Miami (OH) Loses to UMass in MAC Quarterfinals, Ending Undefeated Season

The perfect season is over for the Miami RedHawks After a 31-0 regular season that set Mid-American Conference records, Miami (OH) fell 87–83 to UMass in a MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal matchup on Thursday. While the RedHawks were up 39-37 at the half and then repeatedly extended their lead to double-digits in the second – as high as 11 points – the Minutemen stormed back, thanks in large part to a dominant showing on the offensive glass. UMass finished with 17 offensive rebounds in the upset win, while Miami (OH) managed just 24 total rebounds. The Minutemen scored 50 points in the second half, powered by second-chance points, and the RedHawks could not hold the lead. Miami was the fifth men’s Division I program this century to go undefeated during the regular season. Now it’s the second to get tripped up in its conference tournament. St. Joseph’s lost to Xavier in the 2004 Atlantic 10 quarterfinals but was still a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The RedHawks were the first squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into a conference tournament. Travis Steele’s team entered Thursday’s matchup as the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament and appeared to be a mid-major lock heading into March Madness. However, that could come into question now following a loss to a UMass team that was 16-15 and ranked 204th in the NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings coming into the game. Miami (OH) sat at 54th in the NET before the defeat, though that will take a hit with the loss to the Minutemen. Massachusetts will advance to take on the winner of 4-seeded Toledo and 5-seeded Bowling Green in the MAC semifinals on Friday. The Associated Press contributed to this report.