Monday, March 9 (campus sites/at higher seed)
Game 1 - No. 9 Central Michigan at No. 8 Ohio, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2 - No. 12 Miami at No. 5 Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 3 - No. 10 Western Michigan at No. 7 Toledo, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4 - No. 11 Eastern Michigan at No. 6 Kent State, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
Thursday, March 12 • Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland, Ohio)
Game 5 - No. 1 Akron vs. Game 1 Winner, Noon ET (ESPN+)
Game 6 - No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. Game 2 Winner* (ESPN+)
Game 7 - No. 2 Bowling Green vs. Game 3 Winner, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Game 8 - No. 3 Ball State vs. Game 4 Winner* (ESPN+)
 
Friday, March 13 • Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland, Ohio)
Game 9 - Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
Game 10 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, Approx. 9:30 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
 
Saturday, March 14 • Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland, Ohio)
Game 11 - Championship Game, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
 
*30 minutes following previous game
All times listed are ET
 

What You Need To Know… 
• The 2020 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, presented by Visit Myrtle Beach -- begins tonight with four first round games. All games will be held on the higher seed campus & can be seen LIVE on ESPN+ 
 
• This year's MAC Basketball Tournament will once again be held at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. This will mark the 21st of the tournament being hosted at the FieldHouse -- making it the second longest consecutive venue host for a conference tournament outside of the Missouri Valley in St. Louis (Enterprise Center, 1995-present)
 
• The 2019-20 Men's Basketball Al-MAC Teams & Specialty Award winners will be announced on Wednesday, March 11th at 10 a.m. ET
 
• Talk about some #MACtion -- Overall, 53 of the MAC's 108 (49.0 percent) conference games played this year have been decided by six-or-fewer points. Of those 53 games, half (27 games) has been decided by three points or less. 
 
•The Akron Zips secured the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 79-76 win over rival Kent State on Friday. The Zips finished the regular season 24-7 overall and 14-4 in Mac play to earn top honors and a first-round bye. The Zips are slated to play the winner between the eighth-seeded Ohio Bobcats and the ninth-seeded Central Michigan Chippewas at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Thursday, March 12 at noon.
 
•  Ball State claimed a share of the MAC West Division title after defeating NIU on the road, 75-54. The Cardinals (18-13, 11-7 MAC) matched the Huskies (18-13, 11-7 MAC) atop the West standings, earning a division title for the third time in five years. By virtue of sweeping the season series, BSU jumped over NIU for the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.  
 
 

MAC Tournament First Round Preview
No. 5 Buffalo (20-11, 11-7 MAC) vs. No. 12 Miami (12-19, 5-13 MAC)
7:30 PM ET • ESPN+
For the first time since the 2012-13 season, the Bulls will be hosting a first round MAC Tournament game. UB is looking to win its fifth MAC Tournament title in the last six years. Buffalo won both of the regular season meetings against the RedHakws, including a game at Alumni Arena less than a week ago. Junior Jayvon Graves averaged 20.0 points per game against Miami this year, one of six players to average double figures this year against the RedHawks. Sophomore Josh Mballa averaged 11.0 points and 13.5 rebounds. With a victory on Monday night, head coach Jim Whitesell would be the first Buffalo coach ever to win at least 21 games in his first season.
 
This is the 39th time Miami has qualified for the MAC Tournament, which ran for the first time in 1980. The Red and White are 40-34 all-time at the event and have won it four times in their history (1984, 1992, 1997 and 2007). Last season Miami was the ninth seed and fell to eighth seed Akron on the road, 80-51.
 
No. 6 Kent State (19-12, 9-9 MAC) vs. No. 11 Eastern Michigan (16-15, 6-12 MAC)
7 PM ET • ESPN+
KSU has only been the four seed a total of five times and two times since 2012. Kent State is 3-2 when playing in the first rounds as the sixth seed. In 2017, the Flashes won the MAC Championship as the No. 6 seed. Kent State is 13-3 at home this season, a 14th home win would be the most since the 2018-19 season as KSU finished 14-3 at home.Earlier this season Kent State fell in Ypsilanti, 70-49 against EMU. KSU struggled offensively as the Flashes shot just 29.1 percent. The Flashes have four players averaging in double-figure scoring with  Troy Simons (12.8 ppg), Anthony Roberts (12.5 ppg), Antonio Williams (14.7 ppg), and  Danny Pippen (14.1 ppg).
 
EMU's rank No. 11 is the lowest mark since the 2010-11 season and in the Rob Murphy era. The Eagles have won six games when they are the underdog (a lower seed). Most recently with Rob Murphy's squad, when the Green and White (No. 6 seed) topped No. 3 seeded Buffalo, 69-64, to advance to the MAC Semifinals, March 13, 2014. The first EMU team to defeat a better-seed resulted in the University's first MAC Tournament victory, when Eastern (No. 6 seed) defeated No. 3 Bowling Green, 64-58, in overtime, March 9, 1984.
 
No. 7 Toledo (16-15, 8-10 MAC) vs. No. 10 Western Michigan (13-18, 6-12 MAC)
7 PM ET • ESPN+
The Rockets have won four of their last five contests and are the No. 7 seed in this year's tourney, while the Broncos are the No. 10 seed. The winner of Monday's matchup will face No. 2 seed Bowling Green in the MAC quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Toledo swept its season series vs. WMU for a third-straight year with a 67-59 home win on Jan. 11 and a 68-59 road victory in Kalamazoo on Feb. 22. The Rockets possess a 2-3 win-loss mark against Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament. Toledo posted wins in 1981 and '96, with its defeats coming in 2003, '04 and '14. Junior Marreon Jackson ranks among the MAC leaders with 19.7 ppg (3rd), 5.4 apg (2nd) and 3.0 three-point FGs per game (1st). Also appearing in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is senior Luke Knapke at 15.7 ppg (8th in MAC).
 
Western Michigan has won two of its last three contests but dropped an 85-68 decision at Central Michigan last Friday. Junior Michael Flowers leads the Broncos offensively and ranks seventh in the MAC with 16.4 ppg. Junior Brandon Johnson is 11th in the conference with 15.3 ppg and eighth with 8.1 rpg. The Broncos are 23-32 all-time in the MAC Tournament with titles in 2004 and 2014. Under head coach Steve Hawkins, WMU is 17-11 in the MAC Tournament and seeks its first trip back to Cleveland since 2016. It's the seventh meeting between the Broncos and Rockets in the MAC Tournament and first time since WMU defeated Toledo 98-77 in the 2014 MAC Tournament Championship game. Against the Rockets in the conference tournament, the Broncos are 4-2.
 
No. 8 Ohio (16-15, 8-10 MAC) vs. No. 9 Central Michigan (14-17, 7-11 MAC)
7 PM ET • ESPN+
The No. 8 Ohio men's basketball team begins play at the 2020 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Monday, March 9 when Ohio hosts No. 9 Central Michigan in the First Round. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. The Bobcats and CMU last met on last met on Feb. 18 when the Bobcats downed Central Michigan, 77-69, inside the Convo. The Bobcats are 41-32 (.569) all-time in the MAC Tournament and have captured six league tournament crowns. Overall this season, the Bobcats are averaging 71.0 points, 35.2 rebounds, 14.4 assists and 6.5 steals per game. The Bobcats are shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from three-point range and 68.9 percent from the free throw line.
 
The Chippewas go into Monday's game with a shot of momentum courtesy of their 85-68 win over Western Michigan in their home finale on Friday. That ended a nine-game losing streak and left the Chippewas, 14-17, 7-11 MAC, and with the No. 9 seed in the tournament. Overall, CMU averages 78.7 points per game, while shooting 43.4 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from three-point range and 74.1 percent from the free throw line. CMU also average 36.5 rebounds, 11.7 assists and 9.1 steals per game. Central Michigan also averages 2.6 blocks and 13.0 turnovers per game. Individually, David DiLeo leads CMU with 14.7 points per game, while grabbing 5.1 boards and shooting 40.3 percent from three point range.