# 2020–21 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team represented Chicago State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by third-year head coach Lance Irvin. They played their home games at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 0–9, 0–0 in WAC play before suspending the season due to COVID-19 and an insufficient number of players.

## Previous season

The 2019–20 Cougars finished the 2019–20 season 4–25, 0–14 in WAC play to finish in last place. They were set to be the eighth overall seed in the WAC tournament, but the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Leondre Townsen | 2 | G | 6'5" | 160 | Freshman | Chicago, Illinois | Left program |
| Amir Gholizadeh | 10 | F | 6'6" | 195 | Freshman | Toronto, Ontario | Transferred to Tallahassee CC |
| Christian Jacob | 13 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Senior | Gary, Indiana | Graduated |
| Noah Bigirumwami | 15 | F | 6'10" | 225 | RS-Junior | Santa Clarita, California | Left program |
| Jace Colley | 23 | F | 6'7" | 200 | Junior | Preston, Nova Scotia | Left program |
| Eugene Witherspoon | 32 | F | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Chicago, Illinois | Graduated |

### Transfers

* Levelle Ziegler - East LA College
* Isaiah Simpson - Santa Monica College
* Aaris-Monte Bonds - Southeastern CC
* Coreyoun Rushin - Idaho State
* Jordan Polynice - East LA College

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lou Demuth C | Luxembourg City, LUX | BBC Gréngewald Hueschtert | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | May 27, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "Chicago State 2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021. ||||||

## Preseason
### WAC media poll

The WAC men's basketball media poll was released on October 27, 2020. Chicago State was picked to finish ninth.
WAC Preseason Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | New Mexico State (8) |
| 2 | Grand Canyon (1) |
| 3 | UTRGV |
| 4 | California Baptist |
| 5 | Seattle U |
| 6 | Tarleton State |
| 7 | Utah Valley |
| 8 | Dixie State |
| 9 | Chicago State |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 25, 2020* 4:00 p.m. | vs. Ohio Illinois Multi–team Event | L 61–84 | 0–1 | 11 – I. Lewis | 7 – Bonds | 3 – Bonds | State Farm Center (132) Champaign, IL |
| Nov 26, 2020* 11:00 a.m., BTN | at No. 8 Illinois Illinois Multi–team Event | L 38–97 | 0–2 | 10 – Johnson | 2 – Marble | 4 – I. Lewis | State Farm Center (143) Champaign, IL |
| Nov 27, 2020* 3:00 p.m. | vs. North Carolina A&T Illinois Multi–team Event | L 44–74 | 0–3 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Davis | 4 – Johnson | State Farm Center (155) Champaign, IL |
| Dec 3, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Eastern Illinois | L 56–78 | 0–4 | 11 – Tied | 8 – Bonds | 3 – Bonds | Lantz Arena (0) Charleston, IL |
| Dec 5, 2020* 4:00 p.m., BTN | at Northwestern | L 66–111 | 0–5 | 18 – Zeigler | 4 – Tied | 6 – Johnson | Welsh–Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 9, 2020* 2:00 p.m., NBCSCHI | at Loyola Chicago | L 51–88 | 0–6 | 12 – Zeigler | 6 – Davis | 3 – Johnson | Gentile Arena (0) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 15, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Illinois State | L 62–91 | 0–7 | 22 – Johnson | 12 – Davis | 2 – Tied | Redbird Arena (0) Normal, IL |
| Dec 18, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Northern Illinois | L 54–64 | 0–8 | 23 – Johnson | 8 – Rushin | 4 – Zeigler | Convocation Center (0) DeKalb, IL |
| Dec 20, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Drake | L 67–111 | 0–9 | 18 – Zeigler | 9 – Rushin | 3 – Marble | Knapp Center (331) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 22, 2020* 12:00 p.m., B12N | at Iowa State | Canceled due to insufficient number of available players | Canceled due to insufficient number of available players | Canceled due to insufficient number of available players | Canceled due to insufficient number of available players | Canceled due to insufficient number of available players | Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA |
| WAC regular season |||||||||
| Jan 8, 2021 4:00 p.m., WACDN | UTRGV | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Jan 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., WACDN | UTRGV | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Jan 15, 2021 8:00 p.m., WACDN | at Grand Canyon | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ |
| Jan 16, 2021 5:00 p.m., WACDN | at Grand Canyon | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ |
| Jan 22, 2021 1:00 p.m., WACDN | California Baptist | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Jan 23, 2021 12:00 p.m., WACDN | California Baptist | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Jan 29, 2021 8:00 p.m., WACDN | at Seattle | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Redhawk Center Seattle, WA |
| Jan 30, 2021 8:00 p.m., WACDN | at Seattle | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Redhawk Center Seattle, WA |
| Feb 5, 2021 2:00 p.m., WACDN | Utah Valley | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Feb 6, 2021 2:00 p.m., WACDN | Utah Valley | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Feb 12, 2021 1:00 p.m., WACDN | at Tarleton State | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Wisdom Gymnasium Stephenville, TX |
| Feb 13, 2021 1:00 p.m., WACDN | at Tarleton State | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Wisdom Gymnasium Stephenville, TX |
| Feb 26, 2021 2:00 p.m., WACDN | Dixie State | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Feb 27, 2021 2:00 p.m., WACDN | Dixie State | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Jones Convocation Center Chicago, IL |
| Mar 5, 2021 WACDN | vs. New Mexico State | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Eastwood High School Gymnasium El Paso, TX |
| Mar 6, 2021 WACDN | vs. New Mexico State | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Season suspended due to COVID-19 | Eastwood High School Gymnasium El Paso, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings