The Miami (OH) Redhawks proved to the Selection Committee that they not only deserved to be in the March Madness field — they deserved to not have to play in the First Four. But that's what Travis Steele's team was asked to do, so they took down the SMU Mustangs to officially advance to the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Miami has been one of college basketball fans' favorite stories all year long, going undefeated in the regular season, but being on the bubble after a MAC Tournament loss. Now they're dancing fully in March, and everyone wants to know where this potential cinderella's next dance will be with — namely, who the Redhawks will face next in March Madness.
Who does Miami (OH) play next in March Madness?
No. 11-seeded Miami (OH) will now advance to play the Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region of March Madness for their Round of 64 matchup.
The Vols have one of the best defenses in the country, and certainly in the NCAA Tournament. At the same time, they also have the same problem that Rick Barnes' team has had over the years in this type of spot. The offense can go ice-cold, and with the scoring prowess that the Redhawks possess, that could cause them some problems.
At the same time, though, the caliber of athlete and the size (even if Tennessee isn't the biggest team to make the field of 68) that the Vols will be able to throw at Miami could make the nation's underdog a bit vulnerable in this matchup. That could be especially true with how heavily the Redhawks rely on their lethal offense to carry them, and how the Vols could potentially disrupt that.
Picking the Redhawks to pull off the upset would be a far cry from unheard of. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but Barnes' struggles and demons in March have been well-documented over the years. In the same vein, there's a reason that the Vols aren't a top-three seed in the tournament and have fallen back several seed lines from where the expectation was set. Given that and the momentum we've seen First Four teams get before, it's not unreasonable to be thinking about a true cinderella run for Miami (OH).
The Miami Redhawks' potential path to the Sweet 16 and beyond
If Miami were to upset Tennessee in the first round of the tournament, they would then advance to face the winner of No. 3 seed Virginia and No. 14 seed Wright State. Not to get too ahead of ourselves when we're talking about March Madness and how anything can happen, but it feels safe to say there is a high probability that the Redhawks would match up against the Cavaliers.
Virginia isn't the Tony Bennett teams of old, but it's also not a team that appears to have the ceiling of some of Bennett's teams in Charlottesville. There is balanced scoring and a group that can find the cup well, but it's also a team that went just 1-3 against Top 25 teams this season, which might be an indication of their lack of high-end potential as a group. They'd be heavily favored over Miami (OH), but the Redhawks would still have a puncher's chance to pull off another upset, which would give them a Sweet 16 berth.
A deeper cinderella run for the Redhawks might be tough to come by, though. The Midwest Region has Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Texas Tech and a ton of dangerous heavy-hitters standing in Miami's way. Never say never, but it does feel like getting to the Sweet 16 with back-to-back upsets over Tennessee and Virginia might be the best-case scenario for this dream season before bowing out.