The Key for the week of February 9, 2026
And then there was one..
There are 361-ish Division I men’s basketball programs in the country. (the count wavers one or two each year with teams moving from Division II to Division I). Of those 360+, there is one that remains undefeated after Monday night’s Arizona loss to Kansas. That one, is the Miami Redhawks. It’s been a season of redemption for Travis Steele, who was at Xavier long enough to compile a winning record, but couldn’t get the Musketeers in the NCAA Tournament. He’s found his home in Oxford, though, with a roster of regional players and the best start in both Miami University and Mid-American Conference history. They’ve won in blowouts, they’ve won in OT, they’ve won nailbiters. They average more than 90 points a game, with seven different players scoring 20 or more points a game at one time of another. Their next, and maybe their biggest test, comes in prime time Friday night when the Ohio Bobcats come to town. The Bobcats are 13-12 on the season but have Jackson Paveletzke averaging 17 points per game. Must-see TV Friday night at Millett Hall.
The Boys of Summer prepare for the spring at their winter home in AZ
The Reds’ pitchers and catchers were due on Monday, the rest of the squad not until the end of the week, but lots of Reds players are coming to Goodyear early to get a jump on conditioning and re-introduce themselves to new teammates, including Eugenio Suarez. Keep an eye on Sal Stewart this spring—the late season callup had five home runs last September and looks to build on his No. 1 prospect billing.
The last word on the Super Bowl..
Paul “Bear” Bryant may have said “defense wins championships” but the Seattle Seahawks put it into practice Sunday by making New England’s offense look like the second string in Peewee practice. The Seahawks’ D is not called “The Dark Side” for nothing, as Seattle made their field-goal-heavy offense hold up for the Lombardi Trophy. It’s the ultimate “I told you so” for quarterback Sam Darnold, the first quarterback to win after playing for five different teams. And the Minnesota Vikings are saying “what could have been” if they would have kept Darnold in purple after last season.
Ben’s Best Bet…
We’re less than a month from conference tournaments and just over a month from the first tip of March Madness, so it’s never too early to look at who are the favorites. Despite their loss to Kansas this week, Arizona remains the favorite to take the title with Michigan not far behind Duke is third, despite its loss in a thriller to North Carolina this past weekend. Houston and UConn make up the top five. Ben says, it’s never a bad bet to choose the nation’s top player in Cameron Boozer (yes, he’s Carlos’ son). He averages a double double, just over 23 points and 10 rebounds per game. Expect Duke to, at the least, make it to the Final Four.