PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Travis Steele heard the murmurs inside the arena burst into a rock-concert explosion of noise as 27 lithe men — wearing nothing but Speedos, goggles and swim caps — bum-rushed the stands behind the basket and waved their arms to provide a nearly-nude distraction on opposing free-throw attempts.
With Miami (Ohio) already riding a wave of popularity as one of college basketball's darlings, the swim team's Speedo stunt added a ripple
of excitement during the RedHawks' March Madness opener.
Steele coached the RedHawks to a 31-0 regular-season record that almost took a backseat (or backstroke?) to the swimmers' antics.
“I know if I was distracted, I know the young man at the line was distracted,” Steele said of the swimmers’ arena arrival at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. “Obviously, it worked. He missed a free throw.”
SMU's Corey Washington — perhaps thrown off by the wall of topless men with hairless bodies — indeed missed a foul shot after the swimmers swarmed the area behind the backboard.
Miami (Ohio) went on to beat SMU 89-79 on Wednesday night for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 27 years.
“You see these guys all in Speedos sprinting down the stairwell right there at UD arena in the end zone, and it’s like, 'Oh my God,” Steele said.
Luke Pugh, a freshman swimmer out of Indiana, was the one who decided the swim team should wade out of the starting blocks and into the basketball stands.
Pugh thought it would be fun to find a way to throw some colorful support behind the basketball team, in the spirit of Duke's Cameron Crazies. His suggestion in the team group chat eventually led to the swimmers attending their first home game in January.
Their support stretched all the way to Miami's tournament win in Dayton, about an hour's drive from the RedHawks' campus.
“We didn't expect to blow up like we did,” Pugh said.
Pugh said maybe 20 members of the team attended the first game but the number grew as the win total — and attention — swelled.
“The more and more we did it, more and more members of the team showed up,” Pugh said.
To answer some basic questions, no, the team doesn't wear only Speedos the entire game. The team dons color-coordinated civilian clothes for the first half. In the second half, the changeover in the student section happens — the shirts, pants and shoes are tossed aside in exchange for the minimal-coverage swimwear.
“I do think it's effective,” Pugh said. “How much exactly, I'm not too sure. But definitely I believe it has an impact on their shooting average. We do it enjoy it a lot. It's pretty fun, (Wednesday) night especially. When we were running downstairs to get behind the goal, the arena erupted. I feel like the energy changed for the rest of the game after that moment from the fans.”
To answer another question, no, it doesn't take a special kind of bravery to stand tall in the skin-tight suit on national television.
“I'd say it's better than practice because we're not in the cold water,” Pugh said.
Miami has yet to shrink in the spotlight, even as its inclusion in the field forced one of the deeper dives into any resume of the 68 teams. The RedHawks went undefeated without a Quad 1 win and just about sunk to the bottom of the list in strength-of-schedule rankings.
“I told our guys if we’re not asking for (the critics') opinion about our team, I’m not calling them for advice, then why the heck should we listen to them now? We know how good we are,” Steele said. “We know we deserve this opportunity. We knew we were a team that could advance. We’re very confident in that. We’re going to go showcase that.”
The short turnaround from Wednesday to Friday and exorbitant cost of travel, tickets and lodging might make it impossible for many swimmers to travel to Philadelphia — there was talk, of course, of pooling resources — in time for the game against Tennessee.
The RedHawks got big laughs and great appreciation out of their supporters throughout the Mid-American Conference season and hoped the scantily clad fans would somehow make it to Philadelphia.
“That’s pretty awesome how they support us all the time,” guard Eian Elmer said. “They’re very effective. We’ll make sure we return the favor and show up to some swim meets.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
