Wednesday, November 25
North Dakota at Miami, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
Toledo at Bradley, 3 p.m.
Bowling Green at No. 25 Michigan, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Eastern Michigan at Michigan State, 6 p.m. (BTN)
Ball State at Northern Kentucky, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Western Michigan at Butler, 6 p.m.
Ohio at Chicago State, 7 p.m.
UIC at Northern Illinois, 7 p.m.
Trine at Central Michigan, Canceled
All times ET & subject to change
Akron
The 2019-20 regular season MAC Champion Akron Zips posted a 24-7 overall record and 14-4 in league mark last season and earned the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament returns one starter as Loren Cristian Jackson, a two-time first-team selection and 2020 MAC POTY, is poised to lead the Zips into battle and defend their title. The Zips return 10 players and seven letterwinners from last season's championship squad, including a pair of sit-outs transfers in senior Maishe Dailey (Beachwood, Ohio) and junior Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) along with redshirt freshman Tre Edwards (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada).
Ball State
The current roster enters the season having played in 556 total Division I games and scored 3,832 points. Ball State returns 60.1 percent of its scoring from last year and 61.2 percent of its minutes played. Ishmael El-Amin, son of the famed UConn point guard, is Ball State's top returning offensive option. El-Amin, a senior from Minneapolis, averaged 13.8 points per game last year en route to third team all-conference honors. He was voted second team all-conference in the preseason poll, in which Ball State was picked fifth in the league.
Bowling Green
Bowling Green was picked to win the regular season and MAC Tournament in the conference’s preseason poll for the second-consecutive season. BGSU is expected to be led by a trio of seniors this season. Guard Justin Turner, already a two-time First Team All-MAC selection, enters the 2020-21 season just 344 points shy of becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer. Forward Daeqwon Plowden, a Second Team All-MAC selection a season ago, needs 218 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone. BGSU’s third senior, guard Trey Diggs, led the Falcons last year with a 39.1 three-point percentage.
Buffalo
Jayvon Graves was named to the preseason All-MAC First Team, while junior Josh Mballa was named to the league's second team. As a team, Buffalo was picked fourth in the preseason poll. Graves, who was named a first-team All-MAC selection last year, led the Bulls in scoring at 17.1 points per game as he broke the school record for field goals attempted in a season, while his 204 field goals made are third most in a single season. Graves also notched a career best of 5.4 rebounds per game. Mballa was one of the biggest surprises for the team, transferring in last year after playing his freshman season at Texas Tech. He averaged 10.8 points per game, and a team-best 9.6 rebounds per contest.
Central Michigan
The Chippewas graduated four starters and the 15-player roster includes just two players, Devontae Lane and Travon Broadway Jr., who logged significant playing time last season. Two others – both of whom are expected to contribute this season – redshirted a year ago; seven more are newcomers, either freshmen or the transfer route. Lane averaged 9.1 points and 3.4 assists per game last season, his first at CMU after transferring from Indian Hills (Iowa) CC. Last season, the lanky 6-5 Broadway averaged 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds while flexing his defensive muscle with 35 steals.
Eastern Michigan
The Eagles welcome back key returners in redshirt senior Ty Groce, and seniors Thomas Binelli, Yeikson Montero, Noah Morgan, and Darion Spottsville. Last season, Groce was one of two Eagles to play in and start all 32 games and averaged a team-best 11.5 points per game, as well as 5.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, in 31.8 minutes per game. The Ypsilanti, Mich. finished the 2019-20 season tied for third in the Mid-American Conference with 1.8 steals per game, totaling 56. Binelli served as the Eagles' three-point threat as he appeared in 25 games last year, shooting 31.3 percent from beyond the arc with 57 triples.
Kent State
Kent State returns five players from last season's team, including Danny Pippen, Tervell Beck (3.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg), Giovanni Santiago (2.5 ppg, 46 assists), Evan Bainbridge, and Kalin Bennett. Pippen averaged 14.1points per game and led the team averaging 7.3 rebounds and recorded seven double-doubles on the season while scoring in double-figures in 24 of his 30 games played, including four 20-point performances. He scored a career-high 21 points against Buffalo while tying a single-game record of seven blocks against Detroit Mercy. Pippen led the team with 47 blocks (3rd in MAC) and averaged 1.52 blocks per game.
Miami
Miami boasts five seniors on its 2020-21 roster and also features five juniors to provide the most-veteran squad in head coach Jack Owens' tenure. Entering the season with 915 career points, senior forward Dalonte Brown is just 85 way from becoming 37th member of Miami's 1,000 Point Club. Last season, Brown averaged 9.5 ppg. At that pace, he would hit the 1,000-point plateau in Miami's ninth game. Sophomore guard Dae Dae Grant made his presence felt quickly in his first season as a RedHawk in 2019-20. Grant played in all 32 games, making 29 starts for the Red and White and was the team's third-leading scorer, averaging 9.3 ppg. He was selected to the MAC All-Freshman team.
Northern Illinois
NIU returns a pair of starters from last season's MAC West Championship team in juniors Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) and Darius Beane (Carbondale, Ill./Southern Illinois). Hankerson led the MAC in three-point shooting a season ago, connecting at 46.1 percent from beyond the arc, while Beane shot 45.5 percent from the field, and 40 percent from three, in the final 14 games of last season after moving into the starting lineup.
Ohio
Juniors Jason Preston and Ben Vander Plas each earned spot on the Preseason All-MAC Teams. Preston is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign where he finished the regular season averaging 16.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game, while shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three-point range and 72.5 percent from the free throw line. Preston finished the conference season with 17.2 points per game, while also adding 6.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. Vander Plas finished the regular season second on the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game and first in rebounds with 6.9 points per game. He also added 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from three-point range.
Toledo
Senior guards Marreon Jackson and Spencer Littleson are expected to lead the Rockets in the 2020-21 campaign. Jackson earned second-team All-MAC honors last year after averaging 19.8 ppg and setting a school record with 99 three-point field goals. Littleson also averaged in double digits at 10.5 ppg and will be joined in the backcourt by 2019-20 All-MAC Freshman Team member Keshaun Saunders. The Rockets will also return sophomores AJ Edu and Luke Maranka as well as redshirt freshman Mattia Acunzo. Toledo will also benefit this season from the addition of junior-college transfers Jonathan Komagum and Setric Millner Jr. as well as freshmen Jamere Hill and Ryan Rollins.
Western Michigan
For the first time in 17 years, Western Michigan men's basketball will have a new coach roaming the sidelines as Clayton Bates was hired to lead the Bronco basketball program back in March. Bates is the 14th men's basketball head coach in program history. The Broncos return 10 from last year's squad that went 13-19 and 6-12 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU welcomes five newcomers to the 2020-21 roster while also returning four of its top six scorers from a year ago.
