A long time coming: Looking back at the last ranked men’s basketball team

COLUMN

Fans of the Travis Steele-led RedHawks sat on their couches on the morning of Jan. 19, to see if the Miami University men’s basketball team’s thriller win over the University of Buffalo Bulls would be enough to appear in the national rankings. With a 19-0 standing, Miami appeared at the No. 25 spot and was back in the rankings for the first time since Feb. 15, 1999.

The same school that went 12-20 when Steele took over in 2022 has improved every year up to now, where the RedHawks are smashing record after record. With Miami’s most successful year in more than two decades, let’s look back at the 1998-99 team and what Miami looked like at the time.

Led by head coach Charlie Coles, the RedHawks were coming off a 17-12 campaign in 1997-98 and a loss in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship to Eastern Michigan University. The team had just appeared in the 1997 NCAA tournament and returned standout player Wally Szczerbiak, who averaged 24.4 points per game in 1997-98.

The campus at the time didn’t yet have campus hotspots that current Miami students visit every day, including Armstrong Student Center, the Farmer School of Business and Goggin Ice Center (which was rebuilt across the street from Goggin Ice Arena in 2006). Certain campus buildings have also been renovated since then, including Bachelor Hall, Ogden Hall and Bell Tower Commons.

The RedHawks started 4-0, including a road win against Notre Dame University and a tight clash against the No. 18 University of Tennessee at Millett Hall. A crowd of 8,840 packed Millett for the matchup, and Szczerbiak scored 34 points and 12 rebounds to give Miami a 68-62 win.

Miami seemed to be rolling, even earning its first ranking of the season at No. 24 and later No. 22, but after visiting powerhouse Xavier, Miami fell to 4-1. For the next two months, the RedHawks went 19-5, briefly earning a No. 25 ranking at the end of the regular season.

Miami advanced to the MAC championship after an overtime victory against Bowling Green State University in the semifinals. However, the RedHawks lost 49-43 to the Kent State University Golden Flashes.

Despite the loss, Miami earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament thanks to a 22-7 regular season finish. Szczerbiak led the RedHawks during this run, as the senior averaged 24.2 points and 8.5 rebounds during the season, leading the team in both categories.

Seniors Damon Frierson and John Estick were also key to the RedHawk’s success. As a guard, Frierson averaged 13 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists and was the only other player to average double-digit points. For his part, 6-foot-7 center Estick averaged 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds.

Juniors Jason Stewart and Rob Mestas filled out the rest of the lineup. Stewart, a 6-foot-5 forward, averaged 6.1 points and 2.2 rebounds, while Mestas, a 5-foot-10 guard, led the team with 3.4 assists and averaged 6.9 points.

The RedHawks entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed and faced the No. 7 University of Washington in the opening round. When it mattered most during the madness, Szczerbiak scored 43 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to upset Washington 59-58. He blocked a last-second shot from Washington freshman guard Senque Carey to allow Miami to dribble the game out and advance to the second round.

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Their next matchup, the No. 2 University of Utah, would be an even bigger challenge for the RedHawks. Utah finished the regular season 24-4 and won the Western Athletic Conference Championship one year after appearing in the 1998 national championship.

Utah took a 24-13 lead early in the first half and limited Szczerbiak’s impact, but Stewart sank three 3-pointers in the span of 85 seconds to close the gap. Miami eventually took the lead in the second half, eventually winning 66-58.

With all the momentum in the world, Miami ran into the University of Kentucky Wildcats for their Sweet 16 matchup. It was the RedHawks’ first appearance in the third round in program history, which gave Miami a No. 20 ranking in the ESPN Coaches Poll at the conclusion of the tournament.

The RedHawks quickly fell behindas Kentucky took a 16-5 lead halfway through the first half. They fought back and closed the gap to 26-19 at halftime, but Miami couldn’t overcome Kentucky’s defense. The RedHawks fell 58-43 to close out the 1998-99 campaign.

Szczerbiak went on to get drafted sixth overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he ended up playing 10 seasons in the NBA, finishing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009. He ranks second in all-time points at Miami and became the fifth player to have his number retired.

Since 1999, Miami has only qualified for one other run in March, that being in the 2006-07 season after winning the MAC championship and earning an automatic conference champion bid.

Neither the team nor Miami’s campus today is identical to that 1998-99 season, but the RedHawks are looking to rewrite the record books this season. They sit as the only undefeated team left in college basketball and rank No. 23 in the nation.

mccartd6@miamioh.edu