How Good is Miami of Ohio Basketball?

The Miami of Ohio Redhawks are on one of the craziest runs in recent college basketball history.

As of February 4, Miami OH is 23-0, one of two remaining undefeated teams in the sport. They have climbed to #23 in the AP Poll, their highest rank since 1998.

The Redhawks are as well-balanced as any team in the nation. They average 88.1 points per game, 12th in the country, with six players averaging double-digit points.

Along with their high scoring, Miami OH is one of the most efficient shooting teams in college basketball. They shoot 51.4% from the field, good for fourth in the nation, while each of their double-digit points-per-game scorers shoots above 37% from three.

With a team that has an undefeated record, scores nearly 90 points every night, and makes over half of their shots, it is only natural that Miami of Ohio’s KenPom rating is… 89th?

That doesn’t seem right. How can the 23rd-ranked team in that nation be rubbing elbows with Stephen F. Austin and Dayton in adjusted efficiency margin?

I mean, Illinois State is ranked 86th in this metric. Providence is 70th, and the Friars have a 9-13 record! What gives?

Well, the Redhawks play in the MAC. Nothing against MACTION, but the competition has not been particularly stiff this year. The next three best teams in the conference are Akron, Kent State and Ohio.

This leads to the most glaring statistic on the Miami OH resume: A Strength of Schedule rating of -6.51, ranking 329th out of 365 Division I teams.

A 107-101 overtime victory against Kent State is, thus far, the crowned jewel on a dismal Redhawk schedule. They still have two matchups against Ohio the rest of the way, but they will finish the regular season without having played a single Quad 1 game and just three Quad 2 games.

This leaves the road to an NCAA tournament bid very simple: Win the MAC. A conference title would give Miami OH an automatic berth, not needing to worry about a committee scrutinizing the competition they’ve played this year.

While this seems easy, they have had some extremely close calls against this weak competition. Three of their last five wins have come by one possession, not including the aforementioned six-point victory against Kent State on January 20.

In fact, 10 of the Redhawks' 23 wins have been by single digits, contributing to a luck rating of .120, the eighth-highest in college basketball.

A slip-up in any of Miami OH’s final eight games will raise serious alarms about the legitimacy of this squad as a real threat. Even if they finish perfectly, falling in an early round of the MAC tournament will force real conversations about where, or even if, this team should be slotted in the NCAA tournament.

The Redhawks' next game is against Marshall on February 7, their final Quad 2 game of the regular season. From there, they play mostly middling MAC teams such as Bowling Green, UMass and Toledo, along with Ohio twice.

For now, the Miami of Ohio Redhawks are the story of the college basketball season, and rightfully so. The potential for an undefeated season only comes around not even once a decade, so to see a mid-major have that dream alive and well is a sight to behold.

Brendan Kern is a second-year majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email bwk5372@psu.edu