame theme: assault.
“Our guys deserve to be in this position,” he stated. “I felt like we were the best team going into the game. And I think our guys have that real belief. That’s the most powerful thing you can have.”
Miami now will get one other energy convention opponent in Tennessee, and additional success means comparable opponents will observe. But the RedHawks had the match stage Wednesday evening.
How many extra individuals find out about Miami (Ohio) now?
“I don’t even know. I can’t even count,” Suder stated, smiling. “But it’s definitely a lot.”
