AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Miami of Ohio coach Travis Steele isn’t afraid to talk to his team about the 26-game winning streak that makes the RedHawks the last unbeaten team in Division I.
“Obviously, it is the elephant in the room,” Steele said on Tuesday night after Miami beat UMass 86-77. “I tell our guys to enjoy the ride, enjoy the moment, be present. Not very often are you going to be in this position.”
Steele himself didn’t seem to be focused on the streak, saying in his postgame that he didn’t know who the next opponent was or when they played — it’s Bowling Green, on Friday. He also needed to be reminded how many games they had won.
“It’s incredible. It’s awesome. It’s unique, so enjoy it. You only live life once,” said Steele, who said the streak is a distraction like texting while driving. “We have to be able block out that, and always focus on the things that we can control.”
UMass trailed by eight points with 14 minutes left before tying the game 68-all on Isaiah Placide’s banked 3-pointer as the shot clock buzzer expired. But the RedHawks scored the next five points and UMass never got closer than one possession again.
The crowd of 7,524 was the biggest for a UMass home game since the opener of the 2014-15 season, according to The Daily Collegian. Steele said he expects to face hostile crowds for the rest of the road games, with stops at conference opponents Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Ohio.
“Our group loves to be the villain in a lot of ways. They love going on the road and silencing the crowd,” Steele said. “The communication gets a little harder when you’re in a loud environment, but I would argue that it’s harder to get your team ready to play when there’s nobody in there, where you can hear everything, a pin drop. I think that’s hard as well, because then you’ve got to be able to create your own energy.”
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