As the only undefeated team remaining in college basketball, Miami, Ohio, is still being debated for an NCAA Tournament bid if it does not win the MAC Tournament. The biggest knock on the Redhawks is their weak strength of schedule, but recent developments show they unsuccessfully attempted to schedule games against several high-profile schools, including Kansas, BYU and Ohio State.
Miami contacted roughly 20 different power conference schools to schedule a non-conference game early in the 2025-2026 college basketball season, according to Extra Points. Each team either failed to respond or politely declined the schedule request.
The Redhawks also contacted Wisconsin, Marquette, Florida, USC, Utah and UCLA, among others. Kansas appeared to be the only school expressing mild interest in booking a matchup, but pushed it off for at least one year.
Extra Points confirmed the reports by providing screenshots of emails Miami associate head coach Jonathan Holmes sent to the other schools. Based on the images, Holmes contacted most programs between May and June 2025.
After going 25-9 and losing in the MAC Championship Game in 2024-2025, Miami entered the 2025-2026 season as one of the hottest mid-major programs. The Redhawks returned five key players from their runner-up team, including leading scorers Peter Suder and Brant Byers and point guard Evan Ipsaro.
Miami faced two power conference teams early in the 2024-2025 season, losing to Michigan by 27 and Indiana by 19.
The Redhawks' weak 2025-2026 schedule prevented them from having the opportunity to obtain a Quad 1 victory, which could loom large in the eyes of the selection committee. Miami's best non-conference win came on the road against Wright State, which recently clinched the Horizon League regular season title.
