Miami RedHawks men's hoops undefeated and making national headlines
Dan Aulbach, Columbus DispatchWed, January 14, 2026 at 4:27 PM UTC·2 min read
As of Jan. 14, there are four undefeated Division I men's basketball programs in the country: Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Arizona and none other than Mid-American Conference titan Miami (OH).
After thrashing Central Michigan 100-61 on Jan. 13, the RedHawks are 18-0 and receiving national attention. Part of the reason for that attention is that Miami is the only undefeated team unranked in the latest AP top-25 poll, and it's the first time a team with a record better than 17-0 has been left out of the rankings since the 1978-79 season.
This year's other three undefeated teams sit within the top 10: Arizona (16-0) is No. 1, Nebraska is No. 8 (17-0), and Vanderbilt is No. 10.
"Rank them!" ESPN commentator Scott Van Pelt said on ESPN. "How hard is this? They haven’t lost a game. Nobody will play them. What are you scared of?"
“Rank them! How hard is this? They haven’t lost a game — nobody will play them. What are you scared of?”
-@notthefakeSVP on @MiamiOH_BBall #RiseUpRedHawkspic.twitter.com/JwiNTZTasu
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) January 14, 2026
With the No. 9 scoring offense and the highest field goal percentage in the country, the RedHawks have steamrolled their first six conference opponents. They own a +86 scoring differential through those games.
Miami has five players who average double-digit scoring and is led by Brant Byers, a 6-foot-8-inch guard averaging 15.6 points per game on 52/80/43 shooting percentage splits.
The RedHawks boast another secret weapon courtside: In the win against Central Michigan, the Miami men's swimming and diving team sat beneath the Central Michigan hoop, clad in only Speedos and bucket hats, and attempted to distract free-throw shooters.
The result? Central Michigan shot 57% from the free-throw line in the second half when they faced the band of merry swimmers.
.@MiamiOHSwimDive stole the show at tonight's men's basketball game.
Were they effective? Well, Central Michigan shot 57% from the FT line in the second half...😂@MiamiOH_BBall | @WDTN pic.twitter.com/GAXgCsaeTW
— Kayler Smith - WDTN (@KaylerSmithTV) January 14, 2026
"I was laughing," RedHawks head coach Travis Steele told WDTN. "... I was distracted, so I would think that they were as well."
The RedHawks continue their undefeated season at home against Buffalo Jan. 17.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Miami RedHawks men's basketball 18-0, still unranked by AP
