Miami (OH) Coach Fires Back at Those Discrediting RedHawks’ Undefeated Record

Miami (OH) coach Travis Steele spoke candidly when asked how he feels about those in the men's college basketball world who seemingly discredit the RedHawks’ undefeated record because they haven’t played high-caliber teams.

"People are going to say, ‘Well, who did they play?' You still got to win," Steele said. "We're 19-0 — haven't lost any games. We've won on the road. We've won [on] neutral [sites]. We've won [at] home.

"Listen, we've got a really good team. Don't penalize us for people [who] aren't willing to play us."

Miami is 19-0 overall (7-0 in Mid-American Conference play) after earning its most thrilling win of the season thus far on Saturday, narrowly beating Buffalo in overtime, 105-102. 

[MORE: Men's College Basketball 2025-2026 Undefeated Teams Tracker: RedHawks Escape OT]

Though the RedHawks remain perfect on the season, they've yet to play a ranked team and won't face a single one all season. All but four of the 19 teams they've defeated so far had a .500 or worse record at the time of their matchup; the exceptions are Bowling Green (then 10-4) in December and Akron (then 10-4), Toledo (then 9-7) and Buffalo (then 13-5) this month. What's more, seven of those teams were winless at the time of the matchup.

The RedHawks don't have a single Quad 1 matchup yet, though they do have three Quad 2 wins under their belt. Three of the RedHawks' 19 wins were against Division II opponents, but they've handled the Division I teams just fine, too.

Miami has a tougher schedule ahead, with nine of their 12 remaining opponents currently above .500, as of Jan. 19.

"We got a great group," Steele added. "We're going to focus on the things [we can] control. … We're just focused on getting better every day, and hopefully we're going to peak at the right time — obviously in March."

The RedHawks' most recent NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2007, when they lost in the first round, and they haven't been back since. Prior to that, they reached the Sweet Sixteen in 1999. This might be a breakthrough year for the RedHawks, though, as they've cracked the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in years.

[MORE: Men's CBK AP Top 25: Arizona a Unanimous No. 1, Unbeaten Miami (OH) Enters Poll]

Miami finished the 2024-25 season 25-9 and 14-4 in conference play. Steele, who previously coached at Xavier from 2018-22, has been at the helm in Miami since March 2022. He boasts a 140–96 (.593) overall head coaching record.

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