{"id":173807,"date":"2026-01-21T13:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=173807"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:30:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:30:30","slug":"miami-oh-improbable-start-late-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/21\/miami-oh-improbable-start-late-january\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami (OH) Riding Improbable Start Through Late January"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami (OH) began the season 11-0 following an 83\u201376 win over Wright State, marking the program\u2019s best start since the 1943\u201344 season. That same year, only 12 games were played in a season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The RedHawks have since pushed that run to a historic 20-0, cracking the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 1998-99 season and standing as one of just three remaining undefeated teams, alongside No. 1 Arizona and No. 7 Nebraska, as February approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miami (OH) Riding Improbable Start Through Late January<\/b><\/h2>\n

Step by step: How the RedHawks have, and continue to dominate<\/b><\/h3>\n

The RedHawks entered the season ranked second in the MAC preseason poll with 133 votes. Through late January, they\u2019ve done far more than just meet those expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miami (OH) opened the year in dominant fashion, rolling to double-digit wins over Old Dominion and Air Force. A game before their victory over the Falcons, the RedHawks routed Trinity Christian 129-49, one of the largest margins of victory in program history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the start of conference play, Miami has won by an average of 11.8 points with six players averaging double figures. Over their last five, the RedHawks passed the 100-point mark three times.<\/span><\/p>\n

As of Jan. 19, the conference leaders rank second nationally in scoring offense at 93.9 points per game, sit 37th in bench scoring, and allow just 73.3 points per contest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Miami
Miami (OH) RedHawks players cheer for Miami (OH) RedHawks guard Justin Kirby (6) after a dunk in the second half of a NCAA men\u2019s basketball game between the Miami RedHawks and Buffalo Bulls, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at Millett Hall in Oxford, Oh. RedHawks won 105-102.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suder leading improbable scoring runs in back-to-back OT victories<\/b><\/h3>\n

Starting guard Peter Suder<\/a> has powered the RedHawks through their last two games, scoring a combined 64 points across both overtime victories. He recorded a career-high 37 points in Tuesday\u2019s 107\u2013100 win over Kent State.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suder logged more than 40 minutes in both contests, first against Buffalo, then against the Golden Flashes—adding 10 rebounds and eight assists while carrying the workload. Even in late-game situations, he\u2019s consistent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, Miami (OH) doesn\u2019t rely on Suder as a one-man offense. On paper, he isn\u2019t even the team\u2019s leading scorer. The RedHawks are led by sophomore guard Brant Byers<\/a>, who averages a team-high 15.3 points along with four rebounds after transferring from UMass.<\/span><\/p>\n

Depth and versatility setting RedHawks apart<\/b><\/h3>\n

As a team, the RedHawks shoot 41% from three-point range, but it\u2019s not just the perimeter where the RedHawks thrive. They\u2019re effective on just about every level of the floor, boasting one of the most well-rounded rosters in the MAC, and arguably across all mid-majors in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miami (OH) runs a rotation that sits about nine players deep, each averaging double-figure minutes a game in addition to their point totals. Bench roles vary by contest, but offensive production remains steady.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even the bench shares the ball, averaging just above six assists per game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Up Next: What’s ahead as the calendar turns to February<\/b><\/h3>\n

The RedHawks have a chance of becoming the first team since Kansas State in 2023-24 to record six overtime wins in a single season. <\/span>They\u2019ll face UMass and Northern Illinois at home before hitting the road for a rematch against the Bulls on Feb. 3.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team is currently projected as an 11-seed, according to Joe Lunardi\u2019s most recent <\/span>Bracketology<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miami (OH) began the season 11-0 following an 83\u201376 win over Wright State, marking the program\u2019s best start since the 1943\u201344 season. That same year, only 12 games were played in a season. The RedHawks have since pushed that run to a historic 20-0, cracking the AP Top 25 for the first time since the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5745,"featured_media":173824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[3439,3924],"class_list":["post-173807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-miami-redhawks","tag-mid-american-conference"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173807"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173831,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173807\/revisions\/173831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}