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31-0!
Miami (Ohio) edges Ohio in OT to cap an unbeaten regular season. Take a bow. And can we stop with the NCAA tourney debate? Plus: VCU continues its push off the bubble, St. John's clinches a share of the Big East title, Winthrop has a WILD tournament finish, North Dakota player scores 41, and much more from Friday.
Mike Miller
March 07, 2026
Who needs to watch Jayson Tatum when Miami (Ohio) is playing?
Let’s get to it.
1. Miami completes unbeaten regular season
Miami (Ohio) went from unranked to cementing its place in college hoops history after a thrilling 110-108 overtime win at Ohio on Friday night. It’s 31-0 and will enter next week’s MAC Tournament as just the fifth team this century to wrap the regular season without a loss.
Also, the RedHawks became the first team since 1978-79 Indiana State to enter its conference tournament unbeaten after being unranked in the preseason AP poll.
Not that it’s been a smooth ride.
This was Miami’s fourth OT victory this season, and the eighth time it won by one possession. Each of its last three wins have been by two points. It hadn’t won at Ohio since 2016, and the Bobcats (15-16, 9-9 in MAC) had chances to pull off the upset.
Ohio’s Jackson Paveletzke scored a season-high 37 points on 25 shots and kept the Bobcats in the game. Just as important, Miami was called for five technical fouls, which helped erase a couple of Miami leads. But Paveletzke missed a would-be game-winner at the end of regulation, and missed a 3-pointer as time expired in OT. Miami kept getting tested, and responded each time.
‘Belief is the most powerful drug in the world,” coach Travis Steele said on SportsCenter afterward. “Our guys have that in clutch moments.”
The RedHawks were once again awesome on offense — 51% from the field, 42% (11-of-26) beyond the arc, good for 1.32 points per possession — something that’s been true all season. Per OptaSTATS, it’s the first D-I team to go undefeated, average 90+ ppg, shoot 50% or better from the field with at least 10 made 3s a game.
Eian Elmer led Miami with a career-high 32 points and added 12 rebounds, while Trey Perry scored 21 off the bench. Senior Peter Suder scored five of his 13 points in OT.
And for those who still remain unimpressed by Miami’s magical season because of its lack of Quad 1 and 2 games, consider this:
Even if Miami doesn’t win the MAC Tournament next week, not giving it an at-large bid would be absurd. As Steele succinctly put it: “Dude, we’re 31-0. That’s it.”
2. VCU wins again, boosts at-large hopes + more results
Some bubble teams back their way into an NCAA Tournament berth. VCU’s playing its way into an at-large bid.
