March Madness Underdog Wants That Cinderella Story

Ohio's Miami RedHawks just pulled off one of the rarest feats in college basketball—yet they're still fighting to find a footing in the March Madness tournament bracket. The RedHawks went 31-0 in the regular season, joining the likes of Larry Bird's Indiana State and John Calipari's Kentucky in the tiny club of unbeaten Division I teams. It was "a Cinderella season, probably the best in school history," NBC News reports. But a stumble in the Mid-American Conference tournament against 17-16 Massachusetts cost them an automatic NCAA bid, and the selection committee slotted them as a No. 11 seed in the "First Four," where they'll face Southern Methodist University on Wednesday for the right to advance to the main bracket and a matchup with No. 6 seed Tennessee.

Their path there underscores how steep the climb is for a mid-major school. Coach Travis Steele filled seats in a once-empty arena by bucking the transfer-portal arms race and recruiting mostly high school players within a five-hour drive. As wins piled up and Millett Hall started selling out, bigger programs largely refused to play Miami, a team without much standing; 70 schools were asked and half didn't even respond. The RedHawks' spotless record may have come on a weak strength of schedule, but the team averages 91 points a game, "the second-most in the nation," per NBC. The 87-83 loss to UMass was rough, especially after Miami led by 11 points with eight minutes left, per USA Today, but the team is eager to prove their worth. Indeed, Miami's athletic director compares the team to Yoda, fighting college basketball's "Evil Empire."