PHILADELPHIA – All good things must come to an end.
Miami’s magic finally ran out, falling to Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 78-56 in Philadelphia March 20. The RedHawks battled from tipoff to the final horn, but an ice-cold shooting performance doomed the RedHawks’ upset bid.
Though Tennessee has typically been a slow-paced, defensively oriented unit, it was the Volunteers’ offense that put the game out of reach early. Twenty two of Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 29 points came in the first half as the Volunteers held an insurmountable lead by halftime.
While the loss will disappoint RedHawks players, coaches, and fans alike, there’s no diminishing a historic season for Miami. Just the fifth team to complete a perfect regular season in the past 35 years, Miami’s 32-2 record is the best in school history. Miami became one of the greatest stories in the sport this season and proved they belonged on the biggest stage with an NCAA Tournament win in Dayton.
“It doesn’t take anything away from our team,” head coach Travis Steele said of the loss. “Our team had a heck of a journey. We’re everything that’s right with college athletics.”
Questions linger about Steele’s status at Miami, but those will be answered in due time. For now, the RedHawks will return to Oxford, Ohio with their heads held high.
RedHawks offense goes ice cold
After blasting in an NCAA First Four record 16 3-pointers in the 89-79 victory over SMU two days prior, Miami hoped to keep up its barrage of triples against Tennessee.
The early returns looked promising: Miami hit three of four deep shots out of the gates, taking a quick lead over the Volunteers. But on short rest and playing its second tournament game in roughly 40 hours, Miami’s legs began to falter. Miami missed its next eight long-range attempts, racking up six airballs in the half.
Tennessee was prepared to capitalize. The Volunteers outscored the RedHawks 41-19 after the first media timeout, leading by as many as 20 points before halftime. Tennessee was efficient, shooting over 50% from the floor and over 60% from 3-point range. It was a crisp offensive effort for the Volunteers, racking up 11 first-half assists with excellent ball-movement.
Miami’s Peter Suder did what he could to stem the bleeding, scoring 16 points in the half on 5-for-8 shooting. There was only so much the senior captain could do, however, as Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie exploded for 22 points and 5-for-6 shooting from deep.
“He’s a great player, an NBA player,” Suder said of Gillespie. “Tennessee played with a lot of physicality and wouldn’t let us get into our rhythm.”
Though Miami tightened up defensively in the second half, the cold shooting persisted. The RedHawks shot just 30% after the half and couldn’t take advantage of Tennessee’s lower output.
Suder finished with 27 points, leaving it all out on the court as he accounted for nearly half the team’s points. He was the only RedHawk in double-figures scoring.
After the game, both Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes and Miami’s Steele had nothing but praise for Miami’s senior captain.
“I can’t say enough about Peter Suder, he’s the real deal,” Barnes said. “We couldn’t do anything with him, he was terrific.”
“He’s the ultimate winner, man. Everything you want in a young man, that guy is,” Steele said of Suder.
Miami wraps up historic season
Though the season didn’t end the way Miami hoped, there’s no denying just how special a season it was for Miami. The RedHawks rewrote the school record books. Just a few Miami records of note: most wins in a season (32), longest winning streak (31), longest home winning streak (31, dating to last season), and tied-highest AP poll ranking since 1953 (No. 19).
Miami’s Steele took home Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, while senior captain Peter Suder was named Player of the Year. All five of Miami’s starters earned all-conference honors. Steele is in the running for both mid-major and national coach of the year.
The RedHawks won their first MAC regular-season title in 21 years, snapped a 14-game road losing streak to rival Ohio, and became the talk of the college basketball world with their electric offense and late-game heroics. Miami ended the regular season as college basketball’s second-leading offense with 90.9 points per game.
When asked to reflect on their lasting memories of the season, neither Suder nor Steele pointed to an accolade or a win. They spoke about the bonds this team built.
“They truly play for one another. They care about each other. Deep relationships, not surfacey,” Steele said.
“I have so much fun playing with those guys and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Suder added.
But perhaps larger than any on-court result or national headlines, the RedHawks brought a new energy to Miami University’s campus. Millett Hall, which had been an empty shell even in Steele’s first season, became one of the loudest environment’s in college basketball. The student body, alumni network, and Oxford community rallied around the program in a way that should have lasting impacts for the future of the program.
Steele, for his part, says this season’s success is only a sign of more to come.
“My goal is to get this thing to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament,” Steele said. “We fell short of that goal this year, but we’ll be back. I’m very, very confident of that.”
While it may be tough for the RedHawks to feel after a tough exit from March Madness, the 2025-26 squad has imprinted itself firmly in the lore of college basketball.
Against all odds, for at least one shining moment, Miami University was the epicenter of college hoops.
What’s next for Travis Steele, RedHawks?
Though the disappointment of Miami’s loss may linger in Oxford, time waits for no one.
Of utmost concern for Miami fans is Travis Steele’s contract extension. In the midst of the RedHawks historic run, Miami offered Steele a massive contract extension through the 2033-34 season. The deal would make Steele the highest-paid coach in the Mid-American Conference, but he’ll have to weigh that against the offers he receives from power-conference schools.
Steele, the former head coach at Xavier University, has publicly expressed how much he loves Miami and how happy his family is living in Cincinnati. One potential opening to watch is at Butler University. Steele is a Butler Alumnus and Indianapolis-area native, and Butler’s previous coach Thad Matta announced his retirement on March 16. Butler is a Big East job, but the Bulldogs reportedly struggle to keep pace with their conference opponents in NIL spending.
Steele says he hasn’t talked to a single athletic director or agent about other job openings. His focus, now that the season is over, is figuring out a deal with Miami.
“We want to be at Miami,” Steele told The Enquirer. “Hopefully we can figure out a deal here in the next couple of weeks.”
Miami University has committed to becoming a perennial power not just in the MAC, but in all of mid-major basketball. A new $281 million basketball arena and athletic center was approved in February, and athletic director David Sayler has signaled the university is all-in on athletics success. Whether these promises will be enough to retain Steele after arguably the best season in program history remains to be seen, but the commitment to building a powerhouse is certainly present.
“Retaining (Steele) is very important to me and to the instituition,” Sayler told The Enquirer. “We want to just continue to build on this momentum going forward.”
If Steele leaves, will the core of the RedHawks roster stick in Oxford? Eian Elmer, Brant Byers and Luke Skaljac will all draw serious attention in the NCAA transfer portal, with other Miami contributors likely to find other homes if they so desire.
No matter what happens, Antwone Woolfolk and Suder, the MAC Player of the year, will be moving on. Eli Yofan, who is the only player to stay with Steele all four seasons, will also call it a career.
“They’ve left a legacy of how things are done,” Steele said of his seniors. “I’m so proud. They had to believe in that vision that I had, and they’ve been a big part of this thing.”
While questions of team retention wait to be answered, the RedHawks will return to Oxford to celebrate one of the greatest seasons in program history.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami RedHawks’ season to remember comes to an end in NCAA Tournament.
Reporting by Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
