The team that went undefeated in the regular season and racked up more victories than anyone but Duke and Arizona — and fewer losses than any team at all — is anything but your run-of-the-mill basketball behemoth.

In fact, Miami (Ohio), despite that 31-1 record and maybe because of a little chip that’s been placed on its shoulder, is one of those plucky underdogs that makes the NCAA tournament what it is.

Welcome to March Madness with a twist.

While Duke (32-2) took the overall top seed on Selection Sunday, with Arizona (32-2), Michigan (31-3) and defending champion Florida (26-7) also on the top line, the RedHawks barely scratched their way into the bracket.

They are an 11-seed and have to play a First Four game against SMU on Wednesday. But after all the debate and hand-wringing that came with their single loss last week, which immediately turned them from sure thing into bubble team, they now enjoy the same privilege as the other 67 teams in the field.

They will have a chance to win and advance, with no selection committee, bracketologists or former coaches-turned-TV experts deciding their fate.

“I was very confident,” Miami forward Eian Elmer said. “I think it’s hard to leave a team that’s 31-0 in a regular season out. It just wouldn’t look right for the sport, diminishing something like that, something that’s very rarely done.”

After the First Four, the full slate of games begins Thursday and Friday, with the national champion set to be crowned in Indianapolis on April 6.

The chair of the selection committee, Keith Gill, tried to explain how Miami of the lightly regarded Mid-American Conference ended up where it did. The RedHawks, he said, were not the last of the 37 at-large teams slotted into the field.

But, he said, they were ranked last of those 37 teams because once they got in as they were compared against other teams close to them and things such as their 339th-ranked strength of schedule and zero wins (in fact, zero games) against top-caliber, or Quadrant 1, opponents worked against them.

Other factors worked for them, including having the nation’s second-ranked scoring offense, along with a “strength of record” in the top 30 and “wins above bubble” in the top 40 (each of those statistics would take a small pamphlet to explain).

“They have some really strong resume metrics that show their accomplishments,” Gill said.

For what it’s worth, Miami is an 8½-point underdog against SMU and a 1,500-1 longshot to win it all, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Unlikely, indeed, but still better odds than the much-cited 9.2 quintillion-1 odds a person has of filling out a perfect bracket.

The favorite to win the national championship, according to DraftKings, is Duke, which was listed at +300 odds as of Sunday night, just a tad ahead of Michigan at +360.

The Wolverines took a mini-hit in the seedings, dropping a notch to overall No. 3 after an eight-point loss to Purdue in the Big Ten title game. The Boilermakers are a 2-seed instead of a 3 with the win, heading to St. Louis to play tournament first-timer Queens.

The conference title did not do as much for St. John’s, which stayed where it’s been predicted most of the season — as a No. 5 — even after a 20-point win over UConn for the Big East title.

“Their results in the nonconference did not have kind of the same depth and quality of some of the folks that are ahead of them,” Gill said of the Red Storm’s less-than-stellar nonconference showing this season.

Last year, St. John’s became the sixth team coach Rick Pitino had led to the tournament. This year, the Johnnies go again but they must travel to San Diego to face Northern Iowa in the first round.

“I said, ‘Don’t take it as a negative,'” Pitino said. “I’ve had teams go to a Final Four that first had to go to Portland and then Arizona from Louisville.”

Among those left out of the field of 68 were San Diego State, Indiana, Oklahoma and Auburn.

The Tigers had 16 losses but the nation’s third-best strength of schedule. The snub drew predictable blowback from Bruce Pearl, their former coach and father of their current coach, who was working for CBS and said, “They played the toughest schedule in the country and I don’t know if they were rewarded for it.”

Even with Oklahoma and Auburn left out, the SEC led the way by placing 10 teams in the field, four short of its record from last year.

The Big Ten followed with nine, the ACC and Big 12 with eight apiece — an unsurprising result in an era of massive conference expansion and NIL compensation drawing top players to the biggest spenders.

The Gators are the defending champion, trying to repeat their back-to-back titles from 2006-07. Last season, Florida was part of an all-No. 1 Final Four — the first time that had happened in 17 seasons.

A championship final rematch between the Gators and 2-seeded Houston could be looming in the South; the Cougars would host the regional final in their hometown should they make it.

“If we have to run into that issue, there’s worse problems in the world,” Gators coach Todd Golden said earlier this week. “[But] I would enjoy somebody else in Houston [rather] than Houston.”

Giving teams home games in regionals is something the NCAA tries to avoid. Gill said that it wasn’t possible in this case, and pointed out that last year, Houston was a No. 1 seed that beat Purdue in Indianapolis, which is located an hour away from the Boilermakers’ campus.

“What I would say is, it’s the NCAA tournament,” Gill said. “You’re going to have to win games away from home against really tough opponents, and that’s why this is the best postseason in sports.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

“Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”

The line that capped a promo and helped launch one of the most legendary WWE careers.

Steve Austin was already an accomplished pro wrestler when he joined the WWE in 1996. Before his signing, he was known as “Stunning” Steve Austin in WCW and became part of the Hollywood Blonds, alongside Brian Pillman. In WCW, Austin captured tag team gold, and became the United States and WCW Television champion.

After a brief stint in ECW, Austin joined the WWE and was initially known as “The Ringmaster.” In March 1996, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was born. Black boots, black trunks and no frills — the “Stone Cold” character was a no-nonsense, anti-authority foul mouth. Fans gravitated to him.

Though the “Stone Cold” character debuted in early 1996, it wasn’t until June 23 at the King of the Ring PLE that his popularity surged.

Austin defeated Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who incorporated Biblical preaching into his character, to win the King of the Ring tournament and then delivered a promo that propelled him to superstardom.

“You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn’t get you anywhere. Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16 … Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”

The “Stone Cold” shirts donning “Austin 3:16” flew off the shelves, and Austin became one of the most popular superstars in WWE history.

In the years that followed his King of the Ring triumph and historic promo, Austin became a six-time WWE champion, two-time Intercontinental champion, four-time WWE tag team champion and the only superstar in history to win three Royal Rumble matches. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

Accolades aside, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin became an icon not just in pro wrestling, but also in pop culture — a status that remains true to this day.

Happy 3:16 day!

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has filed a complaint with match referee Neeyamur Rashid against on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to permit Bangladesh to take a LBW review off the penultimate ball of the third ODI in Mirpur on Sunday.

The Pakistan management contends that Bangladesh took the review after a replay of the delivery appeared on the big screen.

The decision to review, and its subsequent impact, proved pivotal as Bangladesh secured an unassailable position in the match. Before that delivery, Pakistan required 12 runs off two balls.

Rishad Hossain flighted one onto the leg stump, spinning down the leg side away from Shaheen Afridi. The umpire initially called it a wide.

After a brief discussion, Bangladesh opted to take a review for LBW, despite the ball appearing nowhere near Afridi’s legs or body.

Standard protocols dictate that a review decision should be made before any replay is visible to players, to prevent the visual from influencing the call.

Pakistan argue these protocols were not followed, as the stadium’s big screen showed the ball passing the bat, potentially providing Bangladesh with information that it may have made contact.

They are also concerned that Bangladesh may have taken the review outside the permitted 15-second window, though no timer was visible on the broadcast to confirm this.

Afridi’s visible frustration became understandable once the DRS went to Hawk-Eye. The technology suggested the ball had grazed the toe of his bat, indicating it could not have been a wide.

Bangladesh lost the review, but the wide call was overturned, leaving Pakistan needing 12 runs off a single ball. Afridi was stumped off the final delivery, swinging his bat over the stumps in frustration.

Bangladesh secured an 11-run victory and clinched the series 2-1.

It is not yet clear what specific action the Pakistan Cricket Board expects from the match referee, though it is believed they are seeking at least a public acknowledgement of the error.

This is the second contentious decision to affect Pakistan in as many games. In the second ODI, Salman Ali Agha was run out after being caught outside his crease while attempting to hand the ball to Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Agha expressed his frustration in a heated exchange before throwing his bat and gloves to the ground, resulting in a demerit point and a 50% match fee fine. Mehidy was fined 20% of his match fee for the incident.