The only Division III opponent on Miami University’s men’s basketball schedule will be at Millett Hall this afternoon.

Wilmington is just 4-7 and has lost four of its last five games. That doesn’t mean MU coach John Cooper is viewing the Quakers as an automatic win.

“Trust me, we’re not going to win just walking out there,” Cooper said. “We’ll have to play well and do things. We’re not at a point in our program where we can just walk out there and win games.”

Cooper is willing to risk a humbling defeat in large part because Wilmington is coached by K.C. Hunt, his former teammate at Wichita State.

“Coop could play, there’s no doubt about that,” Hunt said. “He was just a super fundamental guy that could shoot the heck out of it and knew the game in and out.”

Hunt approached Cooper about scheduling his team, and Cooper felt that an in-state opponent and a coaching friend were an appealing combination.

“This is a really good game for us,” Hunt said. “If Miami would play us, I would do it every year.”

It’s a matchup of teams with similar styles. Both like to play high-tempo basketball.

“Coach Cooper must have stolen that from me,” Hunt said with a laugh. “It could be a fun, up-and-down type of game. We’ve got to stay true to who we are. We try to guard the heck out of you, we try to share the ball, and we try to play as fast as we can.”

Said Cooper, who accumulated 1,153 points at Wichita State, “If he says I stole anything from him, I gave him a lot in college. I gave him a few assists back in the day.”

The Quakers are led by senior guard Brandon Candella, a Lakota West High School graduate, and junior forward Malcolm Heard II. They’re averaging 14.5 and 13.6 points per game, respectively, and Hunt called Candella “our glue guy.”

Wilmington is coming off consecutive 2-point losses to Capital and Heidelberg.

“Quite honestly, we’ve underachieved a little bit early in the season,” Hunt said. “We’ve had eligibility issues and injuries, and our continuity hasn’t been great. But now we’re to a point where we’re finally healthy, and we’re pretty athletic for our level.

“I like our talent. I like our pieces. We have a chance to be a very, very competitive Division III team.”

Today will represent a reunion of sorts for three former Wilmington High School teammates: Miami point guard Quinten Rollins and a pair of Quakers, Heard and junior guard Jordan Berlin. The latter is a transfer from Ashland and made his WC debut Dec. 22 against Heidelberg.