Casual men's college basketball fans might not be surprised to see Miami ranked in the AP poll with about a month left in the regular season. After all, the Hurricanes reached the Final Four in 2023. But it's actually Miami (Ohio) that finds itself ranked among the best teams in the country. With a narrow victory over Buffalo on Tuesday night, the RedHawks improved to 23–0 on the season. The only other undefeated team in men's college basketball this season is Arizona.
Buffalo (14–9, 4–7 in MAC play) came dangerously close to spoiling Miami's unblemished record. After Miami's 10–0 run early in the second half opened up an 11-point lead, the Bulls clawed back and evened the score at 64–64 with 5:43 left to play. The RedHawks seemed to have the game essentially wrapped up when Luke Skaljac hit a pull-up jumper from the free throw line to make it 72–66 with 1:35 remaining. But Miami proceeded to miss several clutch free throws in the final minute and allowed Buffalo to have one last attempt to win it at the buzzer. Ryan Sabol's contested three-pointer as time expired was short, and Miami escaped with the victory.
The question now is whether Miami can continue its unbeaten run. Wins have not come easily for the RedHawks lately. Last Tuesday, they squeaked out an 86–84 win at home over UMass. Their two games before that (home against Buffalo and at Kent State) were both overtime victories. But at the same time, Miami has already won the most difficult game on its schedule—against defending MAC champion Akron. The RedHawks won that one, 76–73, on Jan. 3.
The big knock on Miami, as you begin to consider its chances of becoming a March Madness Cinderella, is its exceptionally soft schedule. The RedHawks rank 314th out of 365 Division I teams in strength of schedule, according to Sports Reference. KenPom puts their SOS even lower at 329th. The non-conference schedule was especially weak, featuring three games against non-Division I opponents. KenPom ranks it as the third-easiest out-of-conference schedule in the nation.
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