2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by ninth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 9–18, 6–14 in OVC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the OVC Tournament.

2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record9–18 (6–14 OVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Justin Brown
  • Matt Bringman
  • Mark Bernsen
Home arenaLantz Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Belmont 18 2   .900 26 4   .867
Morehead State 17 3   .850 23 8   .742
Eastern Kentucky 15 5   .750 22 7   .759
Jacksonville State 13 6   .684 18 9   .667
Austin Peay 10 10   .500 14 13   .519
Murray State 10 10   .500 13 13   .500
Southeast Missouri State 9 11   .450 11 16   .407
SIU Edwardsville 7 12   .368 9 17   .346
Eastern Illinois 6 14   .300 9 18   .333
UT Martin 6 14   .300 8 16   .333
Tennessee Tech 5 15   .250 5 22   .185
Tennessee State 3 17   .150 4 19   .174
2021 OVC tournament winner

On March 4, 2021, the school announced that they would not renew head coach Jay Spoonhour's contract.[1] Nearly a month later, the school named Clemson assistant and former Evansville head coach Marty Simmons the team's new head coach.[2]

Previous season

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The Panthers finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 9–9 in OVC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Jacksonville State in the first round of the OVC tournament,[3] before losing in the quarterfinals to Austin Peay.[4]

Roster

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2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Kashawn Charles 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Labette CC Wyandanch, NY
F 2 Jordan Skipper-Brown 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr McLennan CC Killeen, TX
G 3 Mack Smith 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Warren Central HS Indianapolis, IN
G 4 Marvin Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Coffeyville CC Ardmore, OK
G 5 Junior Farquhar 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr South Plains College Mono, Ontario
G 10 Ryan Leonard 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Santa Fe College Kerry, Ireland
F 11 Barlow Alleruzzo IV 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Des Moines Area CC Chicago, IL
G 12 Micah Schnyders 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Yorkville Christian HS Yorkville, IL
G 13 Henry Abraham 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Cambridge-Isanti HS Cambridge, MN
G 14 Isaac Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Charleston HS Charleston, IL
F 20 Sammy Friday IV 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) GS Siena Jersey City, NJ
F 21 Madani Diarra 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Saint Louis Bamako, Mali
G 22 Josiah Wallace 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Olney Central College Marshall, IL
G 25 Deang Deang 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Highland CC Madison, WI
G 35 George Dixon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Vincennes Milwaukee, WI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: January 16, 2021

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020*
9:00 pm, BTN
at No. 7 Wisconsin L 67–77  0–1
Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
November 27, 2020*
6:30 pm, FS1
at Marquette L 50–75  0–2
Fiserv Forum 
Milwaukee, WI
November 29, 2020*
5:30 pm, FS1
at Butler Postponed due to COVID-19 Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
December 1, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Dayton L 63–66  0–3
UD Arena 
Dayton, OH
December 3, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Chicago State W 78–56  1–3
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
December 5, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Green Bay W 93–91 2OT 2–3
Kress Events Center 
Green Bay, WI
December 9, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Evansville L 65–68  2–4
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
December 12, 2020*
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Illinois W 92–88  3–4
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
Ohio Valley regular season
December 30, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Kentucky L 61–69  3–5
(0–1)
McBrayer Arena (704)
Richmond, KY
January 2, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Tennessee Tech W 87–81  4–5
(1–1)
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
January 7, 2021
7:30 pm, ESPN+
Murray State W 74–68  5–5
(2–1)
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
January 9, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Austin Peay L 71–74  5–6
(2–2)
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
January 14, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Morehead State L 61–87  5–7
(2–3)
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
January 16, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky L 85–93 OT 5–8
(2–4)
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
January 21, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Belmont L 66–79  5–9
(2–5)
Curb Event Center (247)
Nashville, TN
January 23, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Tennessee State L 54–65  5–10
(2–6)
Gentry Complex (338)
Nashville, TN
January 26, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
SIU Edwardsville L 74–87  5–11
(2–7)
Lantz Arena 
Charleston, IL
January 28, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Martin L 41–51  5–12
(2–8)
Skyhawk Arena (360)
Martin, TN
January 30, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southeast Missouri State L 44–75  5–13
(2–9)
Show Me Center (842)
Cape Girardeau, MO
February 2, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at SIU Edwardsville W 70–61  6–13
(3–9)
First Community Arena 
Edwardsville, IL
February 4, 2021
7:30 pm, ESPN+
Belmont L 61–89  6–14
(3–10)
Lantz Arena (12)
Charleston, IL
February 6, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Tennessee State W 86–72  7–14
(4–10)
Lantz Arena (19)
Charleston, IL
February 11, 2021
7:30 pm, ESPN+
at Jacksonville State L 64–76  7–15
(4–11)
Pete Mathews Coliseum (421)
Jacksonville, AL
February 13, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Tennessee Tech L 67–80  7–16
(4–12)
Eblen Center (550)
Cookeville, TN
February 18, 2021
7:30 pm, ESPN+
at Murray State W 68–59  8–16
(5–12)
CFSB Center (1,260)
Murray, KY
February 20, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Austin Peay W 76–69  9–16
(6–12)
Dunn Center (747)
Clarksville, TN
February 25, 2021
7:30 pm, ESPN+
Southeast Missouri State L 88–94  9–17
(6–13)
Lantz Arena (29)
Charleston, IL
February 27, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
UT Martin L 68–73  9–18
(6–14)
Lantz Arena (50)
Charleston, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources[5]

References

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  1. ^ STAFF, JG-TC. "Eastern Illinois announces it's not renewing men's basketball coach Jay Spoonhour's contract". JG-TC.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Hancock, Aaron. "Marty Simmons Hired as New Head Basketball Coach at Eastern Illinois". www.14news.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "2020 OVC Men's Basketball Championship - First Round". Ohio Valley Conference. March 4, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Men's Basketball Drops OVC Quarterfinal Game". Eastern Illinois University Athletics. March 5, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Eastern Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved January 16, 2021.