# 2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by ninth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 9–18, 6–14 in OVC play, to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the OVC tournament.
On March 4, 2021, the school announced that they would not renew head coach Jay Spoonhour's contract. Nearly a month later, the school named Clemson assistant and former Evansville head coach Marty Simmons the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 9–9 in OVC play, to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Jacksonville State in the first round of the OVC tournament, before losing in the quarterfinals to Austin Peay.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 9:00 p.m., BTN | at No. 7 Wisconsin | L 67–77 | 0–1 | Kohl Center Madison, WI |
| November 27, 2020* 6:30 p.m., FS1 | at Marquette | L 50–75 | 0–2 | Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI |
| November 29, 2020* 5:30 p.m., FS1 | at Butler | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| December 1, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Dayton | L 63–66 | 0–3 | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| December 3, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Chicago State | W 78–56 | 1–3 | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| December 5, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Green Bay | W 93–91 $^{2OT}$ | 2–3 | Kress Events Center Green Bay, WI |
| December 9, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Evansville | L 65–68 | 2–4 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| December 12, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Western Illinois | W 92–88 | 3–4 | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| Ohio Valley regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Eastern Kentucky | L 61–69 | 3–5 (0–1) | McBrayer Arena (704) Richmond, KY |
| January 2, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Tennessee Tech | W 87–81 | 4–5 (1–1) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 7, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Murray State | W 74–68 | 5–5 (2–1) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Austin Peay | L 71–74 | 5–6 (2–2) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 14, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | Morehead State | L 61–87 | 5–7 (2–3) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Eastern Kentucky | L 85–93 $^{OT}$ | 5–8 (2–4) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 21, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Belmont | L 66–79 | 5–9 (2–5) | Curb Event Center (247) Nashville, TN |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Tennessee State | L 54–65 | 5–10 (2–6) | Gentry Complex (338) Nashville, TN |
| January 26, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | SIU Edwardsville | L 74–87 | 5–11 (2–7) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 28, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at UT Martin | L 41–51 | 5–12 (2–8) | Skyhawk Arena (360) Martin, TN |
| January 30, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Southeast Missouri State | L 44–75 | 5–13 (2–9) | Show Me Center (842) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| February 2, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at SIU Edwardsville | W 70–61 | 6–13 (3–9) | First Community Arena Edwardsville, IL |
| February 4, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Belmont | L 61–89 | 6–14 (3–10) | Lantz Arena (12) Charleston, IL |
| February 6, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Tennessee State | W 86–72 | 7–14 (4–10) | Lantz Arena (19) Charleston, IL |
| February 11, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at Jacksonville State | L 64–76 | 7–15 (4–11) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (421) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 13, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Tennessee Tech | L 67–80 | 7–16 (4–12) | Eblen Center (550) Cookeville, TN |
| February 18, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at Murray State | W 68–59 | 8–16 (5–12) | CFSB Center (1,260) Murray, KY |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Austin Peay | W 76–69 | 9–16 (6–12) | Dunn Center (747) Clarksville, TN |
| February 25, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Southeast Missouri State | L 88–94 | 9–17 (6–13) | Lantz Arena (29) Charleston, IL |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | UT Martin | L 68–73 | 9–18 (6–14) | Lantz Arena (50) Charleston, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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