Behind a slew of 3-pointers, a poised response to every SMU push and a crowd that turned UD Arena into something resembling Millett Hall, Miami delivered a statement 89-79 victory over SMU in the First Four on Wednesday night to give the program its first NCAA Tournament win since 1999.
Eian Elmer scored 23 points to lead four RedHawks in double figures, Brant Byers added 19 and Luke Skaljac finished with 17 as Miami (32-1) knocked down 16 3-pointers and controlled the tempo in front of a heavily pro-Miami crowd of 12,588.
“Number one, really appreciated all the Miami fans showing out tonight,” RedHawks coach Travis Steele said. “In a lot of ways, it was a home game for us.”
The 11th-seeded RedHawks advance to face sixth-seed Tennessee at 4:25 p.m. Friday in Philadelphia.
A stage, a statement and a storm of treys
From the moment Skaljac drilled a straightaway 3 to give Miami its first lead, the tone was set. The RedHawks were not here to survive — they were here to attack.
And it was Elmer who made sure of that.
The junior wing caught fire midway through the first half, ripping off a personal 11-0 run that included three consecutive 3-pointers and his 1,000th career point — an acrobatic transition finish that brought the Miami faithful to their feet.
“I think if anything we’re just going to go out there, play our hardest and have fun,” Elmer said.
Miami’s confidence showed in its shot selection — and its results. The RedHawks attempted 41 shots from beyond the arc, which was a number Steele had circled before tipoff.
“My goal was to get up at least 40 3s,” Steele said. “We shot 41.”
Byers provided the exclamation point to the first half, scoring nine points in just over a minute — including a three-point play and back-to-back deep treys — to give Miami a 43-34 halftime lead.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Answering every run
SMU (20-14) made its push early in the second half, erasing Miami’s lead with a 9-1 run and briefly tying the game.
But the RedHawks never blinked.
Peter Suder, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, steadied the offense and moments later found Byers for a go-ahead 3. Atlason followed with five straight points, then stretched the lead to double digits with a top-of-the-key triple that forced an SMU timeout.
“We’ve just got to stay together,” Skaljac said. “They’re a good team — but we knew we were the more together, strong team.”
When the Mustangs trimmed the deficit late, Elmer delivered the dagger sequence — back-to-back 3-pointers in a one-minute stretch, with the second coming off an offensive rebound that pushed the lead back to 13 with under three minutes to play.
“In those moments you don’t win by playing with scared money,” Elmer said. “You’ve got to continue what you’re doing.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Full circle moment
The final moment fittingly belonged to Elmer.
With under a minute to play, Elmer — who won a state title on this same floor with Taft High School in 2022 — rose for a thunderous dunk, punctuating the night and sealing Miami’s long-awaited NCAA Tournament victory. He also sealed that state title for Taft with a dunk.
“Coach drew up the play, wanted me to put an exclamation point on our game,” Elmer said. “It was a good feeling to do that in front of them.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Miami finished with 20 assists, committed just four turnovers and matched SMU on the glass (35-35) — neutralizing a size disadvantage Steele emphasized pregame.
“I thought we were the more attacking team from the jump ball all the way to the end,” Steele said.
More than anything, it validated what the RedHawks believed all year long — that their 31-win season was no fluke.
“We know we belong,” Skaljac said. “It was more just proving it to ourselves.”
“This wasn’t an upset,” Steele added. “People are going to say that it was — but there’s a lot of good teams out there.”
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