Three area teams would appear to have destiny in their own hands as they dream of reaching the annual dance known simply as March Madness.
In addition to just reaching the tournament for the first time since 1999, Miami is looking to make history. Cincinnati has already made a major turnaround from 11-12 to the “bubble” and Dayton, likewise, has gone from calls for the job of their head coach to the brink of NCAA tournament consideration.
Let’s start with the biggest regional (if not national) story in college basketball, the Miami RedHawks.
No. 19 Miami looks to continue its historic run when they travel to archrival Ohio in a Mid-American Conference rematch to close out the regular season Friday night in Athens, Ohio.
Miami (30-0, 17-0), the nation’s only unbeaten team, became just the 15th squad in Division I men’s basketball history to win its first 30 games of the season when they held off Toledo, 74-72, Tuesday night in Oxford, Ohio. Ohio (15-15, 9-8) has lost back-to-back games and is coming off a 94-82 loss at UMass on Tuesday in Amherst, Mass.
Miami entered the national spotlight this week after former Auburn coach-turned-basketball TV analyst Bruce Pearl criticized the RedHawks for an undefeated record he said was not worthy of the NCAA tournament unless they captured the MAC tournament title in Cleveland next week.
Miami answered the criticism with a win over Toledo that clinched its conference-record 22nd regular season MAC championship and its first in 21 years.
“I like Bruce,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “I do. Hey, Bruce is a great guy. I’m not calling Bruce and asking him for his opinion. I could care less what heck he says. We control our own destiny. Let’s prepare the right way. Let’s focus on the right things.”
The two teams met on Feb. 13 at Miami, with the RedHawks pulling away in the second half for a 90-74 win. Five different RedHawks scored in double figures, led by Brant Byers with 21 points and Peter Suder with 20.
“We gotta move on quick to Ohio,” Steele said. “We still got a lot of season left, but this is a big deal. This is awesome. I’m so happy for our guys. That was one of our goals that we had beginning the years when the regular season title. Check.”
The RedHawks are aiming to become the first Mid-American Conference team to finish the regular season unbeaten in both conference play and overall.
“I want to finish this season undefeated,” Steele added. “I want to win at Ohio. That’s a rivalry game. It’s a players’ game. Our guys are going to be excited to play. I know their guys will be excited to play as well. And then, can we go win the MAC tournament up in Cleveland? We want to leave absolutely no doubt, absolutely no doubt who the heck we are.”
In its last game, Ohio led 73-72 before UMass scored 11 straight and finished the game on a 22-9 run.
Jackson Paveletzke, who had 22 against Miami in the first meeting, led the Bobcats against UMass with 24 points, three rebounds and seven assists. Javan Simmons added 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists. Kiir Kuany got his first career start, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds.
Since losing at home to West Virginia to fall to 11-12, sparking the Wes Miller post-game moment with fans outside the men’s basketball locker room, the Bearcats have been a different team. Starting a lineup Day Day Thomas, Jizzle James, Jalen Celestine, Moustapha Thiam and Baba Miller has had something to do with it, too.
Now, a crucial game with NCAA tournament “bubble” ramifications takes place Saturday as Cincinnati visits TCU in the Big 12 regular season finale for both teams in Fort Worth, Texas.
Cincinnati enters the contest as one of the nation’s hottest teams and pushing hard for a potential at-large berth in the NCAA tournament by winning six of seven.
“I do believe in my heart when it’s all said and done we’ll play in the NCAA Tournament,” Miller said after their latest win, a 90-68 win over BYU Tuesday. “The only thing that we’re doing is trying to win the next day.”
TCU (20-10, 10-7) has also won seven of eight, including four straight, and is coming off one of its most impressive wins of the season, a 73-65 decision at No. 10 Texas Tech, giving them a record-10 Big 12 wins.
TCU won the rebounding battle, 39-25, and 16-7 on the offensive glass.
“It’s what we’re emphasizing,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “Our offensive rebounding has improved these last eight games or so. We’ve taken it up a whole another notch. They’ve handled it well and they’ve known when it was time to get down to business. I think that’s part of this growth, this improvement.”
Cincinnati has won seven of the eight previous meetings between the two schools.
With a win, TCU clinches at least a No. 6 seed for the upcoming Big 12 tournament, and could improve to No. 4, earning a double-bye in the tournament. TCU is ensured of at least a first-round bye.
There’s much more at stake for Cincinnati. A win Saturday would clinch a first-round bye as one of the top eight seeds while a loss would likely see the Bearcats fall to the No. 10 or 11 seed, which would force them into a Tuesday first-round game.
David Punch leads TCU with 13.6 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per contest, while big man Xavier Edmonds is averaging 13.0 points per game and a team-leading 6.8 boards. Micah Robinson (10.7 ppg) and Jayden Pierre (10.2 ppg) also score in double figures for the Horned Frogs.
Miller continues to dominate for the Bearcats, averaging 13.8 points, 10.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game. He is one of three players in college basketball this season averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, joining Duke’s Cameron Boozer (22.6, 10.0, 4.0) and Butler’s Michael Ajayi (16.4, 11.1, 3.1). Dating back to 1996-97, no Cincinnati player has compiled those numbers over a full season.
The Flyers won another hard-fought road thriller on Tuesday, topping Richmond 65-60 on the backs of a furious final minute from senior Jordan Derkack, who turned a tie game into the five-point final advantage. Now comes one of the biggest tests of the year to close out the regular season before the A10 tournament in Pittsburgh.
VCU (23-7, 14-3 A-10) also pulled out a five-point victory on Tuesday, taking down George Mason 70-65 in the Siegel Center.
In the must-have game against Richmond, Dayton was led by junior De’Shayne Montgomery against the Spiders, as the guard scored 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Like Cincinnati, Dayton was hearing calls for a coaching change as Anthony Grant’s team dropped to 14-8 following a 31-point loss at St. Louis on Jan. 30. But Tuesday’s win gave Dayton six straight wins and hopes of a run in the A10 tournament. A run to the title game could land them an at-large berth.
One of the greatest college environments in the country will be rocking Friday night at UD Arena hosts Senior Night with a lot on the line.
As for Xavier (13-15, 5-12 Big East), Wright State (Horizon) and Northern Kentucky (Horizon), all three will have to win their respective tournaments to reach The Dance.
