2020–21 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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] [ 1]
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 Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on Roster
Schedule and results
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance)
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 Pittsburgh, PA
December 8, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3
Ball State L 70–79 OT
0–4
Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
December 13, 2020 *1:00 pm, FS1
at No. 3 Iowa
L 53–106 0–5
Carver–Hawkeye Arena 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
Savage Arena Toledo, OH
January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3
Bowling Green L 42–68 1–7
Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 5, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Ohio
L 73–76 1–8
Convocation Center Athens, OH
January 9, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Miami (OH)
L 58–70 1–9
Millett Hall Oxford, OH
January 12, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+
Akron W 67–65 2–9
Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
January 16, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Ball State
L 58–78 2–10
Worthen Arena 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
MAC Center Kent, OH
February 16, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Akron
L 76–81 2–12
James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH
February 20, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3
Miami (OH) L 64–69 2–13
Convocation Center (23)DeKalb, IL
February 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3
Buffalo L 74–102 2–14
Convocation Center (27)DeKalb, IL
February 27, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN3
at Eastern Michigan
L 57–91 2–15
Convocation Center Ypsilanti, MI
March 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Michigan L 63–73 2–16
Convocation Center (24)DeKalb, IL
March 5, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Central Michigan
W 79–74 3–16
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 .
