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][2] The team played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference.^[3] 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.^[4] A a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region.^[5] There they upset No. 4-seeded Virginia in the First Round^[6] before falling to No. 5-seeded Creighton in the Second Round.^[7][8]

2020–21 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	17–8 (9–5 MAC)
Head coach	Jeff Boals (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Lamar Thornton (2nd season) Kyle Barlow (2nd season) Lee Martin (1st season)
Home arena	Convocation Center
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

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

Previous season

Main article: 2019–20 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

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.^[9]

Offseason

Coaching Staff Changes

Coaching Departures

Coaching Departures

Name	Alma Mater	Previous position	New position
Steve Snell		Assistant coach	Director of Basketball Operations (North Carolina State)^[10]

Coaching Additions

Coaching Additions

Name	Alma Mater	Previous position	New position
Lee Martin	Catawba College	Head coach (Hargrave Military Academy)	AssistantCoach^[11]

Departures

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

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.

Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mark Sears PG	Muscle Shoals, AL	Hargrave Military Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Jul 22, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:     ESPN grade: 74
Sam Towns PF	Winchendon, MA	The Winchendon School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	May 16, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jalen White SG	Pasadena, TX	Sam Rayburn High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 18, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Colin Granger PF	Suwanee, Ga.	Lambert High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	213 lb (97 kg)	Nov 15, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2020–21 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jason Preston 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Jr Believe Sports Orlando, FL G 1 Michael Brown, Jr. (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 156 lb (71 kg) So Northstar Christian Rochester, NY G 2 Miles Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Northstar Christian Rochester, NY F 3 Ben Roderick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Olentangy Liberty Powell, OH F 4 Dwight Wilson III 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Lincoln Tallahassee, FL F 5 Ben Vander Plas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 232 lb (105 kg) RS Jr Ripon Ripon, WI G 10 Mark Sears 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Hargrave Muscle Shoals, AL F 11 Sam Towns 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Fr Pickerington Central Columbus, OH G 12 John Tenerowicz (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr St. Ignatius Cleveland, OH G 15 Lunden McDay 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So St. Vincent–St. Mary Akron, OH G 21 Jalen White 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Sam Rayburn Pasadena, TX C 22 Nolan Foster 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 222 lb (101 kg) So Mattawan Mattawan, MI F 23 Rifen Miguel 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr West Oaks Luanda, Angola F 24 Mason McMurray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Stow-Munroe Falls Stow, OH F 32 Colin Granger 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Lambert Suwanee, GA	Head coach Jeff Boals (Ohio) Assistant coach(es) Lamar Thornton (Ohio Dominican) Kyle Barlow (Concordia–Ann Arbor) Lee Martin (Catawba) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Support Staff

2020-21 Ohio Bobcats Support Staff

Jake Ness - Director of Basketball Operations

Preseason

Prior to the season Ohio was picked second in the MAC preseason poll.^[12] Jason Preston was named to the preseason first team all-conference while Ben Vander Plas was on the second team.

Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Bowling Green	(8) 132
2	Ohio	(1) 117
3	Akron	(2) 115
4	Buffalo	109
5	Ball State	104
6	Toledo	(1) 93
7	Kent State	65
8	Eastern Michigan	57
9	Miami	48
10	Northern Illinois	43
11	Central Michigan	40
12	Western Michigan	13

MAC Tournament Champions: Bowling Green (4), Akron (2), Ball State (1), Buffalo (1), Eastern Michigan (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1), Toledo (1)

Source^[12]

Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams

Team	Player	Position	Year
1st	Jason Preston	G	Jr.
2nd	Ben Vander Plas	F	Jr.

Source^[12]

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 – 3 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 – 2 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 – 2 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 – 2 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^[13]

Statistics

Team Statistics

Final 2020–21 Statistics

Record	Ohio	OPP
Scoring	1980	1815
Scoring Average	79.20	72.60
Field goals – Att	728–1519	646–1468
3-pt. Field goals – Att	209–593	197–583
Free throws – Att	315–448	326–429
Rebounds	883	840
Assists	437	345
Turnovers	301	344
Steals	161	141
Blocked Shots	52	65

Source^[14]

Player statistics

			Minutes		Scoring		Total FGs			3-point FGs			Free-Throws			Rebounds
Player	GP	GS	Tot	Avg	Pts	Avg	FG	FGA	Pct	3FG	3FA	Pct	FT	FTA	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Avg	A	PF	TO	Stl	Blk
Dwight Wilson	24	23	656	27.3	347	14.5	150	229	0.655	0	2	0	47	70	0.671	65	116	181	7.5	16	44	40	13	9
Ben Vander Plas	25	25	846	33.8	321	12.8	114	263	0.433	51	146	0.349	42	55	0.764	19	126	145	5.8	94	60	58	36	15
Jason Preston	20	20	691	34.6	314	15.7	127	247	0.514	32	82	0.39	28	47	0.596	21	124	145	7.3	145	27	60	29	5
Ben Roderick	23	22	608	26.4	285	12.4	105	221	0.475	55	139	0.396	20	30	0.667	14	56	70	3	19	51	25	14	4
Lunden McDay	25	25	741	29.6	255	10.2	86	208	0.413	28	84	0.333	55	69	0.797	31	27	58	2.3	32	43	23	17	5
Mark Sears	24	5	468	19.5	203	8.5	64	137	0.467	12	43	0.279	63	74	0.851	19	47	66	2.8	81	35	29	24	1
Miles Brown	25	1	442	17.7	114	4.6	34	82	0.415	17	48	0.354	29	45	0.644	4	34	38	1.5	30	28	18	18	7
Rifen Miguel	13	0	95	7.3	38	2.9	12	35	0.343	3	12	0.25	11	15	0.733	9	12	21	1.6	0	28	13	3	2
Jalen White	11	0	65	5.9	30	2.7	11	25	0.44	6	13	0.462	2	3	0.667	4	7	11	1	3	6	2	1	1
Colin Granger	22	2	134	6.1	29	1.3	12	29	0.414	0	1	0	5	10	0.5	14	13	27	1.2	3	38	10	2	0
Sam Towns	15	2	120	8	21	1.4	7	26	0.269	2	16	0.125	5	14	0.357	4	16	20	1.3	6	14	2	3	3
Mason McMurray	19	0	86	4.5	18	0.9	5	12	0.417	3	7	0.429	5	9	0.556	7	13	20	1.1	7	12	3	1	0
Nolan Foster	6	0	27	4.5	2	0.3	1	2	0.5	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	3	0.5	0	7	2	0	0
John Tenerowicz	5	0	11	2.2	2	0.4	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	1	0	1	0.2	1	1	1	0	0
Michael Brown	5	0	10	2	1	0.2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	0.25	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Total	25	-	5000	-	1980	79.2	728	1519	0.479	209	593	0.352	315	448	0.703	240	643	883	35.3	437	396	301	161	52
Opponents	25	-	5000	-	1815	72.6	646	1468	0.440	197	583	0.338	326	429	0.760	228	612	840	33.6	345	441	344	141	65

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	Avg	Average per game
FG	Field-goals made	FGA	Field-goal attempts	Off	Offensive rebounds
Def	Defensive rebounds	A	Assists	TO	Turnovers
Blk	Blocks	Stl	Steals	High	Team high

Source^[14]

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

Weekly Award Honors

Honors	Player	Position	Date Awarded	Source
MAC player of the week	Jason Preston	G	November 30	^[15]

Final awards watchlists

Final award honors watchlist

Honors	Player	Position	Year	Source
Lou Henson National Player of the Year	Jason Preston	G	Jr.	^[16]

All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams

Award	Player	Position	Year
MAC 1st team	Jason Preston	G	Jr.
MAC 3rd Team	Ben Vander Plas	F	Jr.
MAC 3rd team	Dwight Wilson III	F	Sr.
MAC Freshman Team	Mark Sears	F	Fr.
MAC Defensive Team	Lunden McDay	G	So.

Source^[17]

National Awards

National Award Honors

Honors	Player	Position	Ref.
Academic All-American	Ben Vander Plas	F	^[18]

References

1. . Ohio University. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
2. "Jeff Boals". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
3. "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
4. "Ohio Bobcats down Buffalo to win MAC Tournament, earn NCAA Tournament bid". Cincinnati Enquirer.
5. "2020-21 Ohio Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
6. "Ohio vs. Virginia - Game Recap - March 20, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
7. "Ohio vs. Creighton - Game Recap - March 22, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
8. Henry, Megan. "Athens celebrated March Madness game — despite outcome". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
9. . Ohio University. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
10. "Steve Snell". North Carolina State Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
11. "Lee Martin". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
12. "Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll & All-MAC Teams Announced" getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
13. "2020-21 Ohio Bobcats Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
14. "2020-21 Ohio Bobcats Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
15. "Men's Basketball Players of the Week".
16. "Preston Named Lou Henson Award Finalist".
17. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Postseason Awards Announced".
18. "Vander Plas Named 2020-21 Academic All-America®" (Press release). Ohio Athletics. May 28, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2022.