DAYTON, Ohio -- Miami (Ohio) found itself in a unique position Wednesday night at the First Four.
The RedHawks had been a polarizing 30-win team in the lead-up to NCAA tournament selections. Was Miami good, or just a product of a weak schedule? Were all the major conference teams that avoided the RedHawks being silly or smart? After a 31-1 start, Miami made the NCAA field, but just barely as an at-large, and would tip off in the First Four, just 40 miles from its campus in Oxford, Ohio.
The 11th-seeded RedHawks were 6.5-point underdogs against SMU, even though neither they nor the thousands who came to support them felt that way.
"The reason people love March Madness is they love to see quote, unquote, upsets," coach Travis Steele said. "This wasn't an upset tonight, at all."
Miami left no doubt about its tournament viability, or the historic path it has taken, beating SMU 89-79 at UD Arena. The RedHawks led for most of the game, recorded their largest victory margin and made their most 3-pointers (16) in an NCAA tournament game and posted their highest scoring total in a tournament contest since 1958. They advanced to face No. 6 seed Tennessee in a first-round Midwest Region matchup Friday in Philadelphia.
Steele said he believed his team was better than SMU coming into Wednesday's game, and his players proved him right.
"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 said. "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 did not face a power conference team in nonleague play -- the school repeatedly stated that those schools did not want to schedule the RedHawks -- and went 31-0 in the regular season before falling to UMass last week in the Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinals. Despite all of Miami's winning, a schedule strength that hovered near the bottom of Division I created an odd at-large profile for the tournament selection committee to consider.
"I mean, we had to basically be perfect in the whole regular season to get that at-large," Steele said.
A MAC team had not earned an at-large berth since 1999, when Miami rode All-American Wally Szczerbiak to the Sweet 16. The RedHawks were one of the last at-large teams in and began their first tournament appearance since 2007 in nearby Dayton.
The positive was Wednesday's crowd, red and raucous, erupting with every 3-pointer and scoring burst from the RedHawks. Former Miami and NBA star Ron Harper was among the supporters and celebrated in the locker room.
Miami players frequently acknowledged their supporters, including Luke Skaljac, whose 3-pointer with 7:15 left forced SMU to call timeout.
"That was a great crowd, a home game for Miami," SMU coach Andy Enfield said. "They probably had 12,000 fans here. Felt like 40 or 50,000."
The crowd included Miami's men's swim and dive team, some wearing only Speedos and caps, who sprinted down the aisle behind SMU's basket early in the second half to distract free throw shooter Corey Washington, just as they do at Millett Hall, Miami's home court.
"What really surprised me was the swim team, when they came out," forward Antwone Woolfolk said. "That was elite."
Miami's willingness to take and make 3-pointers propelled its offense, as the team had more made 3s (10) than 2-point attempts (9) in the first half. But the undersized RedHawks also held up inside, as the rebounding was even at 35. They collected 12 offensive boards, including Suder's with 3:08 to play that set up a 3-pointer by Eian Elmer that increased the lead to 81-68.
Steele challenged his team after the UMass loss, as the RedHawks were outrebounded 41-24 and allowed 54 points in the paint and 23 second-chance points.
"We crashed the glass," said 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 performance reinforced Steele's pregame theme: attack.
"Our guys deserve to be in this position," he said. "I felt like we were the better team going into the game was. And I think our guys have that real belief. That's the most powerful thing you can have."
Miami now gets another power conference opponent in Tennessee, and further success means similar opponents will follow. But the RedHawks had the tournament stage Wednesday night.
How many more people know about Miami (Ohio) now?
"I don't even know, I can't even count," Suder said, smiling. "But it's definitely a lot."
