Sweets, socks, shoes: The superstitions behind the unbeaten run for Miami (Ohio) - ESPN

Miami (Ohio) head coach Travis Steele says he hasn't been superstitious during the RedHawks' 22-0 run, a streak that has them sitting alongside No. 1 Arizona as the final two unbeaten teams of the 2025-26 men's college basketball season.

When pressed, though, he acknowledged he wears lucky shirts to every game, at the request of his 3-year-old daughter.

«She loves my shirts that I wear underneath my quarter zip,» Steele said. «I've got a Skyline Chili shirt and I've got an Ultimate Warrior T-shirt. She likes that.»

His players? Well, they make no such claim.

Senior guard Peter Suder, an All-Mid-American selection last season, is particular about what he puts on his feet every night.

«They're washed, but I wear the same game socks every single time, regardless,» he said.

Brant Byers, reigning MAC Freshman of the Year, can't play a game until he scarfs down a bunch of candy before tipoff. Jolly Rancher, Life Savers, anything sweet.

«A bag, a midsized bag that you can get at the gas station,» he said. «Usually, I'll eat the whole bag.»

Junior guard Eian Elmer's superstition is more costly. The James Harden Volume 9 Adidas shoes he wears during games retail for nearly $200 online. Elmer started the season with eight pairs; now he's down to six. Why? Because if he has a bad game, he refuses to play in those shoes again, choosing to give them away instead. During his worst effort of the season — he finished 0-for-4 shooting against Central Michigan on Jan. 13 — Elmer (11.6 points per game) even ditched an orange pair at halftime.

«I had two bad games in them,» he said. «It was time to give them up.»

For Miami this season, even a bad game has resulted in a victory.

A year after the RedHawks lost to Akron — and to Steele's