EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDAYTON, Ohio -- Eian Elmer scored 22 points and Miami (Ohio) beat SMU 89-79 on Wednesday night in the First Four for its first NCAA tournament victory in 27 years.Elmer went 6-of-9 from 3-point range as the 11th-seeded RedHawks (32-1), unbeaten during the regular season, advanced in the Midwest Region to play No. 6 seed Tennessee.Brant Byers added 19 points, including four 3s, and Luke Skaljac had 17 points for Miami, making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007. The RedHawks finished 16-of-41 from 3-point range.Jaden Toombs led SMU (20-14) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 18 points and Boopie Miller had 15 for the Mustangs.Miami went 31-0 during a captivating regular season -- the only Division I team to go unbeaten in 2025-26 and just the eighth undefeated regular season in the past 50 years.But the RedHawks lost their MAC tournament opener to UMass, putting their NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy because of a schedule that ranked 339th in overall strength and featured no Quadrant 1 games.Some analysts and critics questioned whether they belonged in the field with an at-large bid, but Miami silenced some skeptics Wednesday with a rousing victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.Peter Suder had the assist of the night when he gathered an outlet pass from Skaljac and bounced a pass across the paint to Elmer, who caught it and scored with one hand to put the RedHawks ahead 20-13.Suder dished out six assists.Elmer had 14 points and went 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the first half. Byers hit back-to-back 3s to give Miami an 11-point lead.SMU missed its first seven 3-point attempts before Pierre connected with 7:02 remaining in the first half. The Mustangs went 5-of-19 from long distance on the night.Almar Atlason hit a pair of 3s to give the RedHawks a 63-50 advantage early in the second half. He scored 12 points.Skaljac's transition 3 extended Miami's lead to 71-57.SMU had a decided size advantage, but foul trouble negated some of that. Mustangs 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu fouled out with 1:31 remaining. He finished with eight points and six rebounds.
