The Miami University RedHawks are 20-0 to start the season. It’d be hard to blame you if you didn’t have that on your bingo card at the turn of the new year. After all, the school hasn’t made the tournament field since the 06-07 season (although the RedHawks couldn’t have come closer than last season’s MAC Championship game).
However, head coach Travis Steele wasn’t worried about anyone’s expectations outside the program, and his players don’t seem to be, either. Miami finally found itself in the AP top 25 on Monday afternoon, after dropping a banger of a slogan: rank us or play us. It’s something the other teams in the MAC know took laughably too long.
“The fact that Miami (OH) just got ranked this week is a joke. Those guys are really good. It’s a really good league. They should have been ranked two weeks ago,” said UMass Minutemen head coach Frank Martin ahead of his team’s January 27th matchup with the Redhawks.
Still, the RedHawks know that with all of the media attention they’re finally, and deservedly, getting, they’ll have to take everyone’s best shot the rest of the way, and that proved true in both Saturday’s clash with the Buffalo Bulls, which came down to a game winning three-pointer from Peter Suder in overtime, and Tuesday night’s road contest against the Kent State Golden Flashes, which was just as close.
After squandering a 14-point halftime advantage, the Redhawks managed to score a game-tying layup in the final minutes of regulation and never looked back, dominating the overtime period.
Respect the RedHawks‼️#RiseUpRedHawks pic.twitter.com/Dfoo5Q1EuX
— Miami Athletics (@MiamiRedHawks) January 21, 2026
For anyone who hasn’t already realized it, these aren’t fluke performances; the RedHawks are the real deal. Per ESPN, Miami boasts the highest field goal percentage in the country at 54% and the second-highest scoring offense with 94.6 points per game. The RedHawks are no slouches on the other end, either, and have long, rangy players up and down the roster.
Keep counting out the Hawks, at your own peril, but they can’t bust your bracket if you already have them making a deep run.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.