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Undefeated no more. Miami Ohio now on March Madness bubble after MAC tournament loss
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- Undefeated no more. Miami Ohio now on March Madness bubble after MAC tournament loss
Miami (Ohio) is no longer undefeated, and now begins the hot debate of whether they will make the NCAA Tournament .
The RedHawks suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Massachusetts, 87-83, in the opening round of the MAC tournament Thursday, March 12.
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The top seed in the conference looked like they were cruising toward a victory when it took an 11-point lead with eight minutes left in the game, but the Minutemen got hot. They went on a 13-2 run to tie the score with five minutes to go and it was back-and-forth the rest of the way.
UMass took a three-point lead with less than three minutes left and Miami (Ohio) was able to tie it in the final minute. The Minutemen's Daniel Hankins-Sanford hit the go ahead bucket with 29 seconds left and the RedHawks weren't able to tie it.
The biggest differential was UMass' dominance on the boards. It had 17 offensive rebounds, resulting in 23 second chance points.
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With the loss, there are no more undefeated teams left in the country.
Now, the rest of the week will be spent debating if Miami (31-1) should be in March Madness.
"Our guys have earned the right, in my opinion, to play in the NCAA Tournament," Miami (Ohio) coach Travis Steele said after the loss.
While it was the only undefeated team in the country, it didn't have a strong resume as it ranked near the bottom of several strength of schedule metrics. It is ranked 269th in KenPom in strength of schedule and has an overall ranking of 93.
In the all important NET rankings, Miami (Ohio) is No. 54, a spot that isn't ideal for an at-large spot.
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The RedHawks didn't have a Quad 1 win and just a 2-0 Quad 2 mark, while the majority of its games were Quad 4 opportunities.
What didn't help was the loss to Massachusetts was a Quad 4 loss, as the Minutemen were the eighth seed in the conference tournament and were 16-15 coming into the contest. It's a mark teams cannot afford just days before Selection Sunday.
Despite the ugly mark on the resume, Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler previously told USA TODAY Sports the team should have already punched its ticket to the Big Dance.
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"An undefeated season, it has to matter, right?" Sayler said. "Otherwise, why wouldn't we just play three days in (the MAC tournament) and the winner goes to the (NCAA) tournament and forget the regular season if you're not going to take an undefeated team?"
"It should cement it," he added.
Even the coach that ended the undefeated season agreed the MAC should get two bids: it's tournament champion and Miami (Ohio).
"It's be a complete embarrassment if this league doesn't get two teams in," said UMass coach Frank Martin.
Even with all the arguments for and against the inclusion of Miami (Ohio), now all the RedHawks can do is wait and see if they will be in the bracket when it is announced on Sunday, March 15.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miami Ohio loses in MAC tournament first round, RedHawks now on March Madness bubble
