Miami (Ohio) makes a March Madness statement with an 89-79 win over SMU in the First Four

DAYTON, Ohio — Eian Elmer scored 22 points and Miami (Ohio) beat SMU 89-79 on Wednesday night in the First Four for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 27 years. Elmer went 6 of 9 from 3-point range as the 11th-seeded RedHawks (32-1), unbeaten during the regular season, advanced in the Midwest Region to play No. 6 seed Tennessee.

Brant Byers added 19 points, including four 3s, and Luke Skaljac had 17 points for Miami, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. The RedHawks finished 16 of 41 from 3-point range. Jaden Toombs led SMU (20-14) with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 18 points and Boopie Miller had 15 for the Mustangs. Miami went 31-0 during a captivating regular season — the only Division I team to go unbeaten in 2025-26 and just the eighth undefeated regular season in the past 50 years.

But the RedHawks lost their MAC Tournament opener to UMass, putting their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy because of a schedule that ranked 339th in overall strength and featured no Quadrant 1 games. Some analysts and critics questioned whether they belonged in the field with an at-large bid, but Miami silenced some skeptics Wednesday with a rousing victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. Peter Suder had the assist of the night when he gathered an outlet pass from Skaljac and bounced a pass across the paint to Elmer, who caught it and scored with one hand to put the RedHawks ahead 20-13.