# 2020–21 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team represented Idaho State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bengals, led by second-year head coach Ryan Looney, played their home games at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 13–11, 8–6 in Big Sky play, to finish a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament to Montana State.

## Previous season

The Bengals finished the 2019–20 season 8–22, 4–16 Big Sky play, to finish in a tie for tenth place. As the #11 seed in the Big Sky tournament, the Bengals upset the #6 seed Northern Arizona in the first round. They were scheduled to take on the #3 seed Montana in the quarterfinals, but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all postseason tournaments were canceled, including the remainder of the Big Sky tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 5:00 p.m. | | at Santa Clara Bronco Invitational | L 49–62 | 0–1 | Leavey Center Santa Clara, CA |
| November 27, 2020* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Nicholls Bronco Invitational | L 51–70 | 0–2 | Leavey Center Santa Clara, CA |
| November 28, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | vs. UC Davis Bronco Invitational | L 61–70 | 0–3 | Leavey Center Santa Clara, CA |
| December 5, 2020* 7:00 p.m. | | Montana Western | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| December 8, 2020* 4:00 p.m., P12N | | at Utah | L 59–75 | 0–4 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 12, 2020* 12:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Bethesda | W 87–48 | 1–4 | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| December 15, 2020* 7:00 p.m. | | Eastern Oregon | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| December 17, 2020* 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | SAGU American Indian College | W 89–54 | 2–4 | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| December 18, 2020* 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | SAGU American Indian College | W 113–46 | 3–4 | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| December 19, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | at Utah Valley | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | UCCU Center Orem, UT |
| December 22, 2020 2:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Northern Colorado | L 64–69 | 3–5 (0–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| December 23, 2020 2:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Northern Colorado | W 71–56 | 4–5 (1–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| December 31, 2020 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Weber State | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| January 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Weber State | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Dee Events Center Ogden, UT |
| January 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Northern Arizona | W 73–69 | 5–5 (2–1) | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| January 9, 2021 12:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Northern Arizona | W 76–70 | 6–5 (3–1) | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| January 17, 2021 2:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Sacramento State | W 57–56 $^{OT}$ | 7–5 (4–1) | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| January 18, 2021 1:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Sacramento State | L 65–70 | 7–6 (4–2) | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| January 21, 2021 8:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Portland State | W 64–57 | 8–6 (5–2) | Viking Pavilion Portland, OR |
| January 23, 2021 1:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Portland State | L 43–69 | 8–7 (5–3) | Viking Pavilion Portland, OR |
| January 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Southern Utah | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| January 30, 2021 12:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Southern Utah | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| January 30, 2021* 4:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Northwest | W 89–48 | 9–7 | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 5, 2021* 1:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Eastern Oregon | Canceled | Canceled | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 6, 2021* 11:00 a.m., Pluto TV | | Eastern Oregon | Canceled | Canceled | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 11, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Idaho Battle of the Domes | W 69–43 | 10–7 (6–3) | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Idaho Battle of the Domes | W 64–58 $^{OT}$ | 11–7 (7–3) | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 15, 2021* 2:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | George Fox | W 84–59 | 12–7 | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 18, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Montana State | Canceled | Canceled | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| February 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Montana State | Canceled | Canceled | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 25, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Montana | L 58–64 | 12–8 (7–4) | Reed Gym (40) Pocatello, ID |
| February 27, 2021 12:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | Montana | L 58–59 | 12–9 (7–5) | Reed Gym (50) Pocatello, ID |
| March 4, 2021 7:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Eastern Washington | W 68–63 | 13–9 (8–5) | Reese Court (0) Cheney, WA |
| March 6, 2021 1:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Eastern Washington | L 62–75 | 13–10 (8–6) | Reese Court (0) Cheney, WA |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:30 p.m., Pluto TV 1050 | (4) | vs. (5) Montana State Quarterfinals | L 63–71 | 13–11 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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