March 19 (UPI) — Miami University players addressed those who didn’t think they deserved a place in the 2026 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament after a convincing First Four triumph over SMU.

The RedHawks, who went a perfect 31-0 during the regular season, but fell to UMass in the Mid-American Conference tournament, bounced back with an 89-79 victory over the Mustangs on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.

They entered the game as 6.5-point underdogs and faced criticism from those who didn’t believe they belonged in the tournament field.

“All the doubters that doubted us, all saying we don’t have Quad 1,2 wins, all that stuff, I don’t know what they’re going to say now,” senior guard Peter Suder said.

“We proved the doubters wrong. To win by double digits against a really good team, athletically, physically talented players, it’s huge for this program.”

The RedHawks (32-1) set a First Four record with 41 3-point attempts. They made 16 of them, including 10 in the first half.

Junior guard Eian Elmer scored a game-high 23 points. Sophomore guards Brant Byers and Luke Skaljac chipped in 19 and 17 points, respectively. Junior forward Almar Atlason scored a dozen points off the bench.

The Mustangs (20-14) outshot the RedHawks 48% to 45%, but trailed 39% to 24% in 3-point percentage. They RedHawks, who trailed 46-20 in points in the paint, also totaled 20 assists against just four turnovers.

They led by as many as 14 points en route to their first tournament win since 1999.

Steele’s No. 11 RedHawks, the first MAC team to earn an at-large bid since 1999, will take on the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (22-11) in a Round of 64 matchup at 4:25 p.m. EDT Friday in Philadelphia.

The winner will meet the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers (29-5) or No. 14 Wright State Raiders (23-11) in the Round of 32.

“Our group is uber-, uber-confident,” Steele said. “We know we belong. I told our guys afterwards, I’m happy, but the job is not finished. We want to continue to advance in this thing.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Prairie View A&M Panthers (19-17) beat the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (18-17) in a battle of No. 16 seeds for another ticket to the first round.

The Panthers will meet the No. 1 Florida Gators (26-7) at 9:25 p.m. Friday in Tampa, Fla. The No. 16 Howard Bison (24-10), who won the initial First Four contest, will take on the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (31-3) in another Round of 64 matchup at 7:10 p.m. Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y.

The No. 11 Texas Longhorns (19-14), the second First Four victors, will face the No. 6 BYU Cougars (23-11) at 7:25 p.m. Thursday in Portland.

The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (21-12) will meet the No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs (22-11) in the first Round of 64 game at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Greenville, S.C. That will air on CBS.

Games also will air on truTV, TNT and TBS throughout the tournament.