Miami (Ohio) gets one step closer to perfect regular season with latest win

The No. 22-ranked Miami (Ohio) RedHawks remain one of the most incredible and also confounding stories in the 2025-26 men's basketball season. They continued their quest for a perfect regular season on Friday night with an emphatic 91-77 win over Bowling Green, improving their record to 27-0 on the season.

They remain the only unbeaten team in men's college basketball and are just four games away from completing a perfect regular season. 

It is impressive.

It is also maddening to try and evaluate because of the schedule they have played and the level of competition they have faced.

Nobody knows what to do with this Miami (Ohio) team

On one hand, 27 consecutive wins is a pretty strong statement by any team. And while it has been good enough to get the RedHawks into the top-25, they are not really making a big move up the rankings and still remain outside of the top-20. That is almost unheard of for an unbeaten team this late in the season.

Usually, a team in that position is a top-10 team at worst, and most likely in the top-five. Probably even the No. 1 team in the country. 

The problem for the RedHawks is entirely with the schedule and level of competition.

The MAC is not really a powerhouse college basketball conference and is typically a one-bid league in the NCAA Tournament.  

They have also not played a single ranked team all season, which is unheard of even for the MAC. Every other team in the MAC except Central Michigan and Western Michigan has played at least one AP Top-25 opponent this season. Several have played multiple ranked teams. 

The lack of high-level opponents is going to cause skepticism when it comes to how good this team actually is.

All of that is fair.

But it is also fair to point out that a lot of teams have played softer schedules this season, in mid-major conferences (or lower), without many ranked opponents.

And nobody is doing what this RedHawks team has done. Nobody else is undefeated. Every other team in the MAC has at least five losses overall. Every team outside of Miami (Ohio) and Akron has at least three losses within the conference. 

If it were as simple as the schedule. More teams would be closer to them. Nobody is. 

Only 20 teams in men's college basketball history have ever entered the tournament undefeated, and only three of them have done it with at least 30 wins. That is what Miami (Ohio) would be doing if it runs the table over the next four games and then rolls through the MAC conference tournament. 

Regardless of the level of competition, this is rare.

There is also going to be a really interesting layer of pressure that they have to deal with the rest of the way. 

Not just as it relates to their quest for a perfect season, but also because they have almost no margin for error. 

Given the lack of at-large bids that come out of the MAC, this is likely a keep winning or go home situation. If they slip up in the MAC tournament, or lose a game before then and then fail to win the tournament, that is probably going to keep them out regardless of what their record is. Resume matters with the selection committee, and anything short of a conference championship might not stand out enough given the schedule. 

It is a fascinating team having a fascinating season. It is also a team worth watching the rest of the way, just to see if they can sustain this.