Miami (Ohio)’s fate is one of the most impactful storylines in college basketball heading into Selection Sunday.
While the Redhawks have won all but one game this season, the timing of their loss could be fatal to their chances of making the NCAA Tournament. Miami lost to UMass in the MAC tournament opener, leading to Akron’s conference title and automatic bid to March Madness
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While the Miami Heat’s 31 wins are the most in Division I, its weak schedule (No. 256) and middling NET ranking (No. 54) are hard to ignore.
Also hard to ignore is the historical element here. Miami is just the fifth team in the 21st century to go undefeated in the regular season, and they did it thanks to their superior offense. The RedHawks are second in the country in scoring (90.9 points), first in field goal percentage (52.6 percent) and have seven players averaging double figures.
So, will the Redhawks make it to March Madness?
According to the latest Bracketology from USA TODAY Sports, barely. Miami is expected to be the last of the 68 teams, meaning it will face Dayton in the top four.
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That’s good news for Miami fans, but they’ll still be holding their breath until the selection show at 6 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared in For The Win: Can Miami (Ohio) make the NCAA Tournament?