The J

Please note: In this article I will be referring to Miami University located in Oxford, Ohio as ‘Miami.’

The Good:

The Miami RedHawks are undefeated. Not only are they 27-0 and the last undefeated Division One basketball team in the nation, but they are also ranked 21st in the most recent AP Poll. 

The RedHawks are an impressively efficient offense, ranking 4th in Effective FG% (60.1). They are also 7th in the nation in minutes continuity from last season (60.6%) and have clearly improved their diligence with the ball (14.9% Turnover %) in Travis Steele’s 4th year at the helm. Since the 2021 Gonzaga Bulldogs, no team has completed an undefeated regular season. And even before them, only 2014 Wichita St. and 2015 Kentucky have done the feat since the turn of the century. What is being done in Oxford is by no means anything to sneeze at.

The Bad

With that understood, this 27-0 team has struggled to gain any real postseason traction, maybe for good reason. Despite being 27-0, Miami is ranked 84th in KenPom and 76th in Torvik ratings. On both of these sites, Miami is ranked under their MAC comrade, Akron. The Akron Zips are 68th on KenPom and 73rd on Torvik. They also have Miami beat in offensive efficiency, 3pt%, and overall strength of schedule. Still, Miami does deserve credit for winning their matchup in early January, even if it was only by one possession.

Here is a list of Miami’s 5 best wins on the year according to KenPom rating: (5) at Toledo, (4) vs Bowling Green, (3) at Wright State, (2) at Kent State (OT), and (1) vs Akron. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that these are not tournament-quality teams, by any means. The only KP top 60 team with a negative net rating is SLU, and they are the only one with less than a +3.5 until SMC. For context, Miami currently has a net rating of -5.86.

The Ugly

Unfortunately, these things aren’t simply cut and dry. There is no right answer here. A person who tells you they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and someone who will say they don’t deserve to be in the tournament at all have equal invalidity. Miami should get a bid into the tournament (assuming an unbeaten regular season), in my opinion, even if they lose in the MAC championship. That is the nice thing about having a 64-team tournament (please do not add any more teams): the opportunity to give these weird teams a chance to prove themselves. Still, there is more complexity to this situation than at first glance.

This isn’t a random mid-major scheduling a cupcake schedule to walk their way into a low NCAA Tournament seed. Instead, it’s a talented mid-major who, because of their talent and continuity, found no buyers when they went knocking for high-D1 opponents.

Without fully diving into the semantics of how D1 basketball teams schedule each other, for high-major programs it doesn’t make logistical sense to play a mid-major to play you in non-conference play.

The core idea behind it is if Illinois beats Miami, they are just doing what they should and get no change in Net/AP/KP/tournament resume. Yet if they lose, their season takes a massive hit in every way.

There is a larger issue that connects here. In the current NIL and Transfer Portal iteration of college basketball, non-power conference programs are being left behind. This isn’t a completely new thing. High-major players have been rumored to have been paid under the table for a long time, not even to mention the funding difference in coaches, training, and facilities. Still, it has never been as clear of an advantage as current-day college basketball. Have more money, pay the better players. Even if you are a mid-major who finds and develops a star in their own right, they will be swiftly lifted to the millions in NIL that current programs have to offer. 

Because of this, March Madness and the Cinderellas, therefore, will lose out on the whole exchange. Miami is a dying breed. I say give them a chance to prove the whole system wrong in the time of year where magic happens: March. 

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