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. The team played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the 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. A a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they upset No. 4-seeded Virginia in the First Round before falling to No. 5-seeded Creighton in the Second Round.
Previous season
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.
Offseason
Coaching Staff Changes
Coaching Departures Coaching DeparturesSteve Snell Assistant coachDirector of Basketball Operations (North Carolina State)
Coaching Additions Coaching AdditionsLee MartinCatawba CollegeHead coach (Hargrave Military Academy) AssistantCoach
Departures DeparturesNate Springs2F6'10"205RS FreshmanCharlotte, NCTransferred to Kennesaw StateConnor Murrell10G6'7"215RS JuniorSioux City, IAEnded playing career, became graduate assistantSylvester Ogbonda11F6'10"237Graduate StudentPort Harcourt, NigeriaExhausted eligibilityJordan Dartis25G6'3"185RS SeniorNewark, OHExhausted eligibilityMarvin Price44G6'5"210FreshmanBaltimore, MDTransferred to Salt Lake Community College
Incoming transfers Incoming transfersDwight Wilson III4F6'8"250SeniorTallahassee, FLTransferred from James Madison. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.Rifen Miguel23F6'8"240JuniorLuanda, AngolaTransferred from Tallahassee Community College. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Recruiting class
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."Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll & All-MAC Teams Announced" getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2020-01-24. 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 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
Preseason All-MAC Preseason All-MAC teams1stJason PrestonGJr.2ndBen Vander PlasFJr. Source
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.
!colspan=9 style="| Non-conference regular season
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Source
Statistics
Team statistics Final 2020–21 statistics
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
Player statistics MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-ThrowsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgAPFTOStlBlkDwight Wilson242365627.334714.51502290.65502047700.671651161817.5164440139Ben Vander Plas252584633.832112.81142630.433511460.34942550.764191261455.89460583615Jason Preston202069134.631415.71272470.51432820.3928470.596211241457.31452760295Ben Roderick232260826.428512.41052210.475551390.39620300.6671456703195125144Lunden McDay252574129.625510.2862080.41328840.33355690.7973127582.3324323175Mark Sears24546819.52038.5641370.46712430.27963740.8511947662.8813529241Miles Brown25144217.71144.634820.41517480.35429450.644434381.5302818187Rifen Miguel130957.3382.912350.3433120.2511150.733912211.60281332Jalen White110655.9302.711250.446130.462230.6674711136211Colin Granger2221346.1291.312290.4140105100.51413271.23381020Sam Towns1521208211.47260.2692160.1255140.357416201.3614233Mason McMurray190864.5180.95120.417370.429590.556713201.1712310Nolan Foster60274.520.3120.50000102130.507200John Tenerowicz50112.220.40200002211010.211100Michael Brown5010210.2010000140.25000002000Total25-5000-198079.272815190.4792095930.3523154480.70324064388335.343739630116152Opponents25-5000-181572.664614680.4401975830.3383264290.76022861284033.634544134414165 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
Awards and honors
Weekly Awards Weekly Award Honors MAC player of the week Jason Preston G November 30
Final awards watchlists Final award honors watchlist Lou Henson National Player of the Year Jason Preston G Jr.
All-MAC Awards Postseason All-MAC teamsMAC 1st teamJason PrestonGJr.MAC 3rd TeamBen Vander PlasFJr.MAC 3rd teamDwight Wilson IIIFSr.MAC Freshman TeamMark SearsFFr.MAC Defensive TeamLunden McDayGSo. Source
National Awards National Award Honors Academic All-American Ben Vander Plas F
References