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No. 20 Miami (Ohio) drops MAC opener, the first loss for D-I’s last undefeated men’s team

By The Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — No. 20 Miami (Ohio) dropped its Mid-American Conference Tournament opener to UMass 87-83 on Thursday, spoiling the last perfect record in Division I men’s basketball.

Daniel Hankins-Sanford made a tiebreaking layup with 29 seconds remaining, and the Minutemen escaped with victory in a quarterfinal game that had 12 lead changes and 10 ties.

The RedHawks (31-1) were the fifth men’s Division I program this century to go undefeated during the regular season. Now it’s the second to get tripped up in its conference tournament. St. Joseph’s lost to Xavier in the 2004 Atlantic 10 quarterfinals but was still a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Miami was the first squad since Gonzaga in 2020-21 to not have a loss going into a conference tournament.

The RedHawks had eight one-possession games during the regular season, including their last three coming into the MAC Tournament.

There were some doubts about the RedHawks earning an at-large berth. Those quieted after a win over Ohio last Friday but might perk up again after this.

After Hankins-Sanford’s layup, Miami’s Luke Skaljac made a bad pass and turned the ball over to Marcus Banks, who made two free throws to make it a two-possession game.

Brant Byers was fouled on a 3-point attempt but made only two of three free throws. Banks iced the game with another pair of free throws with 8 seconds left.

Leonardo Bettiol led UMass (17-15) with 25 points while Banks added 18 and Jayden Ndjigue 16.

Byers led Miami with 17 points, and Eian Elmer added 16.

Miami had a 69-58 lead with 8:11 remaining before UMass rallied back with a 13-2 run. Ndjigue had six points, including a 3-pointer to tie it at 71.

Up next

UMass faces fourth-seeded Toledo (18-14) in Friday’s conference tournament semifinals.

Miami (Ohio) awaits its postseason fate.

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Cheryl Reeve steps away from the WNBA grind for a Hall of Fame induction

By The Associated Press
Cheryl Reeve is taking a break from her busy WNBA season to head to Knoxville this weekend and be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. She's only the second WNBA coach to enter the Hall of Fame, joining former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, who was inducted in 2001. “(I appreciate) the magnitude of this recognition of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the great work that has gone into this institution,” Reeve said. “To walk around and see the history of how much has been done years before I could ever have this opportunity to coach. Grateful to the WNBA because I think there was some consideration given schedule wise.” Reeve will be joined by WNBA greats Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne in this year's class. Parker and Delle Donne also will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. Other inductees include ESPN broadcaster Doris Burke, Kirkwood Community College coach Kim Muhl, Spanish star Amaya Valdemoro, French great Isabelle Fijalkowski and Clemson's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.
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