First Four: Sights and sounds as RedHawks fans take over UD Arena

One of the largest crowds in First Four history attended Wednesday’s session. Much like UD Arena typically is on game day from November through early March, there was a sea of red in the stands.

This time it was Miami University fans turning Dayton into an extension of Oxford. It was unsurprising to see Wednesday’s atmosphere feel like the game was taking place in the friendly confines of Millett Hall.

Since UD Arena’s renovation project was completed, the 12,588 in attendance Wednesday has only been surpassed by 2015’s Dayton-Boise State night.

Miami fans were rewarded for their support with the school’s first tournament win since 1999.

Here are some observations from the second night of March Madness in Dayton:

A splattering of red was present before the tip of game one. Miami-approved gear outnumbered most other apparel, but a few SMU shirts could be seen. They primarily had more blue colored gear show up from their supporters.

Lehigh had the best turnout of the 16-seed school fans. The section located behind their bench had nearly every seat filled. Lehigh, located in eastern Pennsylvania, is roughly as close to Dayton as UMBC and Howard, who played on Tuesday night. The Prairie View A&M campus is more than twice away as far than any of the other three.
A gentleman manning a blue, white and black sparkle jacket and red cowboys hat, while sporting a red and blue dyed beard danced his way around the lower levels for most of the first half. He received lots of high fives. It’s not confirmed if the outfit was part of celebrating National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day.
The crowd was more subdued during game one than it was on Tuesday. Watching Prairie View A&M build a double-digit lead during the second half had everyone likely enjoying the action, but overall were waiting to get through the undercard in anticipation for Miami-SMU and what was built up as the main event of this year’s First Four.

Miami takes the floor at UD Arena. pic.twitter.com/bI4bye3Kn3
— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) March 19, 2026

A loud “Let’s go RedHawks” chant broke out before starting lineups. The only SMU fans in sight consisted of a stripe close to their bench.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and his wife Fran DeWine, as well as Miami alum and former Chicago Bulls player Ron Harper were spotted in the crowd.
Andy Enfield doesn’t give fist bumps to the opposing team’s starters. Travis Steele greeted each of SMU’s players.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

The first loud moment of the evening came as Miami built its first large lead. Eian Elmer, who became one of the stars of the game, connected on a three to put the RedHawks ahead by five. Luke Skaljac got a steal on the ensuing SMU possession, throwing it ahead to Peter Suder who lobbed the ball for Elmer. He was able to get a hand on it but couldn’t throw down a one-handed dunk. The ball still bounced off the glass and rim and in, leading to a SMU timeout and Miami fans rising to their feet. “I don’t even know how Eian made that. That was insane,” Skaljac said. “I got lucky, honestly,” Elmer added.
SMU fans began chanting “S-M-U” near the fend of the first half. It was drowned out by boos, followed by a loud cheer when Kirby hit Miami’s eighth three of the game.

Tonight @MiamiOH_BBall:

scored 80+ points
dished out 20+ assists
made 15+ threes
had fewer than 5 turnovers

Never in NCAA Tournament history had any team done that in a game. pic.twitter.com/75MhAGyjdC
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 19, 2026

One of loudest ovations of the night came midway through the second half when the Miami swim team made their appearance. Running down the aisle behind the basket and clothed in only speedos and swim hats, their attempts to distract Corey Washington worked on the first attempt. He made the second, and the swim team members got dressed back up the steps.

They just ran down from the concourse pic.twitter.com/j7jfMPKIz0
— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) March 19, 2026

It was fitting for Miami to play on a Wednesday night. “MACtion” tends to shine during weekdays — it usually that happens during football season.
Elmer’s made three-pointer with 3:07 left was the 16th of the game for Miami. It set a new team record for a tournament game held at UD Arena, eclipsing the previous mark set by Prairie View A&M in 2019 against Fairleigh Dickinson. Steele after the game said the goal was to shoot at least 40 against SMU. The 41 attempted by the RedHawks was also a record in the same vein.
After the game concluded, Suder left the court flinging out the part of his jersey that read “Miami” to the crowd for a final cheer.
UD Arena has hosted 145 tournament games, the most in tournament history by a wide margin. Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri, held 83 games from 1940-64. Wednesday was one of the most memorable.
Steele during his postgame news conference was asked about his statements on Tuesday carrying mid-major basketball on their backs. He continued backing them up. “We had to basically be perfect in the whole regular season to get an at-large. But yet we’re going to go win a game tonight, and we can advance far into the tournament. I would say that the reason people love March Madness is they love to see, quote-unquote, upsets. This wasn’t an upset tonight at all.”