CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference women's basketball season tips off Monday, Nov. 2, with all 12 MAC programs hosting Sun Belt Conference opponents in the fourth annual MAC-SBC Challenge.

The second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge will take place Saturday, Feb. 6, with the MAC teams traveling to face Sun Belt opponents. Conference play begins Saturday, Jan. 2, with each team playing an 18-game league schedule.

The 2026-27 regular season will conclude Saturday, March 6, with the top eight teams advancing to Cleveland's Rocket Arena for the MAC Women's Basketball Tournament, March 10-13.

MAC-SBC Challenge Men's Basketball Matchups

Akron at Louisiana, 6PM ET (ESPN+)
Ball State at Georgia Southern, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Bowling Green at Georgia State, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Buffalo at Marshall, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Massachusetts at Troy, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Miami at James Madison, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Western Michigan at Old Dominion, 7PM ET (ESPN+)
Central Michigan at Louisiana Monroe, 7:30PM ET (ESPN+)
Kent State at Louisiana Tech, 7:30PM ET (ESPN+)
Ohio at South Alabama, 8PM ET (ESPN+)
Toledo at Arkansas State, 8PM ET (ESPN+)

https://getsomemaction.com/news/2026/11/...lenge.aspx

Halcovage might be the dumbest coach in the nation.

Jalen Pitre came in off the bench early in the game and picked up two quick fouls and Halcovage has a rule where he'll staple you to the bench for the rest of the half so you don't get foul #3.

Meanwhile we go down by 20 points and he still won't put him in. Pitre and Lorick both made it to the tourney with Tennessee St. so you'd think he'd just play those two transfers together a lot if the rest of the team is playing this bad but nope the 2 foul rule still stays with this idiot coach.

Halftime scores:

WMU 24
ODU 30

UMass 38
Troy 28

EMU 34
Coastal 37

BGSU and Georgia State to the wire, Falcons lead 68-64 at the under 4

Miami trailing JMU by 6 late in the 1st (need this one)

Buffalo getting handled by Marshall

BGSU survives 76-73 despite some rough free throw shooting down the stretch

MAC is 1-0!

UMass cruises over Troy 71-60
WMU faded down the stretch and falls 61-49
Miami took over in the 2nd, beats JMU 86-77

Buffalo 65
Marshall 92

EMU 71
Coastal 70

Ball State 55
Georgia Southern 67

Ohio takes USA 86-77

OHIO was down 49-42 with 14 minutes left in the game. We finished the game on a 44-28 run.

Ohio 86
South Alabama 77

Kent State 75
Louisiana Tech 85

CMU 83
ULM 78

Toledo 70
Arkansas State 71

MAC finishes 7-5, not bad considering all road games

Pretty nice night for the MAC. Miami was shaky for awhile but looked great down the stretch.

7 of 12 on road vs a good conference like the Sun Belt is very good for the MAC. MAC has done poorly vs the Sun Belt in recent years. Good start. Hope the MAC can carry this thru the rest of the non-conference season.

Seven Squads Starts Season with MAC-SBC Challenge Road Wins

Monday’s Men’s Basketball Results

Akron 75, Louisiana 61
Bowling Green 76, Georgia State 73
Central Michigan 83, Louisiana Monroe 78
Eastern Michigan 71, Coastal Carolina 70
UMass 71, Troy 60
Miami 86, James Madison 77
Ohio 86, South Alabama 77
Georgia Southern 67, Ball State 55
Marshall 92, Buffalo 65
Louisiana Tech 85, Kent State 75
Arkansas State 71, Toledo 70
Old Dominion 61, Western Michigan 49

https://getsomemaction.com/news/2026/11/...-wins.aspx

Great showing. Wish UT had squeaked it out, but BG and EMU won tight ones. Buffalo and Kent the most disappointing showings. But its game 1.

Pretty solid night for the MAC overall, finishing 7-5 on the road. Below are the preseason KenPom rankings compared to where each team stands today. I'm not surprised to see the bottom half of the conference slide so quickly. I thought KenPom was particularly high on Buffalo, WMU, and Ball State heading into the season.


109 Akron → 99
121 Kent St → 148
123 Miami → 116
136 Toledo → 141
143 Ohio → 138
160 UMass → 145
166 Buffalo → 224
175 EMU → 174
177 Ball State → 214
193 WMU → 222
200 BGSU →187
278 CMU →274

Akron led Louisiana start to finish and by double digits the bulk of the 2nd half. The game was never really in doubt.

I watched part of several other games.

BGSU - Looked really good when I was watching and were up big, but must have stumbled after I switched the game off as it come down to the wire.

EMU - Habhab looks like a lock to make first team all-MAC and EMU will cause significant trouble to any team that doesn't have a big to at least contain him. He had 13 of EMU 27 boards and 34 of their 71 points. There is still questions on how they will perform if Habhab faces foul trouble or if he's limited to more modest production.

(11-02-2026 11:55 PM)OhioBobcatJohn Wrote:  7 of 12 on road vs a good conference like the Sun Belt is very good for the MAC. MAC has done poorly vs the Sun Belt in recent years. Good start. Hope the MAC can carry this thru the rest of the non-conference season.

The MAC has had better metrics/records than the Belt most seasons since the challenge started, we’ve just laid eggs against them. Last night was encouraging, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a fine season as a conference. Shedding one particular program will help, and it’ll be a major boost if UMass plays to their potential.

(11-03-2026 12:59 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(11-02-2026 11:55 PM)OhioBobcatJohn Wrote:  7 of 12 on road vs a good conference like the Sun Belt is very good for the MAC. MAC has done poorly vs the Sun Belt in recent years. Good start. Hope the MAC can carry this thru the rest of the non-conference season.

The MAC has had better metrics/records than the Belt most seasons since the challenge started, we’ve just laid eggs against them. Last night was encouraging, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a fine season as a conference. Shedding one particular program will help, and it’ll be a major boost if UMass plays to their potential.

I try not to think about what our potential is so I don't end up that disappointed.

I watched several of the MAC v Sun Belt games last night and came away with the impression the MAC could be much improved as a conference over last season. There are talented teams and players in this league and can’t wait to see these schools come to UMass this season.

Toledo@#6 Michigan St tonite 8pm ET
Peacock and NBCSN

UB looks like a different team tonight than the one that got destroyed by Marshall on Monday.

Leading Pitt 34-24 with with 6:15 left in the first half.

That despite the refs having a really quick whistle on UB. Pitt is already shooting their 21st free throw right now. UB has 14 fouls in 14 minutes. A lot of guys in foul trouble.