# 2020–21 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by fourth-year head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 23–8, 17–3 in OVC play to finish in 2nd place. They defeated Southeast Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky, and Belmont to be champions of the OVC tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to West Virginia.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2019–20 season 13–19, 7–11 in OVC play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the OVC tournament to Tennessee State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 6:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 10 Kentucky Bluegrass Showcase | L 45–81 | 0–1 | Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY |
| November 27, 2020* 6:00 pm | | vs. Richmond Bluegrass Showcase | L 64–82 | 0–2 | Rupp Arena (261) Lexington, KY |
| November 29, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 69–61 | 1–2 | Ellis Johnson Arena (100) Morehead, KY |
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 23 Ohio State | L 44–77 | 1–3 | Covelli Center Columbus, OH |
| December 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 68–71 | 1–4 (0–1) | McBrayer Arena (643) Richmond, KY |
| December 9, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Transylvania | W 77–55 | 2–4 | Ellis Johnson Arena (420) Morehead, KY |
| December 10, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Transylvania | W 81–55 | 3–4 | Ellis Johnson Arena (350) Morehead, KY |
| December 14, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 75–62 | 4–4 (1–1) | Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY |
| December 18, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | L 65–69 | 4–5 (1–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (375) Morehead, KY |
| December 21, 2020* 12:00 pm, ACCN | | at Clemson | L 51–66 | 4–6 | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,508) Clemson, SC |
| January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | W 61–56 | 5–6 (2–2) | CFSB Center (872) Murray, KY |
| January 7, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee Tech | W 57–54 | 6–6 (3–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (480) Morehead, KY |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 56–55 | 7–6 (4–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (445) Morehead, KY |
| January 14, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Eastern Illinois | W 87–61 | 8–6 (5–2) | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| January 16, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 64–50 | 9–6 (6–2) | Show Me Center (799) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| January 21, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Southeast Missouri State | W 76–65 | 10–6 (7–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (775) Morehead, KY |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 76–44 | 11–6 (8–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (500) Morehead, KY |
| January 28, 2021 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 85–66 | 12–6 (9–2) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (456) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 30, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 74–55 | 13–6 (10–2) | Eblen Center (558) Cookeville, TN |
| February 4, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 66–56 | 14–6 (11–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (765) Morehead, KY |
| February 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 75–74 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (12–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (717) Morehead, KY |
| February 11, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee State | W 79–66 | 16–6 (13–2) | Gentry Complex (183) Nashville, TN |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 58–73 | 16–7 (13–3) | Curb Event Center (233) Nashville, TN |
| February 18, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 79–69 | 17–7 (14–3) | Skyhawk Arena (166) Martin, TN |
| February 22, 2021 ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 56–48 | 18–7 (15–3) | First Community Arena (50) Edwardsville, IL |
| February 25, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 74–60 | 19–7 (16–3) | Ellis Johnson Arena (665) Morehead, KY |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | W 89–82 $^{2OT}$ | 20–7 (17–3) | Ellis Johnson Arena (800) Morehead, KY |
| Ohio Valley tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2021 10:30 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (7) Southeast Missouri State First Round | W 61–54 | 21–7 | Ford Center (266) Evansville, IN |
| March 5, 2021 10:30 pm, ESPNU | (2) | vs. (3) Eastern Kentucky Semifinals | W 67–64 | 22–7 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| March 6, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (1) Belmont Championship | W 86–71 | 23–7 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 19, 2021* 8:50 pm, truTV | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 13 West Virginia First Round | L 67–84 | 23–8 | Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources