Bulls to Travel to Marshall in Season Opener for the MAC-SBC Challenge
7/2/2026 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Sun Belt Conference (SBC) announced the initial matchups for the 2026 MAC-SBC Challenge on Thursday afternoon. The Bulls will travel to the Marshall Thundering Herd on Monday, Nov. 2nd to open the 2026-27 season. The Thundering Herd finished last season with a 19-13 overall record as they went 11-7 in conference play.
Marshall, a former MAC program, leads the all-time series against Buffalo, 10-5. Their last meeting was on Feb. 23, 2005, where the Bulls came away with a 68-55 road victory. UB has won the last three games against the Thundering Herd.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition, a combination of factors to determine the pairings, including a predictive model, coach feedback, previously contracted games, travel, and overall competitive balance.
Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be carried on an ESPN platform.
Game 2 of the Challenge will be played on Saturday, Feb. 6th with the opposite conference hosting. These match-ups will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 12th.
Future Dates for the Challenge:
2027-28
Game 1: Monday, Nov. 8, 2027
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 5, 2028
2028-29
Game 1: Monday, Nov. 6, 2028
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2029
Men's Basketball MAC-SBC Challenge Basketball Matchups
Buffalo at Marshall
Akron at Louisiana
Ball State at Georgia Southern
Bowling Green at Georgia State
Central Michigan at Louisiana Monroe
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina
Kent State at Louisiana Tech
Miami (OH) at James Madison
Ohio at South Alabama
Toledo at Arkansas State
UMass at Troy
Western Michigan at Old Dominion
For the complete MAC release, click here.
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Marshall, a former MAC program, leads the all-time series against Buffalo, 10-5. Their last meeting was on Feb. 23, 2005, where the Bulls came away with a 68-55 road victory. UB has won the last three games against the Thundering Herd.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition, a combination of factors to determine the pairings, including a predictive model, coach feedback, previously contracted games, travel, and overall competitive balance.
Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be carried on an ESPN platform.
Game 2 of the Challenge will be played on Saturday, Feb. 6th with the opposite conference hosting. These match-ups will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 12th.
Future Dates for the Challenge:
2027-28
Game 1: Monday, Nov. 8, 2027
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 5, 2028
2028-29
Game 1: Monday, Nov. 6, 2028
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2029
Men's Basketball MAC-SBC Challenge Basketball Matchups
Buffalo at Marshall
Akron at Louisiana
Ball State at Georgia Southern
Bowling Green at Georgia State
Central Michigan at Louisiana Monroe
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina
Kent State at Louisiana Tech
Miami (OH) at James Madison
Ohio at South Alabama
Toledo at Arkansas State
UMass at Troy
Western Michigan at Old Dominion
For the complete MAC release, click here.
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
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