2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	3–16 (2–12 MAC)
Head coach	Mark Montgomery (10th season) (interim, 1st season); Lamar Chapman;
Assistant coaches	Anthony Beane Sr.; Chris MacMartin;
Home arena	Convocation Center
	Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

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 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	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

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

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

Lamar Chapman (Lane College)

Assistant coach(es)

Anthony Beane Sr. (Kansas State)
Chris MacMartin (Northern Illinois)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 16, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	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

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

[:0-1] "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.

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