2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies, led by interim head coach Lamar Chapman, played their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Huskies finished the season 3–16, 2–12 in MAC play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament which had been limited to provide that the bottom four finishers would not be eligible.[1] The MAC also announced the removal of divisions in cost-cutting measure partly attributed to COVID-19.[1]

2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record3–16 (2–12 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Anthony Beane Sr.
  • Chris MacMartin
Home arenaConvocation Center
Seasons
2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Toledo 15 4   .789 21 9   .700
Buffalo 12 5   .706 16 9   .640
Akron 12 6   .667 15 8   .652
Kent State 12 6   .667 15 8   .652
Ohio 9 5   .643 17 8   .680
Bowling Green 10 8   .556 14 12   .538
Miami (OH) 9 8   .529 12 11   .522
Ball State 8 9   .471 10 13   .435
Western Michigan 4 12   .250 5 16   .238
Eastern Michigan 3 11   .214 6 12   .333
Central Michigan 3 13   .188 7 16   .304
Northern Illinois 2 12   .143 3 16   .158
2021 MAC tournament winner

On January 3, 2021, it was announced that head coach Mark Montgomery had been relieved of his duties after the team's 1–7 start to the season. Associate head coach Lamar Chapman was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[2]

Previous season

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The Huskies finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 11–7, to finish in a tie for first place in the MAC West division. They were scheduled to play Miami (OH) in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Roster

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2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Chris Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr South Suburban College Chicago, IL
G 1 Trendon Hankerson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Novi HS Novi, MI
G 2 Kaleb Thornton 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Iowa Western CC Bolingbrook, IL
G/F 3 Justin Lee 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Collins Hill HS Lawrenceville, GA
G 4 Tavon Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Odessa College Linden, NJ
G 5 Zaire Mateen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Laramie County CC Queens, NY
F 11 Chinedu Kingsley Okanu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Vincennes Gary, IN
F 12 Zool Kueth 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Pratt CC Gallatin, TN
C 13 Adong Makuoi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Daytona State College Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
G 20 Daniel Filippone 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Antioch Community HS Antioch, IL
G 23 Tyler Cochran 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Bolingbrook HS Bolingbrook, IL
G 24 Darius Beane 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Southern Illinois Carbondale, IL
F 25 Nathan Scott 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Olney Central College Naperville, IL
F 32 Keenon Cole 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Streamwood HS Streamwood, IL
G 50 Anthony Crump 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Middle Tennessee Inkster, MI
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
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
6:00 pm
UIC L 61–65  0–1
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
December 2, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
SIU Edwardsville L 53–73  0–2
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
December 5, 2020*
6:00 pm, ACCNX
at Pittsburgh L 59–89  0–3
Petersen Events Center (500)
Pittsburgh, PA
December 8, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Ball State L 70–79 OT 0–4
(0–1)
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
December 13, 2020*
1:00 pm, FS1
at No. 3 Iowa L 53–106  0–5
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (546)
Iowa City, IA
December 18, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Chicago State W 64–54  1–5
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
December 22, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Toledo L 55–78  1–6
(0–2)
Savage Arena 
Toledo, OH
January 2, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Bowling Green L 42–68  1–7
(0–3)
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
January 5, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Ohio L 73–76  1–8
(0–4)
Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
January 9, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Miami (OH) L 58–70  1–9
(0–5)
Millett Hall 
Oxford, OH
January 12, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Akron W 67–65  2–9
(1–5)
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
January 16, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Ball State L 58–78  2–10
(1–6)
Worthen Arena (132)
Muncie, IN
January 19, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Ohio Postponed Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
January 23, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Buffalo Postponed Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
January 26, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bowling Green Postponed Stroh Center 
Bowling Green, OH
January 30, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Eastern Michigan Postponed Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
February 2, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Western Michigan Postponed University Arena 
Kalamazoo, MI
February 6, 2021
1:30 pm, ESPN3
Central Michigan Postponed Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
February 9, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Toledo Postponed Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
February 13, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Kent State L 58–80  2–11
(1–7)
MAC Center 
Kent, OH
February 16, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Akron L 76–81  2–12
(1–8)
James A. Rhodes Arena (52)
Akron, OH
February 20, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Miami (OH) L 64–69  2–13
(1–9)
Convocation Center (23)
DeKalb, IL
February 23, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Buffalo L 74–102  2–14
(1–10)
Convocation Center (27)
DeKalb, IL
February 27, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN3
at Eastern Michigan L 57–91  2–15
(1–11)
Convocation Center (75)
Ypsilanti, MI
March 2, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Michigan L 63–73  2–16
(1–12)
Convocation Center (24)
DeKalb, IL
March 5, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Central Michigan W 79–74  3–16
(2–12)
McGuirk Arena 
Mount Pleasant, MI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mid-American Conference cancels postseason tournaments for eight sports, changes basketball format". CBSSports.com. May 12, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "NIU Announces Men's Basketball Coaching Change". NIU Athletics. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "A Season Lost, A Season Remembered". NIU Athletics. March 18, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". NIU Athletics. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "2020-21 Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved January 16, 2021.