No. 23 Miami (Ohio) will try to move a step closer to an unbeaten regular season when it faces Massachusetts in a Mid-American Conference matchup Tuesday night in Amherst, Mass.
The RedHawks (25-0, 12-0 MAC) are the only undefeated team in Division I, and their 25-game winning streak is the longest to start a season since Gonzaga went 31-0 in 2020-21 before losing in the national championship game.
“I knew this could be done,” Miami coach Travis Steele said. “When you get like-minded people (in the school administration) pulling in the same direction, these types of things can happen.
“We got a great group and they’re doing extraordinary things. We want to have fun. When you have fun and you do it for others, you don’t feel pressure.”
UMass (15-11, 6-7) is coming off a 99-92 road setback to Akron on Saturday, and enters Tuesday’s contest on a two-game losing streak.
The Minutemen rank fifth among MAC teams in both scoring (81.0) and 3-point shooting percentage (35.5%), but they haven’t been as good at the other end of the court. UMass is allowing 76.7 points per game, which is eighth in the conference. Akron went to the free-throw line 43 times on Saturday, and the Zips made 38 of those attempts.
“We can’t guard,” UMass coach Frank Martin said following the game. “It’s not like (the Zips) ran some complicated offense. They ball-screen their point guard, our point guard gets sideways, gets behind the ball … we (have) no rim coverage. (Guys) get out of the way and reach. It’s unfortunate.”
UMass has two of the MAC’s top eight scorers in Leonardo Bettiol (sixth, 17.6 points per game) and Marcus Banks (eighth, 16.9).
Miami leads the MAC in scoring (92.6), field-goal percentage (53.6%) and 3-point field-goal percentage (40.1%). Brant Byers (15.0) and Peter Suder (14.5) are the team’s leading scorers.
The RedHawks have shot 50.0% or better from the field in 19 of their 25 games.
“We’ve just been trying to focus on winning each day, and with that comes winning each game,” Byers said.
Tuesday’s game will be the second time the RedHawks and Minutemen have met this season. Junior guard Eian Elmer tossed in a career-high 30 points to help Miami pull out an 86-84 home victory on Jan. 27. Elmer was 9 of 14 from the field, including 6-for-11 on 3-point attempts.
Bettiol had 22 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Banks finished with 18. The Minutemen had a 65-60 lead midway through the second half.
“We’ve won a lot of different ways,” Steele said. “I do think that will serve us well in March because we’ve been in every situation. We have a very mature group that stays focused and emphasizes the process.
“There’s still room for improvement, but I think our defense is trending in the right direction, which I’ve been really, really focused on. Gotta continue to take care of the ball at the offensive end.”
