(Photo credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images)

They were mocked by pundits across the nation, their schedule was scoffed at and when they finally lost, bubble teams saw renewed hope.But here is how you now refer to this year's Miami (Ohio) RedHawks: 2026 NCAA Tournament participants.The RedHawks (31-1) barely skated into the March Madness field as one of the final four teams chosen on Sunday.But that beats being passed over, and No. 11-seed Miami will face SMU (20-13) in the First Four at Dayton on Wednesday, located just 42 miles away from Miami.'It's surreal,' RedHawks coach Travis Steele said. 'We put a lot into this. I'm happy they're getting the reward for all of the work they've put in.'Miami had some nervous moments in recent days after losing to UMass in its opening game of the Mid-American Conference tournament. 12-seeded Akron ended up winning the MAC's automatic berth.Selection committee chairman Keith Gill said Miami made the field ahead of three teams, all power-conference schools. He said SMU was the last team chosen and that the RedHawks were definitely one of the top 37 at-large teams in the country.'Miami (Ohio) was not the last team selected into the field,' said Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference. 'They came in before NC State, Texas and SMU.'Factors that the RedHawks overcame included zero Quad 1 opponents and a dismal nonconference strength of schedule of 363.The other First Four matchup on an 11-seed line is North Carolina State (20-13) against Texas (18-14).Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida were selected as the four No. 1 seeds by the selection committee.The Southeastern Conference has 10 teams make the field. The Big Ten has nine followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 with eight apiece.Duke (32-2) is the No. 1 seed in the East. UConn (29-5) is the No. 2, followed by Michigan State (25-7) and Kansas (23-10).The Blue Devils will take aim at reaching the Final Four for the second straight year. Duke meets No. 16 Siena (23-11) in the first round on Thursday at Greenville, S.C.Arizona (32-2) was placed in the West as the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats look to overcome a long drought as they haven't reached the Final Four since losing the national title game in 2001. Their last national championship was four years earlier.Arizona opens with No. 16 seed Long Island (24-10) on Friday in San Diego.Purdue (27-8) is the No. 2 seed, Gonzaga (30-3) is No. 3 and Arkansas (26-8) is No. 4.Michigan (31-3) landed the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Iowa State (27-7) is No. 2, Virginia (29-5) landed the No. 3 spot and Alabama (23-9) is No. 4.The Wolverines will play the winner of the First Four matchup between UMBC and Howard. This is the first appearance for the Retrievers since the famous 16 vs. 1 victory over Virginia in 2018.Santa Clara (26-8) drew the No. 10 seed in the Midwest to make the March Madness field for the first time since 1996 when the Broncos were in for the third time in four seasons to end the Steve Nash era.Defending champion Florida (26-7) earned the top seed in the South and will face either Lehigh or Prairie View A&M in the first round.Houston (28-6), which lost to the Gators in last season's final, is also in the South as the No. 2 team. Illinois (24-8) is No. 3 and Nebraska (26-6) is No. 4. The Cornhuskers are 0-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and lost in the first round to Texas A&M in 2024 in their most recent appearance.The first four out were Oklahoma (19-15), Auburn (17-16), San Diego State (22-11) and Indiana (18-14). Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl -- whose son Steven now coaches the team -- had been banging the drum the loudest for the Tigers to be in at Miami's expense.Pearl, serving as a CBS studio analyst, said Oklahoma or Auburn should have been in the tournament instead of SMU.The NCAA Tournament appearance is the first for the RedHawks since 2007. Miami's best NCAA experience came when program icon Wally Szczerbiak led the RedHawks to the Sweet 16 in 1999.Miami was in the spotlight for the first time since that run with this season's stunning success that included an unbeaten regular season.'As the year went on, it got louder, louder and louder,' Steele said of the noise prompted by the unbeaten streak. 'Everywhere we went was the Super Bowl, sellouts, free tickets, free beer, whatever. Our guys handled it real well. We had fun on the journey.'It probably is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we had this year.'No. 11 seed VCU (27-7) won the Atlantic 10 tournament to get into the field. Though the Rams have won 16 of their last 17 games, Gill said they would have missed the cut if they had lost to Dayton in Sunday's conference title game.VCU faces No. 6 North Carolina (24-8) in a South matchup Thursday.--Field Level Media