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
C-USA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	18–10 (9–5 C-USA)
Head coach	Grant McCasland (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Ross Hodge Jareem Dowling Matt Braeuer
Home arena	UNT Coliseum
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Western Kentucky	11	–	3		.786			21	–	8		.724
Old Dominion	11	–	5		.688			15	–	8		.652
Marshall	9	–	5		.643			15	–	7		.682
Florida Atlantic	7	–	5		.583			13	–	10		.565
Charlotte	5	–	11		.313			9	–	15		.375
Middle Tennessee	3	–	13		.188			5	–	18		.217
FIU	2	–	15		.118			9	–	17		.346
West
Louisiana Tech	12	–	4		.750			24	–	8		.750
UAB	13	–	5		.722			22	–	7		.759
North Texas †	9	–	5		.643			18	–	10		.643
UTSA	9	–	7		.563			15	–	11		.577
UTEP	8	–	8		.500			12	–	12		.500
Rice	6	–	10		.375			15	–	13		.536
Southern Miss	4	–	13		.235			8	–	17		.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
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 James Reese 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Sr AC Flora HS Odessa College Eastover, SC G 1 Mardrez McBride 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Jr Butler HS USC Salkehatchie Augusta, GA G 2 Keith Barnes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Faith Family Academy St. Louis, MO G 3 Javion Hamlet 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Whitehaven HS NW Florida State Memphis, TN G 4 Jalen Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 177 lb (80 kg) So Wagner HS San Antonio, TX F 10 Jahmiah Simmons 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Pace HS Arkansas State St. Thomas, USVI G 11 JJ Murray (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 179 lb (81 kg) RS Sr Rowlett HS Eastfield Rowlett, TX F 13 Thomas Bell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Cahokia HS Kaskaskia East St. Louis, IL G 15 Rubin Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Yates HS Houston, TX G 22 Larry Wise 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 194 lb (88 kg) RS So Waxahachie HS Waxahachie, TX G 23 Mykell Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Sunrise Christian Academy Houston, TX F 24 Zachary Simmons 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Sr Cedar Hill HS Abilene, TX F 33 Abou Ousmane 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Scotland Performance Institute Brooklyn, NY F 34 Terence Lewis II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Jr Combine Academy HS New Mexico JC Upper Marlboro, MD	Head coach Grant McCasland (Baylor) Assistant coach(es) Ross Hodge (East Texas A&M) Jareem Dowling (Maryland Eastern Shore) Matt Braeuer (Wichita State) Nelson Haggerty (Baylor) (Director of Basketball Operations) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt 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 [a][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 [b][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 [b][4]		UNT Coliseum  Denton, TX
January 2, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		UAB	Postponed [b][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 [b][5]		Chartway Arena  Norfolk, VA
January 23, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Old Dominion	Postponed [b][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 [c][6]		UNT Coliseum  Denton, TX
February 21, 2021 1:00 p.m., CBSSN on Facebook		Western Kentucky	Postponed [c][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

• 2020–21 North Texas Mean Green women's basketball team

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.