March Madness bracket: Miami (Ohio) shuts down doubters with First Four win over SMU
Sorry, skeptics. After weeks of heated debate over their NCAA tournament worthiness, the RedHawks seized the opportunity to prove they belong.
This wasn’t just a victory over SMU. It was a victory over the skeptics too. After weeks of heated debate over Miami (Ohio)’s NCAA tournament worthiness, the RedHawks seized their opportunity to prove they belong.
The team that has inspired 1,000 scorching-hot takes quieted its critics on Wednesday night by taking down SMU 89-79 to advance from the First Four to the NCAA tournament’s main draw. Finally free from the target-on-the-back pressure that came with trying to keep an undefeated season alive at the end of MAC play, Miami regained the fearlessness and flow that were its trademarks earlier in the season. The reinvigorated RedHawks hoisted 41 threes and buried 16 of them, building a 14-point cushion with seven minutes left and holding off SMU’s desperate attempts to rally.
By the time Eian Elmer rebounded Jaron Pierre Jr. ’s off-target 3-point attempt with 20 seconds to go, it was clear this was Miami’s moment. Miami coach Travis Steele signaled for noise from an already raucous red-clad crowd.
The fans who had traveled about an hour from Miami’s campus in Oxford, Ohio, responded with a deafening roar. Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes Never again could anyone credibly claim that this 31-win Miami team wasn’t good enough to compete with NCAA tournament-caliber competition. Never again could anyone credibly call the RedHawks a schedule-aided fraud.
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