Jan 10, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) talks to head coach Jon Scheyer during the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images They were mocked by pundits across the nation, their schedule was scoffed at and when they finally lost, bubble teams saw renewed hope.
But here is how you now refer to the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks: 2026 NCAA Tournament participants.
The RedHawks (31-1) barely skated into the March Madness field as one of the final four teams chosen on Sunday.
But that beats being passed over, and Miami will face SMU (20-13) in the First Four at Dayton, located just 42 miles away from Miami.
Miami had some nervous moments in recent days after losing to UMass in its opening game of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Akron ended up winning the MAC’s automatic berth.
The other First Four matchup on an 11-seed line is North Carolina State (20-13) against Texas (18-14).
Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida were selected as the four No. 1 seeds by the selection committee.
Duke (32-2) is the No. 1 seed in the East. UConn (29-5) is the No. 2, followed by Michigan State (25-7) and Kansas (23-10).
The Blue Devils will take aim at reaching the Final Four for the second straight year. Duke meets No. 16 Siena (23-11) in the first round on Thursday at Greenville, S.C. UConn won back-to-back national titles in 2023-24.
Arizona (32-2) was placed in the West as the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats look to overcome a long drought as they haven’t reached the Final Four since losing the national title game in 2001. Arizona opens with No. 16 seed Long Island (24-10) on Friday in San Diego.
Purdue (27-8) is the No. 2 seed, Gonzaga (30-3) is No. 3 and Arkansas (26-8) is No. 4.
Michigan (31-3) landed the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Iowa State (27-7) is No. 2, Virginia (29-5) landed the No. 3 spot and Alabama (23-9) is No. 4.
The Wolverines will play the winner of the First Four matchup between UMBC and Howard. This is the first appearance for the Retrievers since the famous 16 vs. 1 victory over Virginia in 2018.
Santa Clara (26-8) drew the No. 10 seed in the Midwest to make the March Madness field for the first time since 1996 when the Broncos were in for the third time in four seasons to end the Steve Nash era.
Defending champion Florida (26-7) earned the top seed in the South and will face either Lehigh or Prairie View A&M in the first round.
Houston (28-6), which lost to the Gators in last season’s final, is also in the South as the No. 2 team. Illinois (24-8) is No. 3 and Nebraska (26-6) is No. 4. The Cornhuskers are 0-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and lost in the first round to Texas A&M in 2024 in their most recent appearance.
The first four out were Oklahoma (19-15), Auburn (17-16), San Diego State (22-11) and Indiana (18-14). Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl — whose son Steven now coaches the team — had been banging the drum the loudest for the Tigers to be in at Miami’s expense.
The NCAA Tournament appearance is the first for the RedHawks since 2007.
–Field Level Media
