DAYTON — The NCAA tournament kicks off tonight at UD Arena with eight teams fighting for four spots in the tournament.
The Miami RedHawks are one of the biggest stories in college basketball this season. News Center 7’s John Bedell talked with the RedHawks, their coach, drive, and their fans about playing 40 minutes from campus on Wednesday night.
UD Arena is only about an hour’s drive from Millett Hall. News Center 7 and other media are not allowed to be live inside the arena on game day, but Bedell and his photographer were allowed in earlier and talked to Miami fans about the excitement of what’s basically a home game on Wednesday for the RedHawks.,
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As the team took to the floor for practice on Tuesday, News Center 7 talked to Miami graduates.
Che’Aunna Amos, of Dayton, said, “It’s so exciting, I mean, I live 20 minutes away. It’s good to see them here at home,” She continued by saying, “I graduated in 2022.”
Pam Liebhard, of Dayton, watched the RedHawks undefeated regular season unfold in person at Millett Hall.
“I have season tickets, and to watch the crowds grow, and the excitement around the team has been wonderful,” Liebhard said.
Miami RedHawks start their NCAA tournament against SMU Wednesday night at UD Arena. The Mustangs are from Dallas.
“I really hope that it feels like a home game for them. They’ve deserved it. They work hard,” Liebhard said.
News Center 7 asked some of the RedHawks players what message they have for their fans ahead of Wednesday night’s game.
Guard Peter Suder said, “Just be loud. That’s the main thing. We’re super excited for the support they’ve been showing us all season at Millet and on the road.”
The RedHawks head coach, Travis Steele, said this is a “unique opportunity” for their fans. “I expect this to be a home game for us in a lot of ways, you know, when I saw the draw, obviously it sort of immediately popped in my mind, I was like this is pretty cool, so hopefully our fan base will take advantage of that and show up and show out tomorrow night.”
A story that came out during the RedHawks perfect regular season is that head coach Steele’s 3-year-old daughter picks out the t-shirts he wears under his Miami quarter zip for each game.
Steele said for tomorrow’s game, he has a feeling she’ll pick a different shirt than last game, which was Miami’s first loss of the season. He joked that they have to burn that shirt from last week.
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