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Big Ten tournament heats up in Chicago as Northwestern advances, Illinois awaits matchup
Round three tips off at the United Center as Northwestern prepares to face Purdue, Illinois waits for its opponent, and all eyes turn to Selection Sunday and star freshman Keaton Wagler.
CLEVELAND - No. 20 Miami (Ohio) dropped its Mid-American Conference Tournament opener to UMass 87-83 on Thursday, spoiling the last perfect record in Division I men’s basketball.
Daniel Hankins-Sanford made a tiebreaking layup with 29 seconds remaining, and the Minutemen escaped with victory in a quarterfinal game that had 12 lead changes and 10 ties.
The RedHawks (31-1) were the fifth men’s Division I program this century to go undefeated during the regular season. Now it’s the second to get tripped up in its conference tournament. St. Joseph’s lost to Xavier in the 2004 Atlantic 10 quarterfinals but was still a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
What we know:
Miami was the first squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into a conference tournament.
The RedHawks had eight one-possession games during the regular season, including their last three coming into the MAC Tournament.
There were some doubts about the RedHawks earning an at-large berth. Those quieted after a win over Ohio last Friday but might perk up again after this.
After Hankins-Sanford's layup, Miami's Luke Skaljac made a bad pass and turned the ball over to Marcus Banks, who made two free throws to make it a two-possession game.
Brant Byers was fouled on a 3-point attempt but made only two of three free throws. Banks iced the game with another pair of free throws with 8 seconds left.
Leonardo Bettiol led UMass (17-15) with 25 points while Banks added 18 and Jayden Ndjigue 16.
Byers led Miami with 17 points, and Eian Elmer added 16.
Miami had a 69-58 lead with 8:11 remaining before UMass rallied back with a 13-2 run. Ndjigue had six points, including a 3-pointer to tie it at 71.
The backstory:
The Miami RedHawks have already reached a milestone by becoming the fifth men’s Division I program this century to go undefeated during the regular season.
Travis Steele’s team knows the stakes rise when the Mid-American Conference Tournament begins Thursday in Cleveland with a game against UMass.
"You’ve got to put a bow on the regular season and act like it’s 0-0 for everybody and go out there and win three games," said senior guard Peter Suder, the MAC Player of the Year. "It’s easier said than done, obviously, but we had a great regular season."
The No. 20 RedHawks were the first squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into a conference tournament. St. Joseph's (2003-04), Wichita State (2013-14), and Kentucky (2014-15) also went unbeaten through the regular season.
St. Joseph's is the only team this century to get tripped up in its conference tournament. The Hawks lost to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals but were still a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Miami, which has its first MAC regular-season title since 2004-05, is also the first team since Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1978-79 to go into its conference tournament unbeaten after not being ranked in the preseason Associated Press poll.
"We’ve had a great year so far. Now it’s that next step. It’s almost like chapter two, and we get to write our own story, and it starts with UMass on Thursday morning," said Steele, who was a unanimous selection for MAC Coach of the Year.
The RedHawks had eight one-possession games during the regular season, including their last three. Last Friday’s 110-108 overtime win at Ohio was the first time they beat the Bobcats on the road since 2011.
Doubts about the RedHawks earning an at-large berth have quieted since the win at Ohio.
"It’s not even debatable. Those kids belong in the tournament over teams who have mediocre records, but because they play in a power conference, they get the edge because all the metrics that are designed for seeing who gets in as an at-large team all favor the power conferences," said ESPN’s Dick Vitale. "I can’t see the logic of taking teams with 14, 15 losses over a team that has zero losses right now and might lose one game in a tournament. Give me a break. It makes no sense."
TNT Sports' Charles Barkley, who will call a game with Vitale during the First Four, agreed that Miami has earned its spot.
"No matter what happens in this tournament, they should be in," he said. "My biggest problem with Miami is that I think it’s unfair when people talk about their schedule. Why are they getting penalized? Because the other teams in their conference are not good. That’s not fair to them."
Miami enters the MAC Tournament leading Division I in field goal percentage (52.6%) and ranking second in scoring offense (90.9 points per game). Six players average double figures, including Suder at 14.8 points per game.
Brant Byers (14.1 ppg) and Elan Elmer (12.5 ppg) were All-MAC second-team selections, while Luke Skaljac (10.3) was named to the third team and Antwone Woolfork (10.1) honorable mention.
Suder said he has seen the debate about Miami’s NCAA Tournament credentials but is not paying much attention.
"It’s pretty hard not to see it. It’s there every time I go on my phone to be honest, but you just have to basically push it aside, just keep scrolling past it," he said. "Going back all the way to the summer, our main goal wasn’t to go undefeated in the regular season. Our main goal is to definitely win the MAC championship."
What's next:
UMass faces either Bowling Green or Toledo in Friday’s conference tournament semifinals.
Miami (Ohio) awaits its postseason fate.
There were a few bubble teams that could help Miami. Indiana helped the Redhawks yesterday by losing to Northwestern; that all but ends the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament hopes.
UCF and Auburn could still be playing for their tournament hopes. If both lose, that helps Miami.