Jay Bilas calls Miami-OH a 'no-brainer' for NCAA Tournament despite MAC Tournament outcome

No matter what happens with Miami-Ohio in the MAC Tournament, ESPN’s Jay Bilas said the Redhawks will make the NCAA Tournament. At 31-0, Miami-Ohio capped off an undefeated regular season.

So any notion that the Redhawks won’t make it, even if they’re picked off early in the MAC Tournament, is nonsense for the long-time ESPN analyst. Former Duke star Jay Williams agreed.

In fact, Seth Greenberg said the same thing! Bilas broke down why the Redhawks will find their way into March Madness in 2026.

“They’re going to get in. Like, it’s a no-brainer,” Bilas said on College GameDay. “Now, would you say Miami’s as good as some of these other teams (on the bubble)? We could argue about that, but this is a no-brainer. They’re in the tournament, no matter what happens in their conference tournament. They’re in. … The only question is where they’re going to be seeded. And the worst thing that the committee could do would be put them in Dayton or something like that. They need to be in the bracket right now.”

So no First Four for Miami-Ohio, per Bilas. That’d be a travesty. Williams even called the Redhawks the best story in the sport as we get closer to spring.

“There’s no way, even if they lost in the quarters, that you can keep them out. It’s the best story in college basketball,” Williams added. “March Madness has to do with — most deserving and best team are two different things, but you’re not going to turn down that story for March Madness. There’s no way.”

Head coach Travis Steele clapped back at Bruce Pearl for his comments over the Redhawks’ NCAA Tournament resume as well. So the conversation surrounding Miami-Ohio is certainly a big one that can get heated.

“I like Bruce, I do, great guy,” Steele said. “I’m not calling Bruce and asking him for his opinion on our team. All respect to Bruce. Bruce is a way better coach than I’ll ever be. He’s a Hall of Famer. He’s won everywhere he’s been. I could care less what he says. It’s ‘we control our own destiny.’ Let’s prepare the right way. Let’s focus on the right things. Now, for David Sayler, I love that he’s going to bat for us.

“He’s a fighter, you know? He’s gonna fight for us. So he’s not afraid that, afraid of anybody, and he wants to see our program do really well and get the recognition we deserve. So I appreciate David’s — I guess his words. I don’t even know what he said or what’s happened, but like, I’ve heard but haven’t really seen it. So I appreciate David, though.”