The best story in men’s college basketball is taking place in Oxford, Ohio, with the No. 22 Miami (OH) RedHawks, the only remaining undefeated team in the country, who moved to 27-0 after a 91-77 win over Bowling Green at Millett Hall Friday night.
Miami has won 30 consecutive games inside the arena, tied with Duke for the longest active streak in the country.
“Fantastic job they’re doing filling the arena and getting the hype going, and all that good stuff,” BGSU men’s basketball head coach Todd Simon said. “Hats off to all the people here and their support of it.”
The frenzy RedHawk fans packed the arena on Friday, with 10,127 strong—nearly 1,000 more than the listed capacity of 9,200—creating the rowdiest and most electric environment in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), exploding with every made shot or turnover forced by Miami.
The crowd was the third largest that Bowling Green has faced this season. The Falcons played in front of 14,797 at the Breslin Center against Michigan State on Oct. 23 and 13,407 at the University of Dayton Arena against the Flyers on Oct. 27, although both matchups were exhibitions.
The hottest team in the country also drew Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Cleveland Browns, to the game, who was sitting courtside across from the Miami bench with his own camera.
“It [the crowd] makes it harder to communicate more than anything. We’ve played in a lot of good environments this year, though. So, we’ve experienced that, and the guys kind of have it down.”
The student section was especially wild in rows of bleachers, with fans nearly filling the arena an hour before tip-off.
Miami has welcomed over 10,000 fans for three straight games and has sold out four consecutive contests, fully awakening the nearly 60-year-old arena.
When Bowling Green played the RedHawks in Oxford last season, there were only 1,175 people in attendance.
“We’ve been here before, we’ve been in places like this. So, that was nothing new,” BGSU senior guard Javontae Campbell said. “But I feel like with that type of crowd, we just have to keep our poise, just be simple, make the right plays and just still execute.”
