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MAC Tournament | Brothers lead Akron, Miami men's basketball teams into championship game
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- MAC Tournament | Brothers lead Akron, Miami men's basketball teams into championship game
CLEVELAND — The Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament champion will be crowned Saturday night at Rocket Arena.
Half brothers John Groce and Travis Steele will be on the sidelines as the head coaches. Groce with his University of Akron Zips (27-6), and Steele with his Miami University RedHawks (25-8).
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One will win and one will lose.
Their mother, Barbara Steele , is going to be happy for one of her son's and upset for the other as a spot in the NCAA Tournament is up for grabs.
"Happy for them. They have had a great year," Travis Steele said of Akron Friday night after Miami defeated Kent State 72-64 in a MAC Tournament semifinal .
Miami won the nightcap after Akron topped Toledo 100-90 in Friday's first semifinal . Groce conducted his postgame news conference unsure who Saturday's opponent would be.
Akron Zips coach John Groce works the sideline during the second half of a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal March 14, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
His brother talked with media members and reflected on the win over KSU and advancing to Saturday's final.
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"They are a tremendous team," Steele said of Akron . "They have got great players. They are well coached. They are a two-sided team. A lot of people have talked about how good their offensive side of the ball is, their shooting and their playmaking, and they have got a lot of good playmakers, obviously Nate Johnson got Player of the Year and Tavari Johnson, I think he had the second most votes for first team, as they should.
"They went 17-1 in the league, but their defensive side of the ball is really good, too. They are really deep. They have got a ton of depth. They play fast. They play together and you can tell their culture is good. They have got it going on."
Miami RedHawks coach Travis Steele gives an official an earful after a foul during the first half of a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal March 14, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Miami's Peter Suder knows all about Akron after the host Zips beat the RedHawks 102-75 on Jan. 25 at Rhodes Arena .
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"We know how good they are," said Suder, who totaled 23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists Friday against KSU. "They are having a really good year. We gotta contain their top guys, play as hard as we can and hopefully come out with a win."
Miami's Kam Craft scored 17 points Friday against KSU and is ready for another game with Akron .
Miami RedHawks coach Travis Steele calls a play from the sideline during the first half of a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal March 14, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
"I think when we played them last time , we were not playing like ourselves," Craft said. "I think right now we are playing as the best version of ourselves, although we give a lot of credit to Akron for the season they have had. They are a really good team. I think we will be a different version than the last time we played them."
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Steele said he has "a lot of respect" for his brother and Akron.
"The first time we played them, give them all the credit in the world, we didn't play well," Steele said. "I don't know if we were ready for that moment to be quite frank. There was a lot of buzz going around our program. I think we were 6-0 at that point for the first time in league play in God knows when.
"... They played tremendous. They played well and they shot well that night. They did both. There is a difference between shooting well and playing well. They did both, and we didn't handle it right, but I think we have learned a lot from that moment. We used it as a learning lesson. You gotta get better from it, which our guys have. We have got great character in the locker room."
Steele, 43, is in his third season as Miami's coach after a four-season stint as Xavier's coach. He went 70-50 with Xavier and is 52-45 with Miami.
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"The goal is not to make the championship game," Steele said. "The goal is very crystal clear. I told everybody since I got to Miami, it was going to be Year 3, we are going to win it. I said that is the goal and everything I have done up until this point has been built towards this moment. The job is not finished. We know we have got a very, very formidable opponent in Akron, who is a tremendous team. We got a great challenge."
Groce, 53, is in his eighth season Akron's coach after five seasons at Illinois and four seasons at Ohio University. He went 85-56 at Ohio with two MAC Tournament titles, 97-76 at Illinois and is 167-87 at Akron with two MAC regular-season championships and two MAC Tournament crowns.
"You look at Kent, who has had a ton of success under Rob Senderoff," Steele said. "Shoot, you can date all the way back to Stan Heath, who is now obviously at Eastern Michigan. Jimmy Christian and Geno Ford [were successful at Kent]. Whether it is John Groce at Akron or whether it was Keith Dambrot, you look at the success that those guys have had, all of those teams are really tough. They are good on both ends of the floor."
Will Kent State coach Rob Senderoff won Akron and Miami in the MAC Tournament final on TV?
Senderoff was asked if he will watch Saturday's MAC Tournament final.
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"Hats off to both Akron and Miami because it is hard," Senderoff said. "Akron has had a target on their back coming up here. When you're the No. 1 seed, everybody has seen that it is hard as a No. 1 seed.
"... I am going to have a tough time watching it. I won't want to watch it, and then I will probably watch it and I will be miserable watching it. I will probably watch it. What can I tell you? I don't want to watch it, but I will probably watch it. It's beyond curiosity. Me and Travis worked together [as Indiana assistants] and I have known John for 30 years. One of his assistants is one of my close friends."
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron's John Groce, brother Miami's Travis Steele coach MAC title game
