Eian Elmer was on fire for Miami, making six 3-pointers and scoring a game-high 25 points to lead the RedHawks. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
The RedHawks shoot the basketball often and better than any other team in the country this season. They showed SMU and doubters on Wednesday night in raucous UD Arena just how good their all-around game is.
Dayton, OH – Want to know why Miami won all 31 regular season games? They’re not afraid to miss a shot.
The RedHawks’ fearless shooting propelled them to the greatest season in school history, one to rival what few others have accomplished. Their courage to shoot through the slightest of openings made them the best shooting team in the nation.
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Then, add the chip their detractors piled onto their shoulders for earning a spot in the field of 68 over teams from more prominent leagues, and it should have been obvious to all what would transpire at UD Arena – or Millet Hall North – on night two of the NCAA Tournament’s First Four.
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The RedHawks would want it more. The RedHawks would win. The RedHawks’ historic season would be validated.
While SMU matched the RedHawks in just about every stat, there was one the Mustangs couldn’t keep up with: Miami’s fearless 3-point attack. The RedHawks set UD Arena records for NCAA Tournament games with 41 three-point attempts and 16 made 3-pointers. Just the numbers head coach Travis Steele wanted.
The result – Miami 89, SMU 79 – on a sold-out night, in front of one of those raucous UD Arena crowds the nation hears about, only added to the lore of March Madness. And in that sellout crowd of 12,588 sat famous Miami alums Ron Harper, Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife Fran.
“It’s something you dream of being a part of – what an incredible atmosphere,” said Steele, who was with Xavier at a First Four game in 2014. “I told our guys when we had the opportunity to come here, this is the best atmosphere NCAA Tournament wise that I’ve ever been a part of – it’ll be an electric place, and that’s what it was tonight.”
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In a battle of 11 seeds, the RedHawks played their highest ranked opponent of the season, according to the NCAA NET rankings. SMU is No. 37 to best Akron’s No. 54, the best the RedHawks saw in the regular season. Miami’s NET ranking? A mere 64.
Brant Byers’ back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the first half was one of many big Miami moments.
But the 32-1 RedHawks dominated on the court for their first tournament win since 1999, proving their cupcake schedule didn’t make them a snowflake. Quite the opposite. The RedHawks are a hardnosed team that belies their size disadvantage against bigger teams from bigger leagues like the ACC.
They got SMU’s 7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu in foul trouble and fouled him out. The RedHawks’ heart played the Mustangs to a draw on the boards, 35-35, and in second-chance points, 17-17.
But the flash in Miami’s game was its three-point shot from deep. Every player loads up to shoot on every catch outside the arc. If they are open, the shot is going up. If not, they are adept at rapid ball movement to find the open shooter.
“It definitely comes from our coaches,” said Eian Elmer, who made 6 of 9 3-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points. “They instill confidence in us, and it definitely flows through each and every person on our team. They don’t take us out for shooting bad shots, and we are good enough players to know what a bad and a good shot is.”
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Elmer’s confidence made him the opener and the closer the RedHawks needed. He didn’t see a shot he didn’t like. He made four of six 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the first half to lead the RedHawks to a 43-34 halftime lead.
He spent 11 minutes on the bench in the second half in foul trouble. But when he came back late, he added jolts of electricity to the arena.
Luke Skaljac made two shots like this as part of a 17-point night.
His second-chance 3-pointer with 3:07 left pushed the lead to 81-68, and the crowd went wild. They could taste victory.
“It’s something you dream of as a kid, playing in March, playing for something – it’s do or die, so emotions are very high,” Elmer said.
With 59 seconds left and the emotions peaking, Elmer crossed up the Mustangs with a hard back door cut, caught a bounce pass from Almar Atlason, dunked with two hands, pushed the lead to 85-76 and caused the crowd to erupt with a signature UD Arena roar.
Elmer knew what to expect from the arena crowd. He won a state championship with Cincinnati Taft here in 2022.
“Coach drew up the play, wanted me to put an exclamation point on our game,” Elmer said. “I’m thankful for that. I have a lot of people that came here to support me, so it was a good feeling to do that in front of them.”
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The pro-Miami crowd found moments to pound eardrums from the start. Luke Skaljac, who scored 17 points, got them going with an early fadeway jumper in the lane and a 3-pointer.
Later in the half, Skaljac started the wildest play of the night with a steal and outlet to Peter Suder. The pass was a little off target. But Suder reached for it, bounced a high pass past a defender and Elmer found a way to direct the ball into the basket. Too see it was to believe it.
Peter Suder struggled with his shot but had seven rebounds and six assists.
“That’s like some March Magic,” Skaljac said. “I don’t even know how Eian made that.”
Elmer said, “I don’t know how I made it either. I was expecting a lob. Peter was running full speed so I was just trailing. He made an amazing pass, and I got lucky, honestly.”
Brant Byers, who scored 19 points, created more full-throated cheers with three long 3-pointers late in the half. The last two were back-to-back with 1:27 and 58 seconds left. They were the kind of shots he let go with a quick flick that defines the RedHawks’ fearless nature.
More and more big moments came in the second half. The RedHawks responded to an SMU run that cut their lead to two and one that tied the score. No matter who shot, the crowd expected nothing but net. Even Atlason off the bench with 12 points and two 3-pointers proved guys from Iceland can shoot, too.
Noticeable throughout was a difficult shooting night for leading scorer Suder. He made 2 of 9 shots, missed all four of his three-point tries, and scored seven points. But he led the RedHawks with seven rebounds, six assists and minutes played at 35:51.
“Number one, I trust Peter, I love him unconditionally, he only plays to win,” Steele said. “He had an off-night shooting, and he still dominated the game.”
The player-coach bond and the “players’ coach” label the players ascribe to Steele was evident in a frustrating moment for Suder in the second half.
With the RedHawks leading 81-70, Suder’s three-point attempt bounced off the rim and over the backboard. He took the shot in front of the Miami bench. Steele made sure Suder knew it didn’t matter. He smiled at Suder and reached out and slapped his hand.
The Miami swim team donned Speedos in an effort to disrupt an SMU player shooting free throws. He missed the first but made the second.
“Just wanted to touch him just to make sure that he understands got to go to the next play, that you still believe in guys even though maybe your shot is off,” Steele said. “He’s just an absolute warrior. He’s everything that college basketball should be about. But in that moment, he obviously missed a three right in front of me, and he was frustrated. It was a great look.”
Great looks or not, the RedHawks believe every shot is going in. Now they believe they can go to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon and beat Tennessee, a No. 6 seed. And Steele will undoubtedly repeat the same pregame message.
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“The message I gave our guys before the game was they should leave no doubt with who the more attacking team was, and I thought that was very evident from the jump ball all the way to the end of the game,” Steele said. “Very proud of our guys, but obviously there’s a lot to be done yet.”
And a lot more 3-pointers to shoot without fear.
Lance Williams scored 10 points for Prairie View, but it was he defense on Lehigh’s best scorer that got noticed.
Before Miami electrified the arena, the obligatory First Four game with teams 67 and 68 served as an uninspired undercard of 16 seeds. Prairie View A&M and Lehigh both stood at 11-17 this season. Then they got hot.
And Prairie View stayed hot with a 67-55 victory to earn a date with defending champion and No. 1 seed Florida on Friday in Tampa.
“I would have never thought I’d be playing Florida,” said Dontae Horne, who led the Panthers with 25 points. “I would have never thought I’d be in March, but we’re here now. So … keep going.”
Cory Wells backed Horne with 19 points, but Lance Williams should have joined them on the postgame podium. He scored 10 points, but more importantly he doubled Lehigh’s Nasir Whitlock’s five points. Whitlock averages 21.
“Shout out to Lance Williams our pit bull,” Horne said. “Lance don’t care about stats, he don’t care about scoring. He just came in and did his job.”
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Because you probably don’t know, Prairie View is situated 50 miles northwest of Houston. They won seven straight, including the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, to get to 18-17, now 19-17, riding a defensive wave.
Lehigh, from the eastern Pennsylvania steel town of Bethlehem, finished on a six-game winning streak, won the Patriot League tournament and finished 18-16, now 18-17.
Dontae Horne found numerous to score to lead Prairie View with 25 points.
The crowd didn’t care as much about this game as they did 16 seeds Howard and UMBC the previous night. Mostly they were Miami fans here for one thing, anxiously awaiting the main event. And this game, to them, felt like the JV game.
While excitement and crowd noise were low, they played a competitive game that in a hometown atmosphere for either team would have generated more energy and more interest.
Every basketball program has hidden history, all-time greats and big-stage moments few recall or ever know. Prairie View and Lehigh are no different.
Prairie View produced Hall of Famer Zelmo Beatty, the third player selected in the 1962 NBA Draft after leading the Panthers to the NAIA national championship. He played seven years with the St. Louis Hawks, four with Utah Stars where he led them to the 1971 ABA championship, and a final season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged a career double-double of 17.1 points and 10.9 rebounds.
Prairie View transitioned to NCAA Division I in 1977-78.
Cory Wells blocks a Lehigh shot as part of the Prairie View’s continued defensive mindset that has led them on a late-season run.
Lehigh’s claim to basketball fame is C.J. McCollum, the only Hawk ever drafted when he was taken No. 10 in 2013. He led them to an upset of Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. He is in his 13th NBA season and has averaged 20-plus points in 10 seasons.
But McCollum didn’t walk through the door when the Hawks needed him in the second half.
No one will think Prairie View has a chance against the Gators.
But the RedHawks against Tennessee? What if they play like they did close to home?
Absolutely they have a chance. The thousands of Miami fans who witnessed them win at UD can verify that.
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