Miami (Ohio) made its case on the court Wednesday night.
After much debate in the lead-up to the NCAA tournament selections, the RedHawks defeated SMU in the First Four, turning a contentious lead-up into a result that spoke for itself.
A response to the noise
The matchup arrived with heightened attention following the discussion surrounding which teams deserved to be in the field. Miami (Ohio) used the First Four stage to push past SMU and move forward, framing the win as an answer to the doubters who questioned its place in the tournament.
Wednesday’s victory provided a definitive outcome in a moment that had been dominated by argument and scrutiny, with Miami (Ohio) emerging from the opening round with a win and SMU seeing its tournament run end in the First Four.