No. 25 Miami (OH), vying to remain one of three unbeaten programs in Division I, aims to make Mid-American Conference history Tuesday night at Kent State.
The RedHawks (19-0, 7-0) extended their program-best, season-opening winning streak to 19 in dramatic fashion in their last game, a 105-102 overtime thriller over visiting Buffalo on Saturday. Kent State (14-4, 5-1) is coming off a dramatic comeback win of its own, 87-84 at home over Toledo on Friday.
With the win, the RedHawks matched the best start for a program in MAC history, set by Western Michigan in the 1975-76 season.
Miami’s streak nearly didn’t reach 19 as it trailed Buffalo 88-85 with less than 10 seconds remaining. Eian Elmer drained a 3-pointer as regulation expired to tie the score. In overtime, Peter Suder won the game with just one second remaining with a three to cap a season-best 37-point performance.
Suder, Elmer and Brant Byers have picked up the scoring slack for point guard Evan Ipsaro (13.9 points per game), who was lost for the season Dec. 20 due to a torn ACL. Byers leads Miami in scoring at 15.5 ppg, Suder averages 13.4 and Elmer averages 10.3 and a team-high 5.8 rebounds.
“We were super composed, and we came together as a group,” Suder said. “We’ve seen everything. We played 19 games. We have a lot of guys that experienced a lot of stuff like that last year. We’re just built for the moment.”
As a result of the win streak, the RedHawks cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time in 27 years. The last time Miami was ranked was Feb. 15, 1999, when Wally Szczerbiak was the star player and the team went 24-8, winning twice in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
“Our guys are unflappable,” added Miami coach Travis Steele. “The moment’s never too big. There’s no panic with them in any of our huddles.”
Kent State rallied from a six-point halftime deficit Friday against Toledo, withstanding a five-minute scoring drought. Delrecco Gillespie had 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Golden Flashes. He paces the team in scoring (19.8) and leads the country in rebounds per game (12.6) and double-doubles (15).
Golden Flashes coach Rob Senderoff is trying to get his students and the Kent community to turn out for the home game, offering the first 500 students of legal drinking age a free beer for attending.
“I’m buying the first 500 beers for students that are of age, and that are allowed,” Senderoff announced after Friday’s game. “So, I’m hoping we have a great student section for that game. I hope that our community comes out because we are 14-4 and they are (19-0).
“It’s a really tough place to play when it is loud. They have a really good team, and we have a really good team. So like, boy, it would be great to have this be a sellout.”
