First Four Packed with Drama: Howard Wins, Miami Debates, Underdogs Rise
TJ Thompson | Editor-in-Chief
Day two of the First Four was highlighted by the first two games of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Both of the games came down to the wire and created some March Madness moments on the first day. The Howard Bison defeated the UMBC Retrievers for their first-ever NCAA Tournament win. In the second game, the Texas Longhorns beat the NC State Wolfpack on some late-game heroics.
Before the games tipped off, players and coaches from the teams competing on Wednesday spoke with the media. This group is headlined by Miami University, which took the college basketball world by storm when it completed an undefeated regular season. The RedHawks began debates across the country when they lost their first MAC Tournament game against UMass.
“Yeah, it’s been a pretty unreal experience just opening your phone and seeing a Miami logo or a picture of someone.” Said redshirt sophomore Brant Byers (14.2 ppg) when asked what the media attention has been like.
To deal with this unexpected media pressure, Head Coach Travis Steele has gone back to the basics to keep his team focused.
“One of the best things I’ve ever done is I coached my oldest son’s fourth-grade AAU team when I got let go from Xavier… I learned a lot from [the kids] just how to have fun again.” He added, “I think we’ve created that environment at Miami year one when we weren’t as good, year two, year three, and year four.”
Miami became a polarizing team, with many people thinking they don’t deserve to be in the tournament due to their weak strength of schedule, which was 269 in the nation. Miami did try to schedule Power 5 and 6 teams, but was unable to find any opponents. This is the reality for smaller programs across the country.
“A lot of the mid-major basketball aren’t going to have opportunities to have Quad 1 games ever at home. That’s never happening. Let’s make that very clear… So again, hopefully our guys take advantage of the opportunity that we have and showcase that mid-major basketball is great hoops.”
The NCAA is giving Miami a chance to prove itself in the First Four against SMU (20-13, 8-10) out of the ACC.
The Mustangs finished the regular season losing four in a row, but had a big win over Syracuse in the first round of the ACC Tournament and lost a close game to Louisville in the second round.
SMU struggled on the road all season, and with Miami being just an hour drive away, it is expected that UD Arena will be packed with RedHawks fans. Senior guard Boopie Miller said, “They’re an hour away from home, so definitely it’s going to be like a home game to them.” He added, “All we can do is just go out there and play our hardest and stick to the game plan.”
Miller received All-ACC honors in a season where he averaged 19.2 ppg and 6 assists. He is the leader of the Mustang offense that averages 84 ppg, but defense will be the story of the game, as the RedHawks also have a high-powered offense, which averages over 90 ppg.
Head Coach Andy Enfield said, “As far as defensively, I think both teams are hard to guard, and we’re a little different than they are, but both teams are very hard to guard, and I think you’ll see probably some points on the board.”
The first matchup on Wednesday is the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, the Patriot League champions, going up against the SWAC Champions, the Prairie View A&M Panthers. The Panthers are one of only three HBCUs in the March Madness field, along with Howard and Tennessee St.
When asked what it means to represent HBCUs at this level, senior guard Dontae Horne said, “It means a lot. Like you said, a lot of people probably don’t think we would be here. The fact that we are representing HBCUs means a lot to me.”
The Panthers had to win four games in five days to punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament. One of those games was a four-point win over the number one seed in the SWAC, Bethune-Cookman.
Head Coach Byron Smith said, “They were the big giants, if you will. We just put together a great 40 minutes.” He added, “We went up – they obviously made a great run, and we were able to sustain consistent play.”
The Panthers are led by Horne, who averaged 20.2 ppg and received All-SWAC first team honors. The Panthers are looking to replicate their Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament, but will have to get past Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks already have their March Madness moment. In the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament, junior guard Nasir Whitlock hit a half-court buzzer beater to give Lehigh a three-point victory over Holy Cross. The shot went on to become the number one play on the SportsCenter Top 10.
When asked if he believed the shot was going to fall, Whitlock said, “No, I did not honestly. I’ve told Hank [Alvey], all my teammates, I didn’t know it was going in, so thanking God it went in.”
This Mountain Hawks team was young last year, starting multiple freshmen. Head Coach Brett Reed stuck with many of his guys and brought in no Division I transfers for this season, which is almost unheard of in college basketball today.
Stability is how Coach Reed runs his program. He has been the coach at Lehigh for almost 20 years, and his goal is to build rosters with chemistry.
He said, “I know the college basketball climate has changed. We certainly, and myself, can be super adaptable to that. But I also think there’s a value that I place where it’s wonderful that these guys are celebrating their championship, they’ve been here together.”
Whitlock leads the team with 21.0 ppg on the year and several clutch shots that have kept the Mountain Hawks’ season alive. He gets the chance to have another magical moment on Wednesday, when the Road to the Final Four begins for four more teams at UD Arena.