College basketball rankings: Miami's undefeated regular season run puts it in the NCAA Tournament
The RedHawks show they belong in the field of 68
No Division I men's basketball team has ever missed the NCAA Tournament in the modern era after finishing its regular season undefeated.
So that should do it.
Yes, Miami University will be in the 2026 NCAA Tournament regardless of what the RedHawks do in next week's MAC Tournament. Put another way, Travis Steele's 31-0 team can lose its quarterfinal game in Cleveland to UMass by a billion points, and if Miami isn't still in the NCAA Tournament, every member of the selection committee should resign on the spot.
I'll keep this simple: Anybody in favor of giving an at-large bid to a power-conference school with 14 or 15 or 16 losses at the expense of group of dudes who just went 31-0 in the regular season, if Miami were to need an at-large bid, either works for a power conference or has strong ties to somebody running a bubble team.
The rest of us know what's right.
As you surely understand by now, the RedHawks tried to schedule a whole bunch of quality opponents to increase the difficulty of their schedule -- but most were reluctant to agree to a game for a variety of reasons, with the primary one being that Miami was returning four of the top five scorers from a team that won 25 games last season. In an era when roster-continuity from one successful season to another at the MAC-level is rare, Miami had it. Other programs knew it. And that is more or less how the RedHawks ended up with a strength of schedule that ranks 344th nationally, according to the NET.
That's not good, obviously.
But, again, it's also not entirely the fault of the RedHawks. And, either way, and I can't emphasize this enough, THEY'RE 31-0! And, again no team has ever missed the NCAA Tournament in the modern era after finishing its regular season undefeated.
Miami won't be the first.
The RedHawks remain No. 19 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Duke is No. 1 for the 14th straight day. Duke, Michigan and Arizona have already locked-up No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, according to CBS Sports Bracketology. The fourth No. 1 seed will likely end up attached to either Florida or UConn, though Houston and Michigan are also technically in play.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 93-64 win at NC State. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | -- | 28-2 |
| 2 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 71-68 win at Iowa. The Wolverines' next game is Sunday against Michigan State. | -- | 28-2 |
| 3 |  | Jaden Bradley finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Monday's 73-57 win over Iowa State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Colorado. | -- | 28-2 |
| 4 |  | Alex Condon finished with 26 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 108-74 win over Mississippi State. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Kentucky. | -- | 24-6 |
| 5 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 71-67 win over Seton Hall. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Marquette. | -- | 27-3 |
| 6 |  | Kingston Flemings finished with 21 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 77-64 win over Baylor. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 25-5 |
| 7 |  | Coen Carr finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 91-87 win over Rutgers. The Spartans' next game is Sunday at Michigan. | -- | 25-5 |
| 8 |  | Jamarques Lawrence missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Tuesday's 72-52 loss at UCLA. The Cornhuskers' next game is Sunday against Iowa. | -- | 25-5 |
| 9 |  | Joshua Jefferson missed 15 of the 17 shots he attempted in Monday's 73-57 loss at Arizona. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Arizona State. | -- | 24-6 |
| 10 |  | Andrej Stojakovic finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 80-54 win over Oregon. The Illini's next game is Sunday at Maryland. | -- | 23-7 |
| 11 |  | Thijs De Ridder finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 75-70 win over Wake Forest. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Virginia Tech. | -- | 26-4 |
| 12 |  | Amari Allen missed six of the seven shots he attempted in Tuesday's 98-88 loss at Georgia. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Auburn. | -- | 22-8 |
| 13 |  | C.J. Cox finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 70-66 win at Northwestern. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against WIsconsin. | -- | 23-7 |
| 14 |  | Adam Miller missed eight of the 13 shots he attempted in Saturday's 70-59 loss at Saint Mary's. The Zags' next game will be March 8 in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 28-3 |
| 15 |  | Darryn Peterson missed 15 of the 18 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 70-60 loss at Arizona State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Kansas State. | -- | 21-9 |
| 16 |  | Christian Anderson missed seven of the 11 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 73-65 loss to TCU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at BYU. | -- | 22-8 |
| 17 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 21 points and two rebounds in Friday's 72-65 win at Seton Hall. The Red Storm's next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. | -- | 25-6 |
| 18 |  | Luka Bogavac finished with 20 points and three assists in Tuesday's 67-63 win over Clemson. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Duke. | -- | 24-6 |
| 19 |  | Eian Elmer finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 110-108 overtime win at Ohio. The RedHawks' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. | -- | 31-0 |
| 20 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 28 points and 13 assists in Wednesday's 105-85 win over Texas. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Missouri. | -- | 22-8 |
| 21 |  | Mikey Lewis finished with 31 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 70-59 win over Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game will be March 8 in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 27-4 |
| 22 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 34 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 89-86 overtime win at Ole Miss. The Commodores' next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | -- | 23-7 |
| 23 |  | Tre Donaldson finished with 17 points and nine assists in Wednesday's 77-69 win at SMU. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday against Louisville. | -- | 24-6 |
| 24 |  | J.P Estrella finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 78-59 win at South Carolina. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 21-9 |
| 25 |  | Mikel Brown Jr. missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted in Saturday's 80-75 loss at Clemson. The Cardinals' next game is Tuesday against Syracuse. | -- | 21-9 |
| 26 |  | Nick Boyd finished with 22 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 90-73 win at Washington. The Badgers' next game is Wednesday against Maryland. | -- | 21-9 |
