# 2020–21 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by second-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University. The team played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 17–8, 9–5 in MAC play to finish in fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the MAC tournament, they defeated Kent State, Toledo, and Buffalo to win the tournament championship. A a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they upset No. 4-seeded Virginia in the First Round before falling to No. 5-seeded Creighton in the Second Round.

## Previous season

The Bobcats finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East division. As the No. 8 seed in the MAC tournament, they defeated Central Michigan in the first round before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Coaching Staff Changes
#### Coaching Departures

Coaching Departures :
| Name | Alma Mater | Previous position | New position |
| Steve Snell | | Assistant coach | Director of Basketball Operations (North Carolina State) |

#### Coaching Additions

Coaching Additions :
| Name | Alma Mater | Previous position | New position |
| Lee Martin | Catawba College | Head coach (Hargrave Military Academy) | AssistantCoach |

### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Nate Springs | 2 | F | 6'10" | 205 | RS Freshman | Charlotte, NC | Transferred to Kennesaw State |
| Connor Murrell | 10 | G | 6'7" | 215 | RS Junior | Sioux City, IA | Ended playing career, became graduate assistant |
| Sylvester Ogbonda | 11 | F | 6'10" | 237 | Graduate Student | Port Harcourt, Nigeria | Exhausted eligibility |
| Jordan Dartis | 25 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Senior | Newark, OH | Exhausted eligibility |
| Marvin Price | 44 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Freshman | Baltimore, MD | Transferred to Salt Lake Community College |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Dwight Wilson III | 4 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Senior | Tallahassee, FL | Transferred from James Madison. Will have one year of eligibility remaining. |
| Rifen Miguel | 23 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Junior | Luanda, Angola | Transferred from Tallahassee Community College. Will have two years of eligibility remaining. |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mark Sears PG | Muscle Shoals, AL | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 22, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: 74 ||||||
| Sam Towns PF | Winchendon, MA | The Winchendon School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 16, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jalen White SG | Pasadena, TX | Sam Rayburn High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Colin Granger PF | Suwanee, Ga. | Lambert High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 213 lb (97 kg) | Nov 15, 2019 |
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason

Prior to the season Ohio was picked second in the MAC preseason poll. Jason Preston was named to the preseason first team all-conference while Ben Vander Plas was on the second team.

### Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Bowling Green | (8) 132 |
| 2 | Ohio | (1) 117 |
| 3 | Akron | (2) 115 |
| 4 | Buffalo | 109 |
| 5 | Ball State | 104 |
| 6 | Toledo | (1) 93 |
| 7 | Kent State | 65 |
| 8 | Eastern Michigan | 57 |
| 9 | Miami | 48 |
| 10 | Northern Illinois | 43 |
| 11 | Central Michigan | 40 |
| 12 | Western Michigan | 13 |
MAC Tournament Champions: Bowling Green (4), Akron (2), Ball State (1), Buffalo (1), Eastern Michigan (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1), Toledo (1)
Source

### Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams :
| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| 1st | Jason Preston | G | Jr. |
| 2nd | Ben Vander Plas | F | Jr. |
Source

## Schedule and results

Ohio had to cancel their games against Mississippi Valley State, Bowling Green, and Kent State due to COVID-19. They also postponed games against Miami (OH), Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Chicago State | W 84–61 | 1-0 | 15 – McDay | 7 – Wilson III | 8 – Preston | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| November 26, 2020* 3:00 p.m. | | vs. North Carolina A&T | W 84–72 | 2–0 | 22 – Roderick | 9 – Preston | 9 – Preston | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| November 27, 2020* 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 8 Illinois | L 75–77 | 2–1 | 31 – Preston | 8 – Wilson III | 8 – Preston | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| December 6, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | Cleveland State | W 101–46 | 3–1 | 20 – McDay | 14 – Wilson III | 8 – Preston | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| December 10, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | Purdue Northwest | W 92–72 | 4–1 | 22 – Preston | 13 – Wilson III | 11 – Preston | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| December 13, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | at Marshall | L 67–81 | 4–2 | 24 – Wilson III | 12 – Wilson III | 5 – Preston | Henderson Center (1,272) Huntington, WV |
| December 18, 2020* Canceled | | Mississippi Valley State | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| December 22, 2020 2:00 p.m. | | at Akron | L 70–90 | 4–3 (0–1) | 16 – Preston | 7 – Preston | 5 – Preston | Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH |
| December 29, 2020 Postponed | | at Miami (OH) | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Millett Hall Oxford, OH |
| December 30, 2020 2:00 p.m. | | at Bowling Green | L 75–83 | 4–4 (0–2) | 20 – Wilson III | 11 – Vander Plas | 9 – Sears | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| January 2, 2021 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Ball State | W 78–68 | 5–4 (1–2) | 20 – Roderick | 6 – 3 Tied | 8 – Sears | Worthen Arena (75) Muncie, Indiana |
| January 5, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 76–73 | 6–4 (2–2) | 25 – Wilson III | 8 – Wilson III | 7 – 2 Tied | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| January 8, 2021 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Toledo | L 78–95 | 6–5 (2–3) | 20 – Sears | 6 – Vander Plas | 5 – Sears | Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH |
| January 12, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | Miami (OH) | W 78–61 | 7–5 (3–3) | 20 – Roderick | 8 – Vander Plas | 8 – Preston | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kent State | L 79–89 | 7–6 (3–4) | 24 – Vander Plas | 6 – Wilson III | 10 – Preston | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| January 19, 2021 Postponed | | at Northern Illinois | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center DeKalb, IL |
| January 22, 2021 Postponed | | Ball State | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| January 23, 2021 1:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 85–77 | 8–6 (4–4) | 19 – Sears | 10 – Preston | 11 – Preston | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| January 26, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 81–58 | 9–6 (5–4) | 21 – Sears | 10 – Preston | 6 – Sears | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| January 29, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Buffalo | W 76–75 | 10–6 (6–4) | 21 – Wilson III | 9 – Preston | 4 – Preston | Alumni Arena (0) Buffalo, NY |
| February 2, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 83–69 | 11–6 (7–4) | 17 – Preston | 11 – Preston | 6 – Preston | McGuirk Arena (0) Mt. Pleasant, MI |
| February 6, 2021 Postponed | | Eastern Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| February 9, 2021 Postponed | | Akron | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| February 13, 2021 Postponed | | at Western Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 16, 2021 Postponed | | Central Michigan | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| February 20, 2021 Canceled | | at Bowling Green | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH |
| February 23, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Akron | W 90–73 | 12–6 (8–4) | 17 – 2 Tied | 9 – Vander Plas | 9 – Sears | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| February 25, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 86–67 | 13–6 (9–4) | 17 – Roderick | 9 – Preston | 12 – Preston | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| February 27, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | L 66–86 | 13–7 (9–5) | 15 – Roderick | 6 – Vander Plas | 6 – 2 Tied | Convocation Center (0) Athens, OH |
| March 2, 2021 Canceled | | Kent State | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| March 5, 2021 Canceled | | Bowling Green | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 1:55 P.M., ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Kent State Quarterfinals | W 85–63 | 14–7 | 19 – Preston | 9 – Wilson III | 4 – Preston | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH |
| March 12, 2021 5:00 P.M., CBSSN | (5) | vs. (1) Toledo Semifinals | W 87–80 | 15–7 | 27 – Preston | 12 – Wilson III | 7 – Vander Plas | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH |
| March 13, 2021 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (5) | vs. (2) Buffalo Championship | W 84–69 | 16–7 | 22 – Preston | 7 – Wilson III | 7 – Preston | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 7:15 P.M., truTV | (13 W) | vs. (4 W) No. 15 Virginia First Round | W 62–58 | 17–7 | 17 – Vander Plas | 13 – Preston | 8 – Preston | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| March 22, 2021 6:10 P.M., TNT | (13 W) | vs. (5 W) No. 19 Creighton Second Round | L 58–72 | 17–8 | 12 – Wilson III | 10 – Vander Plas | 7 – Preston | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Statistics
### Team statistics

    Final 2020–21 statistics
| Record | Ohio | OPP |
| Scoring | 1980 | 1815 |
| Scoring Average | 79.20 | 72.60 |
| Field goals – Att | 728–1519 | 646–1468 |
| 3-pt. Field goals – Att | 209–593 | 197–583 |
| Free throws – Att | 315–448 | 326–429 |
| Rebounds | 883 | 840 |
| Assists | 437 | 345 |
| Turnovers | 301 | 344 |
| Steals | 161 | 141 |
| Blocked Shots | 52 | 65 |
Source

### Player statistics

| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | | | |
| Player | GP | GS | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | PF | TO | Stl | Blk |
| Dwight Wilson | 24 | 23 | 656 | 27.3 | 347 | 14.5 | 150 | 229 | 0.655 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 70 | 0.671 | 65 | 116 | 181 | 7.5 | 16 | 44 | 40 | 13 | 9 |
| Ben Vander Plas | 25 | 25 | 846 | 33.8 | 321 | 12.8 | 114 | 263 | 0.433 | 51 | 146 | 0.349 | 42 | 55 | 0.764 | 19 | 126 | 145 | 5.8 | 94 | 60 | 58 | 36 | 15 |
| Jason Preston | 20 | 20 | 691 | 34.6 | 314 | 15.7 | 127 | 247 | 0.514 | 32 | 82 | 0.39 | 28 | 47 | 0.596 | 21 | 124 | 145 | 7.3 | 145 | 27 | 60 | 29 | 5 |
| Ben Roderick | 23 | 22 | 608 | 26.4 | 285 | 12.4 | 105 | 221 | 0.475 | 55 | 139 | 0.396 | 20 | 30 | 0.667 | 14 | 56 | 70 | 3 | 19 | 51 | 25 | 14 | 4 |
| Lunden McDay | 25 | 25 | 741 | 29.6 | 255 | 10.2 | 86 | 208 | 0.413 | 28 | 84 | 0.333 | 55 | 69 | 0.797 | 31 | 27 | 58 | 2.3 | 32 | 43 | 23 | 17 | 5 |
| Mark Sears | 24 | 5 | 468 | 19.5 | 203 | 8.5 | 64 | 137 | 0.467 | 12 | 43 | 0.279 | 63 | 74 | 0.851 | 19 | 47 | 66 | 2.8 | 81 | 35 | 29 | 24 | 1 |
| Miles Brown | 25 | 1 | 442 | 17.7 | 114 | 4.6 | 34 | 82 | 0.415 | 17 | 48 | 0.354 | 29 | 45 | 0.644 | 4 | 34 | 38 | 1.5 | 30 | 28 | 18 | 18 | 7 |
| Rifen Miguel | 13 | 0 | 95 | 7.3 | 38 | 2.9 | 12 | 35 | 0.343 | 3 | 12 | 0.25 | 11 | 15 | 0.733 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 1.6 | 0 | 28 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| Jalen White | 11 | 0 | 65 | 5.9 | 30 | 2.7 | 11 | 25 | 0.44 | 6 | 13 | 0.462 | 2 | 3 | 0.667 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Colin Granger | 22 | 2 | 134 | 6.1 | 29 | 1.3 | 12 | 29 | 0.414 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0.5 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 1.2 | 3 | 38 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| Sam Towns | 15 | 2 | 120 | 8 | 21 | 1.4 | 7 | 26 | 0.269 | 2 | 16 | 0.125 | 5 | 14 | 0.357 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 1.3 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Mason McMurray | 19 | 0 | 86 | 4.5 | 18 | 0.9 | 5 | 12 | 0.417 | 3 | 7 | 0.429 | 5 | 9 | 0.556 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 1.1 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Nolan Foster | 6 | 0 | 27 | 4.5 | 2 | 0.3 | 1 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| John Tenerowicz | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2.2 | 2 | 0.4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Brown | 5 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 25 | - | 5000 | - | 1980 | 79.2 | 728 | 1519 | 0.479 | 209 | 593 | 0.352 | 315 | 448 | 0.703 | 240 | 643 | 883 | 35.3 | 437 | 396 | 301 | 161 | 52 |
| Opponents | 25 | - | 5000 | - | 1815 | 72.6 | 646 | 1468 | 0.440 | 197 | 583 | 0.338 | 326 | 429 | 0.760 | 228 | 612 | 840 | 33.6 | 345 | 441 | 344 | 141 | 65 |
Source

## Awards and honors
### Weekly Awards

Weekly Award Honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Date Awarded | Source |
| MAC player of the week | Jason Preston | G | November 30 | |

### Final awards watchlists

Final award honors watchlist :
| Honors | Player | Position | Year | Source |
| Lou Henson National Player of the Year | Jason Preston | G | Jr. | |

### All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams :
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| MAC 1st team | Jason Preston | G | Jr. |
| MAC 3rd Team | Ben Vander Plas | F | Jr. |
| MAC 3rd team | Dwight Wilson III | F | Sr. |
| MAC Freshman Team | Mark Sears | F | Fr. |
| MAC Defensive Team | Lunden McDay | G | So. |
Source

### National Awards

National Award Honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Ref. |
| Academic All-American | Ben Vander Plas | F | |