No. 19 Miami (Ohio) looks to continue its historic run when it visits archrival Ohio in a Mid-American Conference rematch to close out the regular season Friday night in Athens, Ohio.
The RedHawks (30-0, 17-0 MAC), the nation’s only unbeaten team, became just the 15th squad in Division I men’s basketball history to win its first 30 games of the season when they held off Toledo 74-72 on Tuesday in Oxford, Ohio.
Ohio (15-15, 9-8) has lost back-to-back games and is coming off a 94-82 setback at UMass on Tuesday in Amherst, Mass.
Miami entered the national spotlight this week after former Auburn coach-turned-TV analyst Bruce Pearl criticized the RedHawks for an undefeated record that he said was not worthy of the NCAA Tournament unless they capture the MAC tournament title in Cleveland next week.
Miami answered the criticism with a win over Toledo that clinched its conference-record 22nd regular-season MAC championship and its first in 21 years.
“I like Bruce,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “I do. Hey, Bruce is a great guy. I’m not calling Bruce and asking him for his opinion. I could care less what the heck he says. We control our own destiny. Let’s prepare the right way. Let’s focus on the right things.”
The two teams met on Feb. 13 at Miami, with the RedHawks pulling away in the second half for a 90-74 win. Five different RedHawks scored in double figures, led by Brant Byers with 21 points and Peter Suder with 20.
Suder had 19 in Tuesday’s win over the Rockets. Antwone Woolfolk added 14 points and six rebounds.
“We gotta move on quick to Ohio,” Steele said. “We still got a lot of season left, but this is a big deal. This is awesome. I’m so happy for our guys. That was one of our goals that we had beginning the years when the regular-season title. Check.”
The RedHawks are aiming to become the first MAC team to finish the regular season unbeaten in both conference play and overall.
“I want to finish this season undefeated,” Steele added. “I want to win at Ohio. That’s a rivalry game. It’s a players’ game. Our guys are going to be excited to play. I know their guys will be excited to play as well. And then, can we go win the MAC tournament up in Cleveland? We want to leave absolutely no doubt, absolutely no doubt who the heck we are.”
In its last game, Ohio led 73-72 before UMass scored 11 straight and finished the game on a 22-9 run.
Jackson Paveletzke, who had 22 against Miami in the first meeting, led the Bobcats against the Minutemen with 24 points and seven assists. Javan Simmons added 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists. Kiir Kuany got his first career start, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds.
