# 2020–21 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team

The 2020–21 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team represented James Madison University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dukes, led by first-year head coach Mark Byington, played their home games at the newly opened Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia as members of the Colonial Athletic Association. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 13–7, 8–2 in CAA play to earn a share of the regular season championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament to Elon.
Byington was named the CAA Coach of the Year while guard Matt Lewis was named the CAA Player of the Year.

## Previous season

The Dukes finished the 2019–20 season 9–21, 2–16 in CAA play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the CAA tournament to Elon.
On March 9, 2020, the school announced that head coach Louis Rowe would not return as head coach for the Dukes. A few weeks later, the school named Georgia Southern head coach Mark Byington the Dukes' new head coach.

## Offseason

Guard Matt Lewis opted to test the waters in the 2020 NBA draft, however he ultimately returned to the Dukes for his senior season.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Antanee Pinkard | 2 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Lancaster, PA | Graduated |
| Deshon Parker | 3 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Sophomore | Huber Heights, OH | Transferred to Appalachian State |
| Zyon Dobbs | 4 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Freshman | Fairmont, WV | Transferred to Fairmont State |
| Darius Banks | 5 | G | 6'5" | 220 | Junior | St. Petersburg, FL | Transferred to Chattanooga |
| Quinn Richey | 13 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Freshman | Johns Creek, GA | Transferred to Samford |
| Dalton Jefferson | 20 | F | 6'7" | 175 | Freshman | Elkton, VA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Dwight Wilson | 24 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Junior | Tallahassee, FL | Transferred to Ohio |
| Devon Flowers | 35 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Freshman | Hyattsville, MD | Transferred to Clark Atlanta |

## Preseason

In the preseason CAA poll, the Dukes were picked to finish ninth while Matt Lewis was chosen the preseason CAA Player of the Year.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 12:00 pm, FloHoops | | Limestone | W 89–55 | 1–0 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| November 27, 2020* 12:00 pm, FloHoops | | Norfolk State | L 73–83 | 1–1 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| November 29, 2020* 8:30 pm, FloHoops | | Radford | W 67–59 | 2–1 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 5, 2020* 6:00 pm | | Maryland | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 7, 2020* 7:00 pm | | Old Dominion | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 10, 2020* | | Coppin State | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 12, 2020* 11:00 am | | vs. George Mason | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| December 19, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | L 64–73 | 2–2 | Williams Arena (73) Greenville, NC |
| December 20, 2020* 5:00 pm, FloHoops | | Alice Lloyd | W 98–55 | 3–2 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 22, 2020* 4:00 pm, MASN/ESPN+ | | at VCU | L 81–82 | 3–3 | Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| January 3, 2021* 6:00 pm, FloHoops | | Morgan State | L 73–80 | 3–4 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 5, 2021* 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | Florida Atlantic | W 79–70 | 4–4 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 10, 2021 1:00 pm, FloHoops | | at UNC Wilmington | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, NC |
| January 10, 2021* 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | Chowan | W 100–76 | 5–4 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Towson | W 81–72 | 6–4 (1–0) | SECU Arena Towson, MD |
| January 23, 2021 12:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Northeastern | L 62–73 | 6–5 (1–1) | Cabot Center Boston, MA |
| January 24, 2021 12:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Northeastern | W 79–72 | 7–5 (2–1) | Cabot Center Boston, MA |
| January 27, 2021 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | Towson | W 78–63 | 8–5 (3–1) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | College of Charleston | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 31, 2021 2:00 pm, NBCSW/FloHoops | | College of Charleston | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 31, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | Drexel | W 73–64 | 9–5 (4–1) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 3, 2021 4:00 pm, NBCSW/FloHoops | | Elon | W 78–57 | 10–5 (5–1) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 6, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | at William & Mary | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Kaplan Arena Williamsburg, VA |
| February 7, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | at William & Mary | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Kaplan Arena Williamsburg, VA |
| February 9, 2021 6:00 pm, NBCSW/FloHoops | | at Elon | W 70–61 | 11–5 (6–1) | Schar Center Elon, NC |
| February 13, 2021 2:00 pm, NBCSW/FloHoops | | Hofstra | W 93–89 | 12–5 (7–1) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 14, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | Hofstra | W 74–70 | 13–5 (8–1) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 20, 2021 6:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Delaware | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Bob Carpenter Center Newark, DE |
| February 21, 2021 5:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Delaware | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Bob Carpenter Center Newark, DE |
| February 26, 2021 6:00 pm, FloHoops | | Drexel | L 78–84 | 13–6 (8–2) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| CAA tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2021 2:30 pm, FloHoops | (1) | (8) Elon Quarterfinals | L 71–72 | 13–7 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources