# 2020–21 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 10th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). It was the program's 105th season of play and 70th as a member of the MAC.

## Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2019–20 season 20–12 overall, 9–9 in MAC play, to finish fourth place in the East Division. They defeated Eastern Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament before the rest of the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jon King | 0 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Freshman | Akron, OH | Walk-on; did not return |
| CJ Williamson | 1 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Orlando, FL | Graduated |
| Troy Simons | 3 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Senior | Pittsburgh, PA | Graduated |
| Antonio Williams | 4 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Mitch Peterson | 13 | G | 6'5" | 199 | Senior | Richfield, OH | Graduated |
| Anthony Roberts | 15 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Sophomore | Detroit, MI | Transferred to St. Bonaventure |
| Sentwali Nalls | 21 | G | 6'1" | 165 | Freshman | Chicago, IL | Walk-on; did not return |
| Anyeuri Castillo | 22 | F | 6'7" | 195 | JR | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Transferred to USC Aiken |
| Phillip Whittington | 25 | F | 6'8" | 227 | Senior | Los Angeles, CA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Malique Jacobs | 2 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Wilmington, NC | Transferred from Indian Hills CC. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Tekorian Smith | 4 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Junior | Memphis, TN | Transferred from Polk State College. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Justyn Hamilton | 21 | F | 6'11" | 220 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Transferred from Temple. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |
| Gabe O'Neal | 32 | F | 6'7" | 240 | Junior | Cincinnati, OH | Transferred from Mineral Area College. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| James Jordan | 55 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Junior | Detroit, MI | Transferred from Roane State CC. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| VonCameron Davis SG | Columbus, OH | Walnut Ridge | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Nov 13, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Kent State had to cancel games against Alcorn State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Eastern Michigan and Ohio, due to COVID-19 issues at those respective programs. They also postponed games against Akron, Bowling Green and Ball State.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 28, 2020* Canceled | | Alcorn State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alcorn State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alcorn State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alcorn State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alcorn State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Alcorn State | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| November 30, 2020* Canceled | | Purdue Fort Wayne | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Purdue Fort Wayne | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Purdue Fort Wayne | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Purdue Fort Wayne | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Purdue Fort Wayne | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Purdue Fort Wayne | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 p.m. | | Point Park | W 90–41 | 1–0 | 17 – Nuga | 14 – Hamilton | 4 – Jacobs | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| December 4, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 15 Virginia | L 64–71 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | 20 – Nuga | 6 – Nuga | 3 – Jacobs | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA |
| December 8, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Detroit Mercy | W 80–66 | 2–1 | 23 – Pippen | 13 – Hamilton | 4 – Nuga | Calihan Hall Detroit, MI |
| December 13, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | Northern Kentucky | W 92–73 | 3–1 | 22 – Hamilton | 9 – O'Neal | 7 – tied | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 1, 2021 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Akron | L 62–66 | 3–2 (0–1) | 19 – Nuga | 9 – Pippen | 6 – Santiago | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| January 2, 2021 Canceled | | at Eastern Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Eastern Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Eastern Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Eastern Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Eastern Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Eastern Michigan | Convocation Center Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 5, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Toledo | L 82–84 | 3–3 (0–2) | 34 – Pippen | 16 – Pippen | 5 – tied | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Western Michigan | W 80–54 | 4–3 (1–2) | 26 – Nuga | 10 – Hamilton | 3 – tied | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| January 12, 2021 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan | W 94–85 | 5–3 (2–2) | 28 – Pippen | 11 – Pippen | 4 – tied | McGuirk Arena Mt. Pleasant, MI |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ohio | W 89–79 | 6–3 (3–2) | 22 – Pippen | 10 – Nuga | 6 – Santiago | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| January 19, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 84–81 | 7–3 (4–2) | 23 – Nuga | 7 – tied | 6 – Jacobs | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| January 23, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 74–76 | 7–4 (4–3) | 19 – Nuga | 12 – Pippen | 4 – tied | Savage Arena Toledo, OH |
| January 27, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | W 96–91 | 8–4 (5–3) | 34 – Pippen | 10 – Pippen | 4 – tied | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | W 83–76 | 9–4 (6–3) | 26 – Pippen | 12 – Hamilton | 6 – Santiago | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| February 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 77–68 | 10–4 (7–3) | 30 – Pippen | 8 – Jacobs | 6 – Jacobs | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Akron | L 61–72 | 10–5 (7–4) | 17 – Pippen | 11 – Pippen | 5 – Pippen | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| February 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Bowling Green | W 71–67 | 11–5 (8–4) | 18 – Beck | 11 – Pippen | 5 – Jacobs | Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH |
| February 13, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 80–58 | 12–5 (9–4) | 13 – Jacobs | 8 – tied | 6 – Santiago | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| February 16, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 76–69 | 13–5 (10–4) | 22 – Santiago | 8 – Beck | 2 – Hernandez | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 64–51 | 14–5 (11–4) | 25 – Pippen | 10 – Pippen | 9 – Pippen | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| February 24, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Ball State | L 71–90 | 14–6 (11–5) | 23 – Jacobs | 7 – Jacobs | 3 – tied | Worthen Arena (109) Muncie, IN |
| February 27, 2021 4:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | W 64–51 | 15–6 (12–5) | 19 – Beck | 12 – Beck | 4 – Jacobs | Millett Hall Oxford, OH |
| March 2, 2021 Canceled | | Ohio | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Ohio | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Ohio | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Ohio | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Ohio | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Ohio | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| March 5, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Buffalo | L 67–81 | 15–7 (12–6) | 19 – Beck | 6 – tied | 7 – Santiago | Alumni Arena Buffalo, NY |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:05 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Ohio Quarterfinals | L 63–85 | 15–8 | 16 – tied | 6 – Hamilton | 5 – Santiago | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
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