Why ‘Unflappable’ Miami RedHawks Are Built For The Madness Of March

The pressure of March proves too big for many hopeful NCAA teams.

The Miami RedHawks are not one of those teams.

Of all the traits of the historically impressive 31-0 RedHawks, their ability to meet the moment is their most impressive and the one that will no doubt serve them well in this week in Cleveland and presumably, next week wherever their NCAA dance schedule begins.

Why?

Critics can argue about Miami’s strength of schedule or that their luck will eventually run out. What the naysayers can’t argue is Miami’s resilience close and late. They’ve had an answer every time their perfect mark was challenged. This quality is perhaps the most crucial for any team that hopes to advance. Do teams know how to get the ball in the hands of their best players when the game is on the line?

For Miami, that means Peter Suder, Luke Skaljac, Eian Elmer and lately, Trey Perry, who beat the buzzer against Western Michigan in overtime. Miami knows that any of those players can be difference makers with the ball in their hands. Brant Byers has knocked down big threes all season. Almar Atlason and Antwone Woolfolk are averaging over 10 points per game. Miami has seven players averaging in double figures.

Consider:

Statistical Dominance in Close Games

The RedHawks have proven they can win regardless of the margin or situation.
One-Possession Mastery: With the 110-108 overtime thriller, Miami improved to 9-0 in one-possession contests this season.
Comeback Ability: They rallied six times in games in which they trailed at halftime.
Clutch Volume: Seven of their 31 wins, and their last three, were decided by 5 points or fewer or occurred in overtime, including a heart-stopping 110–108 OT win over rival Ohio to cap the perfect regular slate.

Extreme Roster Continuity

Unlike many modern programs that rely on the transfer portal, head coach Travis Steele has prioritized retention.
Chemistry: Miami ranks among the top ten nationally in roster continuity, with seven significant rotation players returning from the previous season.
Experience: Many players, such as senior captain Peter Suder, were winners in high school, making them naturally “easy to coach in those big moments”.

“Unflappable” Team Culture

Coach Steele attributes their resilience to a lack of individual ego and a “read and react” offensive system that empowers players. Steele has spoken of the “unflappable” quality of his team in those “close and late” moments. Steele recalled one moment in particular between Eian Elmer and Brant Byers during Friday’s win in Athens. Steele believes that because the players “do it for others” rather than themselves, they feel less individual pressure.

“We’re not perfect, like we’ll miss a guy (on an open look). Eian and should have kicked it to Brant one time in transition, and Brant was upset. But you know what? He went over to Brant in a timeout said, ‘You know what? My bad.’ He took ownership of it, right? We don’t let things fester. We’re like a family, family. We’re brothers. Brothers. Fight sometimes, right? But we love each other. We have that true love, and I think that shows the way that we play.”

Elite Offensive Execution

When the game is on the line, Miami relies on a highly efficient offensive machine. They lead the nation in field goal percentage (52.6%) and are first in 3-point field goal percentage. Steele uses an oversized backcourt to hunt for mismatches, allowing bigger players like Brant Byers and Eian Elmer to exploit smaller guards in crunch time. Of course, the flip side of that is what happens when the RedHawks go up against a bigger team just as athletic as they are. What will happen when Miami has to defend 6-10, 6-8 and 7-0?

2026 MAC Tournament Schedule:
The RedHawks will begin their postseason journey at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Thursday morning (11 am ET) against No. 8 UMass, a team they beat twice in the regular season. If they win, they will take on the winner of the (No. 4) Toledo- (No. 5) Bowling Green contest on Friday. The title game is set for Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Peter Suder: The “Clutch” Catalyst
Senior guard Peter Suder has been the primary engine behind Miami’s ability to win close games. He leads the team in scoring (14.8 PPG) and has delivered multiple game-defining plays this season.

Season-Defining Winner: Hit a dramatic go-ahead three-pointer with just over one second remaining in overtime to defeat Buffalo 105–102.
Regular Season Clincher: Scored 19 points and recorded 3 steals in a 74–72 victory over Toledo to secure the MAC regular-season title.
Overtime Specialist: In the regular-season finale against rival Ohio, he scored 5 of the team’s 10 overtime points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds left. Beyond scoring, Suder is a defensive anchor, averaging 1.4 steals per game and leading the team in “high-IQ” playmaking with 3.9 assists per game.

Miami is just the fifth team this century to head into their conference tournament unbeaten. And by finishing the regular season 31-0, Miami became only the eighth team in the past 50 years of college basketball to enter postseason play undefeated. They join an elite group that includes:

Indiana (1976) National Champion
Indiana State (1979) National runner-up
UNLV (1991) National runner-up
St. Joseph’s (2004) Lost In Elite 8
Wichita State (2014) Lost in Second round
Kentucky (2015) Lost in National semi-final
Gonzaga (2021) National runner-up

Phil Martelli, head coach of that 2003-04 St. Joe’s team had advice for Steele and how to handle perfection.

“I talked to Phil Martelli, was a former St Joe’s head coach, probably about a month and a half ago,” Steele said. “We started reaching out to him and just for advice, like, he’s been through it, like, everywhere you go, it’s like, it feels like it’s a freaking Super Bowl, and how to keep it loose, because I don’t want that pressure to set in with our guys that tighten up. He gave me some really good advice, some things that he wishes he would have done differently, or some things that he loved that he did. But it is when you think about how many teams have done that throughout college basketball, man, it’s incredible. It’s incredible, but it just shows the character that we have in our locker room as human beings. We have really good basketball players, but we got we got better people.”