Not to be cliché, but it’s make it or break it time for the men’s basketball team.

At 6-6, the Falcons are three games out of first place with four conference games remaining, so a Mid-American Conference East Division title is all but out of the question.

But that shouldn’t really be the primary goal for the team anymore.

There is still a slim chance the Falcons end up in the conference’s top four, which would earn them a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament.

But again, that really shouldn’t be the primary goal anymore.

Staying in spots five through eight of the conference will allow BG to host a first-round game at Anderson Arena during the MAC Tournament.

That should be the team’s primary goal the rest of the regular season.

In June, the conference changed the tournament’s format for this season, making the bottom eight seeds play first-round games at campus sites instead of at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, where the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are played.

The past three years, first-round games were also played at The Q, but this season’s format was used from 2000-2006, the first seven seasons the tournament was held in Cleveland so it’s not exactly unfamiliar territory.

The Falcons are on the fringe, sitting in the seventh seed going into tonight’s game against Buffalo.

If the season were to end before tonight’s games, the Falcons would host Northern Illinois – a team they narrowly beat 73-69 earlier this season – on March 7.

But just like last season, the team needs to go on a late-season run to ensure they achieve that positive end goal.

The team won four of its last five conference games last season on the strength of three senior leaders who willed the team to a share of the MAC East title and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament.

But this team is different. There are again three seniors who see significant time in the rotation, but to say there is a defined set of leaders on the floor is iffy.

Led in scoring by two sophomores, the makeup of this year’s squad is far different, as early on the team was expected to struggle during a rebuilding year.

Instead, they find themselves in thick of the things as clutch time approaches.Coming back to win against Miami Sunday was the first step in earning a favorable seed at the MAC Tournament.

A win tonight at Buffalo would be a huge momentum builder when combined with the comeback against Miami.

BG is 8-3 at home this season, and the team has lost just one conference home game so far. After tonight, the Falcons will play three straight home games — two conference games and an ESPN BracketBuster game.

And if the Falcons can down both MAC East leaders Akron and Kent State – who are a combined 37-15 this season – the momentum they would gain would be huge for a home game against a low seed in the MAC Tournament.

But even if that doesn’t happen, all is not lost, as BG has actually played decent on the road this season.

Their overall record is 5-8, but take away games at Xavier, Iowa and then-No. 18 Temple that BG were expected to lose, and the record is back to .500.

The Falcons are 2-4 in conference road games, but the two most recent losses came by margins of five points and one point so the team has shown it can fight through adversity to at least stay in the game until the end.

But with a one-and-done format awaiting them in the MAC Tournament, there is no time to wait.

The Falcons need to win now to give themselves as much of an advantage for the tournament as they can.