Red Hot Miami

The Miami OH Redhawks have accomplished the unthinkable: an undefeated regular season record. They went 31-0 in the regular season. Other recent undefeated teams are 2013-2014 Wichita St., 2014-2015 Kentucky, and 2020-2021 Gonzaga.

Per CBS Bracketology, Miami is currently at a 10 seed.

The Big Time Players

A couple of players that have done exceptionally well this season are Peter Suder, Eian Elmer, Brant Byers, and Luke Skaljac.

Peter Suder is an absolute dog. At 6’5, 215, he’s got a quick first step and goes downhill towards the basket for easy buckets. As the MAC player of the year, he’s a sniper from three-point range. He had a game winner in overtime against Buffalo back in January. Click this link to take a look!

Another standout is Eian Elmer. At 6’6 on the wing, he’s an amazing talent. He’s also a somewhat local guy out of Taft High School in Covington, KY. He shoots the lights out from three and also likes the midrange. He also has had his fair share of clutch buckets like Suder’s. He hit the three in regulation to force overtime.

Another special player for them is Brant Byers. The red-shirt sophomore out of Pennsylvania is an absolute beast. Last season, he was selected as MAC freshman of the year and shot 41.4% from three. He’s continued his career at Miami well. He’s been cashing in on threes the whole season and also likes to get to the basket because of his 6’8 frame.

Luke Skaljac has been a force to be reckoned with. He knocks down threes, gets in the paint, hits tough midranges, and plays solid defense. For his small build, he’s a solid player that has contributed a ton to the undefeated season.

Coach Travis Steele

Head coach of the Miami Redhawks since 2022, he has done great his first couple of years. He started out at some small schools and was then an assistant at Indiana from 2006-2008. He then moved to Xavier in 2009 and started out as an assistant and was then moved to head coach in 2018 until he took the Miami job. This season, he won MAC coach of the year.

How about this coaching job by Steele this year. Steele and the coaching staff have instilled in this team, toughness, determination, and perseverance. Achieving a perfect regular season record isn’t easy. However, with the right coach and the right players, it can happen.

Tournament Hopes

The MAC tournament for the Redhawks starts on Thursday, March 12th against the University of Massachusetts Minute Men. They’ve beaten this team once before 86-77 back in February. Unfortunately, they got outplayed and lost by three. U Mass knocked them down a peg, however, they still hope to get a bid from their undefeated season.

My Prediction

In my opinion, now that Miami is out of the question for the MAC championship, they will get in the NCAA Tournament. I think they will get at least a 13 or 14 seed.

If they would have won the MAC, they probably could have gotten at least an 11 or 10 seed. It all depends on seeding, but I hope they can at least have a chance to win their first-round game. Because if they play a decent Power 5 conference team, which they most likely will, they’re going to get crushed.

We’ll all have to sit and watch the selection show on Sunday to see who they’re going to play. The tournament will be a true test to see if they can compete against the big boys of the Power 5.