2020–21 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team

The 2020–21 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team represented the University of North Texas during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Grant McCasland, and played their home games at UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas as a member of the West division of Conference USA.[1] In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 18–10, 9–5 to finish in third place in the division. They defeated Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, and Western Kentucky to win the C-USA tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the South region. There they upset No. 4-seeded Purdue in the first round for the school’s first ever NCAA tournament victory, before losing to No. 5-seeded Villanova in the second round.

2020–21 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest Division
Record18–10 (9–5 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ross Hodge
  • Jareem Dowling
  • Matt Braeuer
Home arenaUNT Coliseum
2020–21 Conference USA men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
East
Western Kentucky113 .786218  .724
Old Dominion115 .688158  .652
Marshall95 .643157  .682
Florida Atlantic75 .5831310  .565
Charlotte511 .313915  .375
Middle Tennessee313 .188518  .217
FIU215 .118917  .346
West
Louisiana Tech124 .750248  .750
UAB135 .722227  .759
North Texas95 .6431810  .643
UTSA97 .5631511  .577
UTEP88 .5001212  .500
Rice610 .3751513  .536
Southern Miss413 .235817  .320
2021 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Mean Green finished the 2019–20 season 20–11, 14–4 in C-USA play to finish to win the regular season championship. Before postseason play could begin, the C-USA tournament and other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roster

2020–21 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 James Reese 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)167 lb (76 kg) SrAC Flora HS
Odessa College
Eastover, SC
G 1 Mardrez McBride 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)178 lb (81 kg) JrButler HS
USC Salkehatchie
Augusta, GA
G 2 Keith Barnes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS FrFaith Family Academy St. Louis, MO
G 3 Javion Hamlet 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)193 lb (88 kg) RS SrWhitehaven HS
NW Florida State
Memphis,TN
G 4 Jalen Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)177 lb (80 kg) SoWagner HS San Antonio,TX
F 10 Jahmiah Simmons 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS SrPace HS
Arkansas State
St. Thomas, USVI
G 11 JJ Murray (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)179 lb (81 kg) RS SrRowlett HS
Eastfield
Rowlett, TX
F 13 Thomas Bell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrCahokia HS
Kaskaskia
East St. Louis, IL
G 15 Rubin Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)184 lb (83 kg) FrYates HS Houston, TX
G 22 Larry Wise 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)194 lb (88 kg) RS SoWaxahachie HS Waxahachie, TX
G 23 Mykell Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrSunrise Christian Academy Houston, TX
F 24 Zachary Simmons 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)239 lb (108 kg) SrCedar Hill HS Abilene, TX
F 33 Abou Ousmane 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)250 lb (113 kg) FrScotland Performance Institute Brooklyn, NY
F 34 Terence Lewis II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)208 lb (94 kg) RS JrCombine Academy HS
New Mexico JC
Upper Marlboro, MD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: February 1, 2021

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 26, 2020*
7:00 p.m., YouTube Live
Mississippi Valley State W 116–62  1–0
UNT Coliseum (1,206)
Denton, TX
November 28, 2020*
5:00 p.m., SECN+
vs. Arkansas L 54–69  1–1
Bud Walton Arena (4,400)
Fayetteville, AR
December 1, 2020*
7:00 p.m., Youtube Live
Texas A&M–Commerce Canceled [lower-alpha 1][2] UNT Coliseum 
Denton, TX
December 4, 2020*
7:00 p.m., SECN+
at Mississippi State L 63–69  1–2
Humphrey Coliseum (1,877)
Starkville, MS
December 11, 2020*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at No. 11 West Virginia L 50–62  1–3
WVU Coliseum (291)
Morgantown, WV
December 15, 2020*
7:00 p.m., YouTube Live
Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 81–56  2–3
UNT Coliseum (1,211)
Denton, TX
December 17, 2020*
7:00 p.m., YouTube Live
Houston Baptist W 85–55  3–3
UNT Coliseum (1,251)
Denton, TX
December 19, 2020*
11:00 a.m., SECN+
at LSU Postponed [lower-alpha 2][3] Pete Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
December 22, 2020*
1:00 p.m., YouTube Live
LSU–Alexandria W 110–78  4–3
UNT Coliseum (1,203)
Denton, TX
January 2, 2021*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+
at Loyola–Chicago L 49–57  4–4
Joseph J. Gentile Arena 
Chicago, IL
CUSA regular season
January 1, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
UAB Postponed [lower-alpha 2][4] UNT Coliseum 
Denton, TX
January 2, 2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
UAB Postponed [lower-alpha 2][4] UNT Coliseum 
Denton, TX
January 8, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
at UTSA W 77–70  5–4
(1–0)
Convocation Center (388)
San Antonio, TX
January 9, 2021
3:00 p.m.
at UTSA L 69–77  5–5
(1–1)
Convocation Center (389)
San Antonio, TX
January 15, 2021
7:00 p.m., Stadium
UTEP W 63–33  6–5
(2–1)
UNT Coliseum (1,369)
Denton, TX
January 16, 2021
3:00 p.m., Stadium
UTEP W 74–65  7–5
(3–1)
UNT Coliseum (1,416)
Denton, TX
January 22, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Old Dominion Postponed [lower-alpha 2][5] Chartway Arena 
Norfolk, VA
January 23, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Old Dominion Postponed [lower-alpha 2][5] Chartway Arena 
Norfolk, VA
January 29, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Rice W 79–74  8–5
(4–1)
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
January 31, 2021
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
Rice W 79–53  9–5
(5–1)
UNT Coliseum (1,303)
Denton, TX
February 5, 2021
7:00 p.m., Stadium
Louisiana Tech L 63–68  9–6
(5–2)
UNT Coliseum (1,535)
Denton, TX
February 6, 2021
1:00 p.m., Stadium
Louisiana Tech W 57–55  10–6
(6–2)
UNT Coliseum (1,532)
Denton, TX
February 12, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Southern Miss W 65–49  11–6
(7–2)
Reed Green Coliseum (1,200)
Hattiesburg, MS
February 13, 2021
4:00 p.m.
at Southern Miss W 68–56  12–6
(8–2)
Reed Green Coliseum (1,200)
Hattiesburg, MS
February 20, 2021
4:00 p.m., CBSSN on Facebook
Western Kentucky Postponed [lower-alpha 3][6] UNT Coliseum 
Denton, TX
February 21, 2021
1:00 p.m., CBSSN on Facebook
Western Kentucky Postponed [lower-alpha 3][6] UNT Coliseum 
Denton, TX
February 26, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Marshall W 77–65  13–6
(9–2)
Cam Henderson Center (1,055)
Huntington, WV
February 27, 2021
1:00 p.m., Stadium
at Marshall L 72–73  13–7
(9–3)
Cam Henderson Center (1,228)
Huntington, WV
March 5, 2021[7]
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
UAB L 51–65  13–8
(9–4)
UNT Coliseum (1,359)
Denton, TX
March 6, 2021[7]
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
UAB L 61–65  13–9
(9–5)
UNT Coliseum (1,450)
Denton, TX
Conference USA tournament
March 10, 2021
9:00 p.m., Stadium
(W3) vs. (E6) Middle Tennessee
Second Round
W 76–56  14–9
Ford Center at The Star (856)
Frisco, TX
March 11, 2021
9:00 p.m., Stadium
(W3) vs. (E2) Old Dominion
Quarterfinals
W 61–55  15–9
Ford Center at The Star (1,137)
Frisco, TX
March 12, 2021
3:00 p.m., CBSSN
(W3) vs. (W1) Louisiana Tech
Semifinals
W 54–48  16–9
Ford Center at The Star (789)
Frisco, TX
March 13, 2021
8:00 p.m., CBSSN
(W3) vs. (E1) Western Kentucky
Championship
W 61–57 OT 17–9
Ford Center at The Star (903)
Frisco, TX
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021
7:25 pm, TNT
(13 S) vs. (4 S) No. 20 Purdue
First Round
W 78–69 OT 18–9
Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
March 21, 2021
7:45 pm, TNT
(13 S) vs. (5 S) No. 18 Villanova
Second Round
L 61–84  18–10
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

See also

Notes

  1. Game was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic related issues.
  2. Game was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic related issues.
  3. Game was postponed due to weather concerns.

References

  1. "C-USA Announces Basketball Schedules". University of North Texas Department of Athletics. October 26, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. Vito, Brett (November 30, 2020). "North Texas' game against Texas A&M-Commerce canceled". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  3. Grimillion, Nick (December 17, 2020). "LSU men's basketball game vs North Texas postponed due to COVID-19 protocols". WAFB. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  4. Vito, Brett (December 30, 2020). "North Texas' C-USA opening series against UAB in men's basketball postponed". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  5. "UNT Men's, Women's Basketball Games vs Old Dominion Postponed Due to COVID-19". KXAS-TV. January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  6. Vito, Brett (February 18, 2021). "North Texas-Western Kentucky basketball series postponed indefinitely". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  7. "C-USA Announces Rescheduled Men's Basketball Games". Conference USA. February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
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