NEW ORLEANS – The second matchups for this year's MAC-SBC Challenge — a scheduling alliance in the sports of men's and women's basketball between the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt Conference — were announced Monday.
The App State women's basketball team (8-7, 4-1 SBC) will host Northern Illinois (7-8, 1-3 MAC) in the Holmes Convocation Center on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. while the App State men's basketball team (9-7, 3-2 SBC) will trek to Athens, Ohio, to take on Ohio (9-6, 3-0 MAC) on the same day. Tipoff for the men's game is set for 2 p.m.
Both games will be available on an ESPN platform.
The Feb. 8 game in Boone will mark the first meeting between the App State and Northern Illinois women.
On the men's side, it will be the first meeting between the Mountaineers and Bobcats since the 2014-15 season and the third meeting all-time. The Mountaineers opened the 2014-15 season against the Bobcats by traveling to Athens for the first time in program history.
Matchups for the second installment of the MAC-SBC Challenge were set based on real-time NET rankings. In the men's rankings, App State currently sits at No. 150 in the Jan. 13 rankings, while Ohio is at No. 156. In the women's rankings, App State sits at No. 194, and Northern Illinois ranks No. 262 as of Jan. 13.
Since the challenge's inception, App State's women's squad is 2-1 in the challenge. The Mountaineers made a huge fourth-quarter comeback against Ohio in the inaugural MAC-SBC matchup, coming back from as many as 22 points to defeat the Bobcats 71-64 in the Holmes Center. App State also defeated Western Michigan 78-68 in Kalamazoo, Mich., In this season's first installment of the challenge, App State fell short to Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio.
The men's team is 1-2 in the MAC-SBC Challenge, with the lone win being a double-overtime victory last February against eventual regular-season MAC champion Toledo. In this year's first installment, App State fell 77-63 versus Miami (Ohio), which currently sits atop the MAC standings.
In the first leg of the 2024-25 MAC-SBC Challenge, the Sun Belt men picked up eight wins to take an 8-4 advantage into the second installment. Since the start of last season, the Sun Belt has won 23 of 36 games in the MAC-SBC Challenge. On the women's side, the MAC has an 8-4 advantage going into this season's second installment. Overall, the Sun Belt has won 17 of 36 games in the MAC-SBC Challenge. The Sun Belt men's and women's programs both clinched the inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge titles last year.
Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge is guaranteed one home and one away game each season. On Nov. 4, the MAC and Sun Belt announced that the challenge was extended through the 2026-27 season.
The MAC-SBC Challenge was formed at the recommendation of the Sun Belt's strategic planning committees for men's and women's basketball. Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests are considered in determining the matchups.
MAC-SBC Challenge Men's Basketball Matchups
Saturday, Feb. 8
App State at Ohio
Arkansas State at Kent State
Coastal Carolina at Bowling Green
Georgia Southern at Western Michigan
Georgia State at Buffalo
James Madison at Toledo
Louisiana at North Illinois
Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan
South Alabama at Akron
Southern Miss at Ball State
Texas State at Central Michigan
Troy at Miami (Ohio)
MAC-SBC Challenge Women's Basketball Matchups
Saturday, Feb. 8
Northern Illinois at App State
Bowling Green at Arkansas State
Buffalo at Coastal Carolina
Akron at Georgia Southern
Eastern Michigan at Georgia State
Ball State at James Madison
Miami (Ohio) at Louisiana
Central Michigan at Old Dominion
Toledo at Marshall
Ohio at Southern Miss
Western Michigan at Texas State
Kent State at Troy
