The 2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

in the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020, and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

. The Panthers, led by ninth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at

Lantz Arena Groniger Arena, formerly known as Lantz Arena, is a 5,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Charleston, Illinois. It is home to the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) Panthers men's and women's basketball teams and to the women's volleyball team. Comple ...

Charleston, Illinois Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon, Illinois, Ma ...

as members of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

(OVC). They finished the season 9–18, 6–14 in OVC play, to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the OVC tournament. On March 4, 2021, the school announced that they would not renew head coach Jay Spoonhour's contract. Nearly a month later, the school named Clemson assistant and former Evansville head coach

Marty Simmons Martin Ray Simmons (born February 21, 1965) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Eastern Illinois University, a position he has held since 2021. Simmons served as the head men's basketball co ...

the team's new head coach.

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 9–9 in OVC play, to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Jacksonville State in the first round of the OVC tournament, before losing in the quarterfinals to

Austin Peay Austin Peay (; June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Ohio Valley regular season , - Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball seasons

Eastern Illinois Panthers The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the intercollegiate athletic programs of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The Panthers athletic program competes at the NCAA Division I level and is a member of th ...

Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball The Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The first basketball team started in 1908–09 season. The school's team currently comp ...