The country’s only undefeated team will look to extend its winning streak to 25 when No. 23 Miami (Ohio) hosts archrival Ohio in Mid-American Conference play Friday night in Oxford.
Both schools took a break from conference action to play in the MAC-Sun Belt Conference Challenge over the weekend.
Miami (24-0, 11-0 MAC) withstood Marshall’s comeback to earn a 90-74 road victory on Saturday, while Ohio (13-12, 7-5) traveled to Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday and fell 78-72 to Old Dominion.
When No. 1 Arizona fell to Kansas on Monday night, the RedHawks became the only undefeated team in Division I men’s basketball. In addition to being the only undefeated team, Miami has the longest active winning streak in the country with 24, followed by No. 18 Saint Louis with 17 in a row.
Miami has already set Mid-American Conference records for best start and longest winning streak, breaking the 21-game streak recorded by Kent State in the 2001-02 season. The RedHawks have the longest early-season winning streak since Gonzaga won its first 31 games before losing in the 2021 national championship game.
On Saturday in Marshall, the RedHawks built a 24-point first-half lead before seeing the Thunder Pack cut it to nine twice in the second half. But Marshall couldn’t get any closer, as Miami pulled away in the final minutes to take the wire-to-wire victory.
“That’s been our group all year. We’re totally unflappable,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “Calm, calm, collected, confident. We started to execute a little better both in attack and defense and we were able to extend the game again.”
Miami has improved its defense over the last four games since escaping two consecutive overtime games in which the opponent scored more than 100 points in each contest.
“We score in a lot of different ways and we have a clear identity on offense, but you also need to have it on defense,” Steele said. “I think our defensive identity is definitely coming to life the last couple of games.”
Since starting point guard Evan Ipsaro missed 12 games this season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Miami has made up for the low scoring with a balanced attack. Brant Byers (14.8 points per game) and Peter Suder (14.2) have made up for the lack of scoring, while Antwone Woolfolk has been a force in the paint, averaging 10.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
In the victory over Marshall, Eian Elmer led the scoring with 18 points, including 4 of 4 on three-pointers. The game marked the 18th time this season that Miami made at least 50% of its field goals, making 33 of 59 shots.
Ohio shot 46.6% from the field (27 of 58), but just 8 of 25 3-pointers and 10 of 15 3-pointers in the disappointing loss to Old Dominion. Leading scorer Jackson Paveletzke only scored seven points, but still leads the Bobcats in scoring at 16.6 points per game.
Aidan Hadaway is averaging 14.2 points per game, while Javan Simmons is the other player in double figures with 14 points per game, a number he reached in the loss to the Monarchs.
“We’ve had some good losing streaks and obviously it’s not enough to win a game; it’s about staying composed, you know, playing those full 40 minutes,” Ohio coach Jeff Boals said Feb. 3. “We just have to have the mentality to keep improving, arrive and prepare well.”
–Field level media
date: 2026-02-12 03:29:00
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