2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
The 2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2021 and concluded in March 2021. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , Toledo won the regular season title with a conference record of 15-4. Ohio won the MAC tournament and represented the MAC in the NCAA tournament where they defeated No. 4-seeded Virginia in the first round[ 1] before falling to No. 5-seeded Creighton in the second round.[ 2] Toledo went to the NIT where they lost to Richmond in the first round.[ 3]
Preseason awards
The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on November 19, 2020.[ 4]
Preseason men's basketball coaches poll
(First place votes in parentheses)
Bowling Green (8) 132
Ohio (1) 117
Akron (2) 115
Buffalo 109
Ball State 104
Toledo (1) 93
Kent State 65
Eastern Michigan 57
Miami 48
Northern Illinois 43
Central Michigan 40
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)
Honors
Honor
Recipient
Preseason All-MAC First Team
Loren Cristian Jackson , Akron
Justin Turner , Bowling Green
Jayvon Graves , Buffalo
Jason Preston , Ohio
Marreon Jackson , Toledo
Preseason All-MAC Second Team
Ishmael El-Amin, Ball State
Daeqwon Plowden , Bowling Green
Josh Mballa , Buffalo
Danny Pippen , Kent State
Ben Vander Plas , Ohio
Conference matrix
Akron
Ball State
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Kent State
Miami (OH)
Northern Illinois
Ohio
Toledo
Western Michigan
vs. Akron
–
0−2
1−1
1−0
0−1
1−1
0−2
0−1
1−1
1–1
1−1
0–1
vs. Ball State
2–0
–
1–1
2–0
0−1
0−1
0−1
1−0
0−2
2–0
1−1
0–1
vs. Bowling Green
1–1
1–1
–
0–2
0−2
0−1
2−0
2−0
0–1
0–1
1–1
1–1
vs. Buffalo
0–1
0–2
2–0
–
0−1
0−1
1−1
0–2
0–1
1–1
1–0
0–1
vs. Central Michigan
1–0
1−0
2−0
1−0
–
0–2
2–0
1−0
1–0
1–0
1–1
2–0
vs. Eastern Michigan
1–1
1−0
1−0
1−0
2–0
–
1−0
1–0
0–1
1–0
2–0
0–1
vs. Kent State
2–0
1−0
0−2
1−1
0–2
0−1
–
0–2
0−1
0–1
2–0
0–2
vs. Miami (OH)
1–0
0–1
0−2
2–0
0−1
0–1
2–0
–
0–2
1–0
2−0
0–2
vs. Northern Illinois
1–1
2–0
1–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
1−0
2–0
–
1–0
1–0
1–0
vs. Ohio
1−1
0−2
1−0
1–1
0–1
0–1
1−0
0−1
0−1
–
1–0
0–1
vs. Toledo
1–1
1–1
1–1
0−1
1−1
0–2
0–2
0−2
0−1
0–1
−
0–2
vs. Western Michigan
1–0
1–0
1–1
1−0
0−2
1–0
2–0
2−0
0−1
1–0
2–0
-
Total
12–6
8–9
10–8
12–5
3–13
3–11
12–6
9–8
2–12
9–5
15–4
4–12
All-MAC awards
Mid-American men's basketball weekly awards
[ 5]
Week
Player(s) of the Week
School
Newcomer of the Week
School
Nov 30
Jason Preston
Ohio
Dec 7
Justin Turner
Bowling Green
Dec 14
Danny Pippen
Kent State
Dec 21
Marreon Jackson
Toledo
Dec 28
Loren Cristian Jackson
Akron
Jan 4
Loren Cristian Jackson
Akron
Jan 11
Josh Mballa
Buffalo
Jan 18
Danny Pippen
Kent State
Jan 25
Dae Dae Grant
Miami
Feb 1
Danny Pippen
Kent State
Feb 8
Greg Lee
Western Michigan
Feb 15
Daeqwon Plowden
Bowling Green
Feb 22
Marreon Jackson
Toledo
Mar 1
Jarron Coleman
Ball State
Mar 8
Jayvon Graves
Buffalo
Postseason
Mid–American tournament
NCAA tournament
Postseason awards
[ 6]
Coach of the Year: Tod Kowalczyk , Toledo
Player of the Year: Marreon Jackson , Toledo
Freshman of the Year: Ryan Rollins , Toledo
Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Mballa , Buffalo
Sixth Man of the Year: Trey Diggs, Bowling Green
Honors
Honor
Recipient
Postseason All-MAC First Team
Loren Cristian Jackson , Akron
Justin Turner , Bowling Green
Danny Pippen , Kent State
Jason Preston , Ohio
Marreon Jackson , Toledo
Postseason All-MAC Second Team
Ishmael El-Amin, Ball State
Josh Mballa , Buffalo
Jeenathan Williams , Buffalo
Jayvon Graves , Buffalo
Spencer Littleson , Toledo
Postseason All-MAC Third Team
Daeqwon Plowden , Bowling Green
Michael Nuga, Kent State
Dae Dae Grant, Miami
Ben Vander Plas , Ohio
Dwight Wilson III, Ohio
All-MAC Freshman Team
Josiah Fulcher, Bowling Green
Kaden Matheny, Bowling Green
Aundre Polk, Central Michigan
Mark Sears , Ohio
Ryan Rollins , Toledo
All-MAC Defensive Team
Enrique Freeman, Akron
Josh Mballa, Buffalo
Malique Jacobs, Kent State
Lunden McDay, Ohio
Spencer Littleson, Toledo
See also
References
Teams Future teams Championships & awards Seasons