Blame the DJ.
Miami (Ohio) coach men’s basketball coach Travis Steele had a wild tantrum with his undefeated team trailing Western Michigan at halftime Friday night that included him knocking off a speaker en route to the locker room after earning a technical foul for berating the referees.
CBS Sports later captured a person who appeared to be the DJ having an animated discussion with two individuals.
Steele’s outburst seemed to inspire his team to rally from the four-point halftime hole, with the Redhawks escaping with a 69-67 road win on a layup by Trey Perry with one second remaining to improve to 29-0.
“I gotta be better at halftime, if I’m being honest,” Steele said. “I can’t lose my mind, I got a technical foul walking off the court and I gotta be better.”
No. 21 Miami is the only undefeated Division I team in the country and now stands just two wins away from completing an unblemished regular season.
Steele has already vowed to wear a Speedo on Selection Sunday on March 15 should his team own a 34-0 record that includes a MAC championship.
That streak nearly ended Friday when the 10-19 Broncos had Steele’s Redhawks on the ropes, taking a 30-26 lead into halftime,
Steele walked onto the court at break and finger-pointed at two off-camera individuals — surely the referees — while appearing to say, “Awful.”
He eventually turned out and approached one official, yelling and pointing at the individual while being held back by members of his coaching staff.
That outburst earned him a techincal.
When Steele eventually retreated to the locker room, he shoved the standing speaker to the floor.
“Look out,” the CBS announcer said. “Things are flying now. The emotions starting to pour out a little bit here.”
Western Michigan eventually grabbed a nine-point lead with 6:38 remaining, but Miami ended up the game on a 19-8 run with freshman Trey Perry notching the game-winning basket.
Miami hosts Toledo (15-13) and visits Ohio (15-13) next week to close out the regular season.
“What a great fight, got a ton of respect for Western Michigan, coach (Dwayne) Stephens does a great job,” Steele said. “We knew we were going to have a war.
“Our guys’ ability to stay present, be unflappable, is elite and that’s why he win a lot of tight games.”
