TOLEDO - Before Miami players can think about playing in Saturday's Mid-American Conference championship, they must avoid losing in the semifinal for the third consecutive season.
Second-seeded Miami (19-8, 13-5 in MAC) plays sixth-seeded Western Michigan (14-13, 9-9) at 6 p.m. today at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo (WOXY-FM, 97.7).
The Redskins feel they finally have the right formula to rid themselves of the semifinal demons. They'll need to for any hope of an NCAA berth - it is almost certain that only the MAC tournament champion will advance to the NCAA Tournament.
''Last year we lost badly, and I don't know if we were really in the game,'' said coach Charlie Coles, referring to the 75-55 semifinal loss to Toledo.
''The year before that we had the cushion (of an at-large bid).''
Miami lost to Ball State 66-61 in the 1995 semifinal. The team received an at-large invitation to the NCAAs two days later based upon its sole possession of the regular-season MAC title (16-2) and overall record (21-5). This year Miami shared the title with Bowling Green, so Coles figures no MAC team is strong enough to
earn an at-large bid.
''Probably one team from the Mid-American will advance to the (NCAA) tournament and that will be the champion,'' Coles said. ''Everybody's going to be competing just as hard to get it. We don't have a cushion now. We have to play.''
Coles, who was an assistant to Herb Sendek in 1995, leads a team on a six-game winning streak. During the run, Miami has defeated the three other clubs here in Toledo - Western Michigan, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan.
''Had we not won those games,''
Coles said, ''I think we would have been coming in here with a lot more doubt.''
Western Michigan coach Bob Donewald, who has seen Miami beat his Broncos twice this year, 62-49 and 56-55, is concerned.
''The thing Miami brings to the table is their athleticism, which is far superior to ours,'' Donewald said. ''It creates numerous problems at both ends of the floor.''
WMU upset Ohio 74-68 in a quarterfinal. They won at OU 64-63 in the regular season.
''We just found a way to win in Athens,'' Donewald said.
Tournament stories
MIAMI STRUGGLES PAST KENT March 5, 1997
SULLIVAN COLUMN March 5, 1997
HOT REDSKINS HOPE TO BEAT KENT THIRD TIME March 4, 1997
