The 2020–21 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team represented

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

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 Dukes, led by first-year head coach

Mark Byington Mark Byington (born April 22, 1976) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the head men's basketball coach at Vanderbilt University. He previously served as the head basketball coach at James Madison University. High ...

, played their home games at the newly opened Atlantic Union Bank Center in

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham Cou ...

as members of the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

(CAA). In a season limited due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

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 Louis Benton Rowe (born December 26, 1972) is an American basketball coach who most recently was the head coach of his alma mater, James Madison University, being introduced as the head coach on March 31, 2016. Rowe had been an assistant at James ...

would not return as head coach for the Dukes. A few weeks later, the school named

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...

head coach Mark Byington the Dukes' new head coach.

Offseason

Guard Matt Lewis opted to test the waters in the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

; however, he ultimately returned to the Dukes for his senior season.

Departures

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.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, CAA tournament , - , - Sources:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team James Madison Dukes men's basketball seasons

James Madison Dukes The James Madison Dukes are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's se ...

James Madison Dukes men's basketball The James Madison Dukes men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The school, a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, j ...