2020–21 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by second-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1] The team played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 17–8, 9–5 in MAC play to finish in fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the MAC Tournament, they defeated Kent State, Toledo, and Buffalo to win the tournament championship.[2] A a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region.[3] There they upset No. 4-seeded Virginia in the First Round[4] before falling to No. 5-seeded Creighton in the Second Round.[5][6]

2020–21 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
MAC Tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
2020–21 record17–8 (9–5 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (2nd season)
  • Kyle Barlow (2nd season)
  • Lee Martin (1st season)
Home arenaConvocation Center
2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Toledo154 .789219  .700
Buffalo125 .706169  .640
Akron126 .667158  .652
Kent State126 .667158  .652
Ohio95 .643178  .680
Bowling Green108 .5561412  .538
Miami (OH)98 .5291211  .522
Ball State89 .4711013  .435
Western Michigan412 .250516  .238
Eastern Michigan311 .214612  .333
Central Michigan313 .188716  .304
Northern Illinois212 .143316  .158
2021 MAC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Bobcats finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East division. As the No. 8 seed in the MAC Tournament, they defeated Central Michigan in the first round before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Nate Springs 2 F 6'10" 205 RS Freshman Charlotte, NC Transferred to Kennesaw State
Connor Murrell 10 G 6'7" 215 RS Junior Sioux City, IA Ended playing career, became graduate assistant
Sylvester Ogbonda 11 F 6'10" 237 Graduate Student Port Harcourt, Nigeria Exhausted eligibility
Jordan Dartis 25 G 6'3" 185 RS Senior Newark, OH Exhausted eligibility
Marvin Price 44 G 6'5" 210 Freshman Baltimore, MD Transferred to Salt Lake Community College

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Dwight Wilson III 4 F 6'8" 250 Senior Tallahassee, FL Transferred from James Madison. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Rifen Miguel 23 F 6'8" 240 Junior Luanda, Angola Transferred from Tallahassee Community College. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Roster

2020–21 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Jason Preston 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)187 lb (85 kg) JrBelieve Sports Orlando, FL
G 1 Michael Brown, Jr. 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)156 lb (71 kg) SoNorthstar Christian Rochester, NY
G 2 Miles Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoNorthstar Christian Rochester, NY
F 3 Ben Roderick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoOlentangy Liberty Powell, OH
F 4 Dwight Wilson III 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)250 lb (113 kg) SrLincoln Tallahassee, FL
F 5 Ben Vander Plas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)232 lb (105 kg) RS JrRipon Ripon, WI
G 10 Mark Sears 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrHargrave Muscle Shoals, AL
F 11 Sam Towns 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
FrPickerington Central Columbus, OH
G 12 John Tenerowicz 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrSt. Ignatius Cleveland, OH
G 15 Lunden McDay 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoSt. Vincent–St. Mary Akron, OH
G 21 Jalen White 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrSam Rayburn Pasadena, TX
C 22 Nolan Foster 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)222 lb (101 kg) SoMattawan Mattawan, MI
F 23 Rifen Miguel 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) JrWest Oaks Luanda, Angola
F 24 Mason McMurray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS SoStow-Munroe Falls Stow, OH
F 32 Colin Granger 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrLambert Suwanee, GA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Ohio had to cancel their games against Mississippi Valley State, Bowling Green, and Kent State due to COVID-19. They also postponed games against Miami (OH), Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan.

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020*
5:00 p.m.
vs. Chicago State W 84–61  1-0
 15  McDay  7  Wilson III  8  Preston  State Farm Center (0)
Champaign, IL
November 26, 2020*
3:00 p.m.
vs. North Carolina A&T W 84–72  2–0
 22  Roderick  9  Preston  9  Preston  State Farm Center (0)
Champaign, IL
November 27, 2020*
1:00 p.m., BTN
at No. 8 Illinois L 75–77  2–1
 31  Preston  8  Wilson III  8  Preston  State Farm Center (0)
Champaign, IL
December 6, 2020*
2:00 p.m.
Cleveland State W 101–46  3–1
 20  McDay  14  Wilson III  8  Preston  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
December 10, 2020*
2:00 p.m.
Purdue Northwest W 92–72  4–1
 22  Preston  13  Wilson III  11  Preston  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
December 13, 2020*
2:00 p.m.
at Marshall L 67–81  4–2
 24  Wilson III  12  Wilson III  5  Preston  Henderson Center (1,272)
Huntington, WV
December 18, 2020*
Canceled
Mississippi Valley State Canceled Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
MAC regular season
December 22, 2020
2:00 p.m.
at Akron L 70–90  4–3
(0–1)
 16  Preston  7  Preston  5  Preston  Rhodes Arena (0)
Akron, OH
December 29, 2020
Postponed
at Miami (OH) Postponed Millett Hall 
Oxford, OH
December 30, 2020
2:00 p.m.
at Bowling Green L 75–83  4–4
(0–2)
 20  Wilson III  11  Vander Plas  9  Sears  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
January 2, 2021
3:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Ball State W 78–68  5–4
(1–2)
 20  Roderick  6  Tied  8  Sears  Worthen Arena (75)
Muncie, Indiana
January 5, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Northern Illinois W 76–73  6–4
(2–2)
 25  Wilson III  8  Wilson III  7  Tied  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
January 8, 2021
6:30 p.m., CBSSN
at Toledo L 78–95  6–5
(2–3)
 20  Sears  6  Vander Plas  5  Sears  Savage Arena (0)
Toledo, OH
January 12, 2021
7:00 p.m.
Miami (OH) W 78–61  7–5
(3–3)
 20  Roderick  8  Vander Plas  8  Preston  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
January 16, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Kent State L 79–89  7–6
(3–4)
 24  Vander Plas  6  Wilson III  10  Preston  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
January 19, 2021
Postponed
at Northern Illinois Postponed Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
January 22, 2021
Postponed
Ball State Postponed Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
January 23, 2021
1:30 p.m., ESPN3
Ball State W 85–77  8–6
(4–4)
 19  Sears  10  Preston  11  Preston  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
January 26, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Western Michigan W 81–58  9–6
(5–4)
 21  Sears  10  Preston  6  Sears  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
January 29, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Buffalo W 76–75  10–6
(6–4)
 21  Wilson III  9  Preston  4  Preston  Alumni Arena (0)
Buffalo, NY
February 2, 2021
5:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Central Michigan W 83–69  11–6
(7–4)
 17  Preston  11  Preston  6  Preston  McGuirk Arena (0)
Mt. Pleasant, MI
February 6, 2021
Postponed
Eastern Michigan Postponed Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
February 9, 2021
Postponed
Akron Postponed Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
February 13, 2021
Postponed
at Western Michigan Postponed University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 16, 2021
Postponed
Central Michigan Postponed Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
February 20, 2021
Canceled
at Bowling Green Canceled Stroh Center 
Bowling Green, OH
February 23, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN3
Akron W 90–73  12–6
(8–4)
 17  Tied  9  Vander Plas  9  Sears  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
February 25, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN3
Eastern Michigan W 86–67  13–6
(9–4)
 17  Roderick  9  Preston  12  Preston  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
February 27, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Buffalo L 66–86  13–7
(9–5)
 15  Roderick  6  Vander Plas  6  Tied  Convocation Center (0)
Athens, OH
March 2, 2021
Canceled
Kent State Canceled MAC Center 
Kent, OH
March 5, 2021
Canceled
Bowling Green Canceled Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
MAC Tournament
March 11, 2021
1:55 P.M., ESPN+
(5) vs. (4) Kent State
Quarterfinals
W 85–63  14–7
 19  Preston  9  Wilson III  4  Preston  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0)
Cleveland, OH
March 12, 2021
5:00 P.M., CBSSN
(5) vs. (1) Toledo
Semifinals
W 87–80  15–7
 27  Preston  12  Wilson III  7  Vander Plas  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0)
Cleveland, OH
March 13, 2021
7:30 p.m., ESPN2
(5) vs. (2) Buffalo
Championship
W 84–69  16–7
 22  Preston  7  Wilson III  7  Preston  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0)
Cleveland, OH
NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2021
7:15 P.M., truTV
(13 W) vs. (4 W) No. 15 Virginia
First Round
W 62–58  17–7
 17  Vander Plas  13  Preston  8  Preston  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
March 22, 2021
6:10 P.M., TNT
(13 W) vs. (5 W) No. 19 Creighton
Second Round
L 58–72  17–8
 12  Wilson III  10  Vander Plas  7  Preston  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[8]

References

  1. "Men's Basketball". Ohio University. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  2. "Ohio Bobcats down Buffalo to win MAC Tournament, earn NCAA Tournament bid". Cincinnati Enquirer.
  3. "2020-21 Ohio Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  4. "Ohio vs. Virginia - Game Recap - March 20, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  5. "Ohio vs. Creighton - Game Recap - March 22, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  6. Henry, Megan. "Athens celebrated March Madness game — despite outcome". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  7. "2019-20 Ohio Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University. Archived from the original on 2020-01-11. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  8. "2020-21 Ohio Bobcats Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
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