Miami (Ohio) sits at 24-0, the lone unbeaten squad in Division I basketball, and no one outside Oxford saw this coming.
The RedHawks hadn’t been ranked in the AP Top 25 since February 15, 1999, when Wally Szczerbiak was dropping 43 on Washington in the NCAA Tournament and leading a 10-seed to the Sweet 16. Now, more than a quarter century later, they’re back in the polls at No. 23 and doing something no other team in the country can claim: winning every single game.
Arizona’s loss at Kansas on Feb. 9 ended a 23-game Wildcats run and left Miami standing alone atop the unbeaten list. The No. 1 team in America fell in Allen Fieldhouse. The MAC team from a small Ohio town kept rolling.
How Travis Steele Built the Nation’s Best Offense
Three years ago, Travis Steele walked into Millett Hall for his first game as Miami’s head coach. Roughly 20 people showed up. The RedHawks lost that night and 19 more times that season, finishing 12-20.
The turnaround has been methodical and relentless. Last season Miami won a school-record 25 games and reached the MAC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2007. This year the RedHawks have taken another leap entirely.
They lead the nation in scoring at nearly 93 points per game. They rank first in field goal percentage and are among the national leaders in effective field goal percentage. They’ve set the MAC record for longest win streak to start a season, surpassing the 1975-76 Western Michigan team that opened 19-0.
The offense operates with unusual freedom. Steele trusts his players to read, react, and find the best shot rather than running rigid sets.
“The connectivity our guys have is elite, and I think it shows on both ends of the floor,” Steele said. “Our guys are just worried about the greater good and making each other better.”
When starting point guard Evan Ipsaro tore his ACL in late December, the program didn’t panic. Luke Skaljac stepped into the starting lineup, and Miami kept winning. Brant Byers leads the team at nearly 15 points per game. Peter Suder adds around 14 and operates as the team’s glue guy, leading in assists while shooting over 45% from three.
“We’re totally unflappable,” Steele said after a recent close call. “Calm, cool, collected, confident.”
The RedHawks have needed that composure. They’ve escaped multiple overtime games, including a wild 105-102 win over Buffalo in January that required Eian Elmer’s buzzer-beating three just to force the extra period.
Weak Schedule Could Hurt NCAA Tournament Hopes
Miami’s critics have a point: the RedHawks haven’t played anyone. Their strength of schedule ranks near the bottom of Division I. Three of their wins came against non-Division I opponents. They won’t face a single-ranked team all season.
Szczerbiak, who still follows the program closely, understands the bind his alma mater is in.
“Unfortunately, because nobody would play them in the nonconference, it looks like an at-large bid would be tough,” he said. “You have to have the attitude where there’s only one way to get into the NCAA Tournament, and that’s to win the MAC Championship.”
That tournament, likely against Akron or Kent State, represents everything. Miami hasn’t won the MAC or made the Dance since 2007. The selection committee has never been kind to mid-majors with soft schedules, regardless of record.
But Szczerbiak doesn’t think the RedHawks have anything left to prove during the regular season. They’ve dominated everyone put in front of them. They’ve won on the road, at home, and on neutral courts.
The remaining schedule is manageable. Ohio comes to Millett Hall on Friday for the Battle of the Bricks, the first of seven games standing between Miami and a potential undefeated regular season.
Steele built this program from near nothing. Szczerbiak delivered the last moment of genuine national relevance in 1999. The RedHawks are asking everyone to pay attention again.
They’ve earned it.