Mid-Major Madness Reacts Results: Miami (OH) vs. James Madison is best season opener
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Mid-Major Madness Reacts Results: Miami (OH) vs. James Madison is best season opener
DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 18: Evan Ipsaro #2 of the Miami (OH) Redhawks reacts to making a basket against the SMU Mustangs during the First Four round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament held at UD Arena on March 18, 2026 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Ian Sacks·SB Nation
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3 min read
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T-minus two days before the official start day of the college basketball season, and there are so many notable mid-major games to tip it off.
The fans voted Miami (OH) at James Madison as the opening-day game they are most excited for, with 32% of the vote in this week's poll. Liberty vs. High Point and Vermont at Iona tied for second with 21% each. Murray State vs. Tennessee State followed with 16%. UAB vs. McNeese and Seattle at Hawaii split the final 10%.
Madison hosts Miami (OH) Monday at 7 p.m. ET in Harrisonburg, Va. and can be seen on ESPN+.
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Let's dive into the Dukes and RedHawks a little bit.
Miami was the mid-major Cinderella last season thanks to its undefeated regular season. Travis Steele's group bowed out in the MAC quarterfinals but secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The RedHawks played in the First Four in Dayton, just over an hour from campus, and defeated SMU by 10 before seeing their magical run come to an end against Tennessee in the first round. That marked Miami's first trip to the Big Dance since 2007 and first March Madness win since 1999.
Several notable names are back in the fold for Miami: Evan Ipsaro, Luke Skaljac, Almar Atlason, Antwone Woolfork, and Justin Kirby. Ipsaro scored 13.9 points per game, while Skaljac contributed 10.3, and Atlason chipped in 9.9.
James Madison has continued Mark Byington's stretch of success in the first two seasons under Preston Spradlin. The Dukes went 9-9 in the Sun Belt and 18-15 overall last season. They have finished over .500 in six straight seasons.
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JMU's roster is highlighted by several transfer portal additions: Gage Lattimore, Adrian Myers and Jacob Hogarth. Lattimore netted 16.6 points per game on 39% shooting from three at NC Central last year. Myers caught fire at the end of the season by scoring 19.4 points and pulling down eight rebounds over his last eight games at San Jose State. Hogarth posted 11 points and 6.5 boards a game at Gardner-Webb.
This matchup is part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Here's a full list of the matchups:
MAC-SBC Challenge Men's Basketball Matchups Toledo at Arkansas State Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina Ball State at Georgia Southern Bowling Green at Georgia State Miami (Ohio) at James Madison Akron at Louisiana Central Michigan at ULM Kent State at Louisiana Tech Buffalo at Marshall Western Michigan at Old Dominion Ohio at South Alabama UMass at Troy
MAC-SBC Challenge Women's Basketball Matchups App State at Eastern Michigan Arkansas State at Ball State Coastal Carolina at Western Michigan Georgia Southern at Bowling Green Georgia State at Buffalo James Madison at Miami (Ohio) Louisiana Tech at Toledo ULM at Ohio Marshall at UMass Old Dominion at Central Michigan South Alabama at Akron Troy at Kent State
For all your college sports betting needs, visitFanDuel.
