MOBILE, Ala. – The Sun Belt and Mid-American Conferences announced the second-round matchups for the MAC-SBC Challenge Saturday night, and the South Alabama men's basketball team will travel to take on the University of Akron on Saturday, Feb 8 at 1 p.m. CT.
This season marks the second year of the MAC-SBC Challenge, a scheduling alliance in men's and women's basketball. Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge is guaranteed one home and one away game each season. In men's basketball, the first round of matchups took place at the Sun Belt schools' home site in early November, and now the MAC will host the second set on Saturday, Feb. 8.
These matchups were determined using real-time NET rankings and the Ordinal Sports group. Relevant NET data, geography, and the frequency of past contests are also considered in scheduling. Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be carried on an ESPN platform.
After falling at home to Central Michigan in the first round of the challenge on Nov.4, the Jags will head to Akron for the third matchup all-time between both schools. South Alabama has a 2-0 record over the Zips, with the last matchup coming in a 65-55 win on January 11, 1982, in Jaguar Gymnasium.
Akron has had an impressive start to the 2024-2025 campaign, holding a 10-5 overall record and a 3-0 start to MAC play with wins over Bowling Green, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan.
MAC-SBC Challenge Men's Basketball Matchups
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)
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