From an article on CollegeInsider:
MADE OF STEELE
There hasn’t been this much excitement in Oxford, OH since Charlie Coles had Miami rolling in the late 1990s. With their win over Western Michigan on Tuesday night, the RedHawks remained perfect on the season at 16-0, and they set a new program-best with 24 straight home victories.
In their last 50 games, Miami is 41-9.
To say that Travis Steele (pictured above) has done a tremendous job is the understatement of the season. This team is very impressive. The fourth-year head coach has his squad ranked among the nation’s leaders in several statistical categories. Heading into Tuesday’s tilt Miami was No. 1 in the country in effective field goal percentage (0.634), tops in field goal percentage (53.6), and second in three-point percentage (42.8).
I can keep going, but you get the point.
Miami is an explosive shooting team. They have good size on the perimeter, which makes them difficult to defend. And when their big men are making triples, they are nightmare to defend. Look at the overall numbers from beyond the arc.
Eian Elmer: 38%
Evan Ipsaro: 39%
Luke Skaljac: 40%
Brant Byers: 43%
Almar Atlason: 44%
Peter Suder: 45%
Two words – Good Luck!
Their fast pace-attack, which averages over 93 points per contest, is aided by their work on the defensive glass. Over 28.4 defensive rebounds per game leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks top 35 nationally. Get the ball – score the ball.
And in crunch time, they make free throws. The RedHawks shoot 78% from the charity strip, which is top 15 in college basketball.
Having the continuity of so many returning players has been a huge part of their success. You simply don’t see that quite as often in this new age of college basketball.
There aren’t a lot of teams that could lose an All-American and just keep rolling. Evan Ipsaro (pictured above) went down with an injury on Dec. 20 and is out for the season. The junior guard was having a terrific season and was named to the Lou Henson Early Season Watch List.
