Miami (Ohio) downs SMU in First Four: 'Deserve' to be here

Miami (Ohio) defeated SMU 89-79 in the First Four at UD Arena, advancing to the NCAA tournament's first round in the Midwest Region to face No. 6 seed Tennessee in Philadelphia.

“DAYTON, Ohio -- Miami (Ohio) found itself in a unique position Wednesday night at the First Four”

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The 11th-seeded RedHawks, underdogs by 6.5 points, led most of the game and posted their largest victory margin, powered by 16 three-pointers—the most Miami has made in an NCAA tournament game—and their highest scoring total in a tournament contest since 1958.

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Miami earned an at-large berth despite a schedule that largely avoided major-conference nonconference games, having gone 31-0 in the regular season before a MAC tournament quarterfinal loss to UMass to finish 31-1.

A MAC team had not earned an at-large berth since 1999, and Miami was one of the last at-large entrants in, marking its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007 in nearby Dayton.

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On the floor, Miami leaned into perimeter shooting and rebounding, hitting 16 three-pointers and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds while finishing with 35 total boards.

“DAYTON, Ohio -- Miami (Ohio) found itself in a unique position Wednesday night at the First Four”

ESPN

A late sequence featured Luke Skaljac's 3-pointer with 7:15 left that forced SMU to call a timeout, and Peter Suder's 3:08 remaining basket widened the lead to 81-68 after a setup by Eian Elmer.

Coach Travis Steele had challenged the team to crash the glass after the UMass loss, a message Antwone Woolfolk endorsed when he said, 'We crashed the glass.'

The atmosphere was boosted by a large home crowd including former Miami star Ron Harper, and SMU coach Andy Enfield credited the crowd's energy, saying, 'They probably had 12,000 fans here. Felt like 40 or 50,000.'

Coach Travis Steele said, 'Our guys deserve to be in this position. I felt like we were the better team going into the game, and I think our guys have that real belief.'

Peter Suder added, '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.'

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Miami now advances to face Tennessee, marking a milestone for the program and inviting broader national attention as they pursue the tournament's next rounds.