DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — March Madness tips off with the First Four, featuring one of this season’s best stories in Miami (Ohio) and a matchup of formerly embattled head coaches in Texas’ Sean Miller and NC State’s Will Wade.
Coming off their only loss of the season, the RedHawks have a chance to silence some skeptics against fellow No. 11 seed SMU (20-13) on Wednesday night. The RedHawks, who are back in the tournament for the first time since 2007, were rewarded with a game in Dayton, roughly 43 miles from campus.
“It’s going to be a great environment,” RedHawks coach Travis Steele said. “Hopefully the RedHawk nation will be showing up there on Wednesday night to support us. I’m sure they will (and) it will be a home game for us.”
There are two games Tuesday night to open the tournament.
Despite a 31-1 record, Miami wasn’t assured of a bid due to its schedule ranking 339th nationally with no Quadrant 1 opponents. After recording just the eighth unbeaten regular season in the past 50 years. Miami lost to UMass in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, putting their tournament hopes in jeopardy.
“I was very confident,” forward Eian Elmer said. “I think it’s hard to leave a team that’s 31-0 in a regular season out. It just wouldn’t look right for the sport, diminishing something like that, something that’s very rarely done.”
The winner will face No. 6 seed Tennessee in Philadelphia.
Texas received a No. 11 seed after losing to Mississippi in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Longhorns (18-14) will face No. 11 seed NC State (20-13) in Tuesday’s nightcap. The winner will face No. 6 seed BYU in Portland.
Several years have past and they’ve switched jobs a few times, but Miller and Wade are still remembered as key figures in the 2017-19 FBI investigation into NCAA recruiting and corruption. Neither received any serious sanctions after a judge ruled they weren’t required to testify.
Miller was fired at Arizona in 2021, then returned for his second stint at Xavier. Wade, meanwhile, was let go by LSU before leading McNeese State to consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. NC State lost to Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
“We didn’t finish the season as strongly as we would like,” Wade said. “We put ourselves in this position. We’re excited to be in the tournament. We’re excited to be in Dayton. It’s a great basketball city, great basketball fans, great basketball arena, everything.”
Miller returns to University of Dayton Arena, where he led Xavier to an 86-80 victory over Texas in last year’s First Four before agreeing to a six-year, $32 million contract to become the Longhorns coach five days later.
Longhorns guard Dailyn Swain, a Xavier transfer and Columbus, Ohio native, is expecting a large contingent of friends and family at UD Arena, where he played several times in high school.
Swain scored 11 points for the Musketeers in last year’s First Four win over the Longhorns before following Miller to Texas.
“My first few days at Texas, I kind of joked with (teammates) about how we beat them,” Swain said. “I never let them forget. It’s definitely a funny feeling, but like I said, I think it’ll be a better result for the Longhorns this time.”
UMBC is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, when the Retrievers shocked Virginia to become the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1. This is UMBC’s third NCAA Tournament appearance, and first in the First Four.
“We’re really excited to be back,” said Jim Ferry, in his fifth season as UMBC coach. “This is a special group. We haven’t had a bad day all year. Been a pleasure to coach these guys.”
The Retrievers (24-8) will face Howard in Tuesday night’s first game. The Bison (23-10) are making their second appearance in the First Four in three years. They lost to Wagner 71-68 in 2024.
“We’re coming here to get a different result than last time,” said MEAC player of the year Bryce Harris. “I’m excited to see how we perform on one of the biggest stages.”
The winner gets No. 1 seed Michigan on Thursday in Buffalo.
SWAC champion Prairie View A&M will face Patriot League champ Lehigh in a matchup of No. 16 seeds in Wednesday’s first game. Lehigh (18-16) is making its sixth tournament appearance while Prairie View (18-17) is making its third. The winner will face top-seeded Florida in Tampa.
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