No. 22 Miami (Ohio), the lone remaining unbeaten team in college basketball, has had its share of Houdini-like escapes to keep its perfect record intact.
Coach Travis Steele knows why his team has been able to pull through time and again.
“Our group of boys just kind of stays flatline,” Steele said Tuesday. “We don’t get too high or too low. We’re unflappable. I think that’s what makes our group really good, especially in tight moments.”
The RedHawks (26-0, 13-0 Mid-American) will take the court again Friday for a nationally televised battle with Bowling Green in Oxford, Ohio.
The RedHawks have been tied or trailed at some point in the second half six times in their past eight games, starting back in January with a pair of overtime wins over Buffalo and Kent State, and most recently Tuesday night at Massachusetts.
Isaiah Placide made a layup to give UMass a 62-60 lead with 9:24 left, and the contest was tied at 68 with 7:01 to go. Miami stuck to its game plan, and it helped to shoot 13 of 22 in the second half (59.1%), enough to absorb some shaky free-throw shooting down the stretch.
Peter Suder had 23 points and Luke Skaljac added 16 and seven assists to power the No. 1 offense in the country in scoring (92.3 ppg) and field-goal shooting (53.5%).
Miami set a program record for wins in a season with the Tuesday result, and the RedHawks aren’t about to slow down. Miami has been the last unbeaten standing since former No. 1 Arizona took its first loss on Feb. 9.
“It’s the elephant in the room and we talk about it as a team,” Steele said. “I tell our guys to enjoy the ride, enjoy the moment, be present. Not very often are you going to be in this position where, (26-0), it’s just incredible. It’s unique.
“But at the same time … we have to be able to block out that noise, focus on the things we can control, which is embracing the process.”
Bowling Green (16-11, 7-7) gets a rematch with Miami after losing to the RedHawks 93-83 at home on Dec. 30. The Falcons rallied from a 54-28 halftime deficit to make that one a game.
Javontae Campbell had 22 points and four assists and Sam Towns posted 13 points and 11 rebounds in the Falcons’ 78-71 home loss to Kent State on Tuesday, ending a modest two-game winning streak.
Bowling Green has been a streaky shooting team since Jan. 31, twice making at least 50% from 3-point range while also posting 4-of-16, 2-of-24 and 4-of-19 days from the arc. Coach Todd Simon feels his best shooters seem to run hot and cold as a group.
“You look at it and you overanalyze it and you say, ‘These looks are the same,’ you get some clean ones,” Simon said. “But that’s how it goes. We shot it really well Saturday (vs. Toledo), and (Tuesday) not so much.”
Towns, the Falcons’ No. 2 scorer and leading rebounder (12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds per game) put up 24 points against Miami the first time around. Suder, who averages a team-best 14.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the RedHawks, went for 17, eight and five, respectively.
–Field Level Media
