Miami (Ohio) vs. Auburn basketball records: Comparing resumes in 2026 March Madness bubble debate

What happens when you combine MACtion and Madness? 

Miami (Ohio) – which finished the regular season with a 31-0 record – suffered an 87-83 loss to UMass in the quarterfinal round of the MAC tournament on Thursday. The RedHawks fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and now will have their tournament resume skewered for SEC teams looking to get off the 2025-26 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. 

By SEC teams, we mean Auburn of course. The Tigers (17-16) lost to Tennessee 72-62 in the SEC tournament Thursday. Does Auburn deserve the benefit of the doubt based on its strength of schedule? 

Welcome to the debate that started well before the RedHawks lost in shocking fashion Thursday. 

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Auburn vs. Miami, Ohio by the Numbers 

These numbers are why the conversation is taking place. Every metric here other than the win-loss record favors the Tigers. Miami did not play a Quad 1 opponent all season. Auburn had 17 games against Quad 1 competition, and both teams suffered one Quad 3 loss apiece. 

Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl –whose son Steven is the head coach at Auburn now – started this head-to-head argument on Feb. 28 when he criticized the RedHawks' resume.

"Are we going to select the 68 most deserving teams or are we going to select the 68 best teams?" Pearl said. "If we're selecting the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion. Because as an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country."

At the time, that statement was incendiary. Was it actually foreshadowing?

Where Miami, Auburn stand in NCAA tournament projections

Entering Thursday's action, Sporting News had Miami as a No. 10 seed and Auburn as one of the first Four Teams Out of the tournament.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the RedHawks in as a No. 11 seed and Auburn as one of the Last Four Teams IN before Miami's loss but has since changed that projection.

Why Miami, Ohio should be ahead of Auburn

Is one loss really the standard we're holding to teams that aren't in major conferences now? Miami is one of eight teams that finished undefeated in regular-season play since the NCAA Tournament began seeding teams in the 1978-79 Tournament. Would you have Larry Bird out of the NCAA Tournament if the Sycamores lost the game? 

It's a scenario similar to when St. Joseph's finished 27-0 in the regular season in 2003-04 before losing to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinals. The Atlantic 10, however, had four tournament teams that season and St. Joseph's and Xavier advanced to the Elite Eight. The Hawks still received a No. 1 seed.

Miami ranked second in the NCAA in scoring offense at 90.9 points per game under coach Travis Steele. The RedHawks escaped with three close victories at the end of the regular season, which begs a hypothetical question: Would there be any doubt about their tournament credentials had they lost one of those games and advanced to the MAC championship game?

Why Auburn should be ahead of Miami, Ohio 

Auburn can lean on the metrics and the strength of schedule argument. The Tigers played 16 games against Quad 1 opponents. The only schools that have more games are Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Florida – the four projected No. 1 seeds. 

And you thought that strength of scheduling was just a thing in the College Football Playoff? 

Auburn played Houston, Arizona, St. John's, Michigan and Purdue in non-conference play. The Tigers finished 1-4 in those games – with the lone victory coming against the Red Storm. Had Auburn played weaker competition, it might have been a 20-win team and a no-doubt selection for the NCAA Tournament. We tried this argument with Texas in the CFP last season – and it didn't quite work.

Leaving Auburn out and putting Miami in as a second MAC team will only enhance the narrative that the NCAA should expand to 76 teams to accommodate super conferences.

Auburn had a chance to take this debate to the next level Thursday before the loss to Tennessee. 

Verdict: Miami still should be ahead of Auburn

We can dance (no pun intended) around this argument all we want, but the truth is Miami deserves a mulligan here. The RedHawks completed a perfect regular season, and it's not like the MAC hasn't had two NCAA tournament teams in the past. 

Kent State beat Miami 49-43 in the 1999 MAC tournament championship, but both teams made the NCAA Tournament. Wally Szczerbiak carried the RedHawks – a No. 10 seed – to the Sweet 16. The Golden Flashes lost 61-54 to Temple in a 6-11 game, but it set up the program for an Elite Eight run in 2001-02.

That's our way of saying it's OK to put two MAC teams in the tournament, with the RedHawks in as a No. 10 or No. 11 seed. What Auburn does should not impact that decision. 

Miami's loss hurts Auburn in terms of the bubble, especially if Akron wins the Mid-American Conference tournament. That legitimizes two MAC bids. The Tigers probably need to beat Tennessee just to heat up this argument, which could ultimately end in the best made-for-TV solution. Why not put Miami and Auburn head to head in the First Four as dueling No. 11 seeds? Who doesn't want to see that? 

Then we can actually settle this debate on the court.