The 1998-99 men's basketball team is the most successful hoops squad ever fielded by Miami University. That team, led by Wally Szczerbiak, is remembered most for its Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament. Before the RedHawks ever considered being fitted for a glass slipper, however, Miami was busy playing host to the No. 7 ranked team in the country: the University of Tennessee.
On Nov. 19, 1998, the RedHawks upset the Volunteers in Millett Hall. It marked one of the greatest games ever played on Miami's campus. Using momentum from this upset along with the season opening victory over the University of Notre Dame just a game before, the RedHawks propelled to the most historic season in the program's storied history.
"(Tennessee) came in here seventh rated," head coach Charlie Coles said. "We had played them a great game the year before. They had all the same players back and we had practically all our guys back. So we figured that we could play with them."
That game was particularly memorable for those in attendance. Among them was current Miami senior Matt Titus, who was just eleven years old at the time.
"I had been to almost all of the Miami games up to that point in my life," Titus said. "This is one of the first games that I really remember. It was a really big win. I'd say it was the biggest basketball upset I've witnessed."
Miami was led in scoring that night by forward Wally Szczerbiak with 34 points. According to associate head coach Jermaine Henderson, who has been with the team full-time since 1998, Szcerbiak's efforts, especially in the first half, helped to drive the RedHawks to victory.
"What Wally did in the first half was just take over the game," Henderson said. "Wally got us off to a good start by getting big baskets in a highly contested game."
The 'Hawks were forced to overcome adversity early on in the game when their starting point guard, Rob Mestas, went down with a sprained knee just three minutes in. The injury forced starting shooting guard Damon Frierson to take over the role of point guard. The injury also gave guard Jason Grunkemeyer, now an assistant coach, increased playing time.
Szczerbiak scored 17 of his 34 points in the first half, going seven of twelve from the field. Some timely three point baskets kept Miami in front for most of the half, and they went into halftime leading 37-30.
The second half did not start out well for the RedHawks, as Tennessee jumped out to a 51-45 lead with 12 minutes to play. Miami was able to come back, this time spurred not only by the efforts of Szczerbiak, but the entire team itself.
"In the second half, it became more of a team game," Henderson said. "We were moving the ball, trying to explore mismatches. Wally got us started, but certainly the team came in and finished the job."
When Miami regained the lead with eight minutes to play, they never looked back and hung on for the 68-62 win. The victory added to the process of energizing the campus for the remainder of the basketball season and Wally Szczerbiak's senior year.
"Before the season, Sports Illustrated named him (Szczerbiak) as the best player no one knew," Coles said. "The campus was really excited."
Assistant coach Jason Grunkemeyer compared that situation to one that is ongoing today in college basketball.
"It's kind of similar to what Davidson is experiencing right now with Stephen Curry," Grunkemeyer said. "Being a school that is a little bit off of the radar nationally, when you have a star player and start to win some games, you really pick up some momentum."
The RedHawks would ride that momentum the rest of the season, eventually reaching the NCAA tournament as a 10 seed. The 'Hawks continued their winning ways there, when they upset the No. 7 seeded University of Washington.
Szczerbiak once again led the way in that game, pouring in a career-high 43 points.
The 'Hawks, however, were not done shocking the basketball world yet, as they would go on to defeat the No. 2 seeded University of Utah and advance to the Sweet 16, becoming the only RedHawks team to advance that far in the tournament.
"The upset of Utah is probably the only upset I would rank ahead of the Tennessee game," Coles said, "because that game was national television, in the NCAA Tournament."
The entire 1998-99 men's basketball returned to Miami University Feb. 14, for a ceremony celebrating the induction of two of Miami's top three all-time leading scorers, Wally Szczerbiak and Devin Davis, into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame.
