2020–21 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team

The 2020–21 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 12th-year head coach LeVelle Moton, played their home games at McDougald–McLendon Arena in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. With the creation of divisions to cut down on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they played in the Southern Division.^[1]

2020–21 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Division	Southern Division
Record	5–9 (3–5 MEAC)
Head coach	LeVelle Moton (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Brian Graves Reggie Sharp Nigel Thomas
Home arena	McDougald–McLendon Arena
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 MEAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern
Norfolk State †	8	–	4		.667			17	–	8		.680
Coppin State	8	–	4		.667			9	–	13		.409
Morgan State	7	–	5		.583			14	–	8		.636
Delaware State	1	–	11		.083			3	–	16		.158
Howard	0	–	0		–			1	–	4		.200
Southern
North Carolina A&T	7	–	1		.875			11	–	10		.524
Florida A&M	7	–	5		.583			8	–	12		.400
North Carolina Central	3	–	5		.375			5	–	9		.357
South Carolina State	1	–	7		.125			1	–	17		.056
Howard suspended their season on February 9, 2021 Bethune–Cookman and Maryland Eastern Shore did not play the 2020–21 season due to COVID-19 concerns.
† 2021 MEAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 13–3 in MEAC play to finish as MEAC regular season champions. They defeated Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament.^[2] They were scheduled to play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Bethune–Cookman and Morgan State in the semifinals, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Roster

2020–21 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jamir Moultrie 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr La Salle Washington, D.C. G 1 Mike Melvin 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Brunswick CC Fayetteville, NC G 2 Justin Wright 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Farmville Central HS Greenville, NC G 3 Ty Graves 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Sr Saint Louis Greensboro, NC G 5 Deven Palmer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Tallahassee CC Hyde Park, MA F 11 Cameron Bowles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Chicago State Chicago, IL G 12 Jordan Perkins 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC F/C 13 Justin Whatley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr East Carolina Chesapeake, VA F 21 Kobby Ayetey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Baltimore City CC Accra, Ghana G 22 C.J. Keyser 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Wichita State Baltimore, MD F 23 Jahnathan Maxwell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Sr Iona Virginia Beach, VA G 24 Nicolas Fennell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Jr Archbishop Carroll HS Bowie, MD F 25 Nehemie Kabeya 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr College of Southern Idaho Ngaliema, DR Congo	Head coach LeVelle Moton (North Carolina Central) Assistant coach(es) Brian Graves (Catawba) Reggie Sharp (Auburn) Nigel Thomas (Langston) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 9, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 4:00 pm, BTN		at No. 5 Iowa	L 67–97	0–1	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (535) Iowa City, IA
November 26, 2020* 7:00 pm		vs. Southern	W 85–78 OT	1–1	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (227) Iowa City, IA
December 3, 2020* 6:00 pm		at Wofford	Canceled due to COVID-19		Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium  Spartanburg, SC
December 5, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at USC Upstate	Canceled due to COVID-19		G. B. Hodge Center  Spartanburg, SC
December 7, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Coastal Carolina	L 71–78	1–2	HTC Center  Conway, SC
December 11, 2020* 8:00 pm, SECN+		at Vanderbilt	Canceled due to COVID-19		Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
December 12, 2020* 2:00 pm, RSN		at No. 16 North Carolina	L 67–73	1–3	Dean Smith Center  Chapel Hill, NC
December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network		Charleston Southern	Canceled due to COVID-19		McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
January 9, 2021 TBA		at Florida A&M	Postponed		Al Lawson Center  Tallahassee, FL
January 10, 2021 TBA		at Florida A&M	Postponed		Al Lawson Center  Tallahassee, FL
January 23, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPNU		North Carolina A&T	Postponed		McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
January 24, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+		North Carolina A&T	Postponed		McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
January 29, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Carver	W 94–61	2–3	McDougald–McLendon Arena (15) Durham, NC
February 1, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN2		South Carolina State	W 91–77	3–3 (1–0)	McDougald–McLendon Arena (15) Durham, NC
February 2, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		South Carolina State	W 64–63	4–3 (2–0)	McDougald–McLendon Arena (15) Durham, NC
February 6, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida A&M	L 50–59	4–4 (2–1)	McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
February 7, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida A&M	L 47–60	4–5 (2–2)	McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
February 20, 2021 TBA		at South Carolina State	Postponed		SHM Memorial Center  Orangeburg, SC
February 21, 2021 TBA		at South Carolina State	Postponed		SHM Memorial Center  Orangeburg, SC
February 27, 2021 4:00 pm		at North Carolina A&T	L 53–69	4–6 (2–3)	Corbett Sports Center  Greensboro, NC
February 28, 2021 7:00 pm		at North Carolina A&T	L 53–55	4–7 (2–4)	Corbett Sports Center  Greensboro, NC
March 3, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida A&M	L 58–65	4–8 (2–5)	McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
February 7, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida A&M	W 74–71	5–8 (3–5)	McDougald–McLendon Arena  Durham, NC
MEAC tournament
March 7, 2021 8:00 pm, FloHoops	(S3)	vs. (N2) Norfolk State First round	L 58–87	5–9	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources^[4]

References

1. "MEAC Announces Revised Conference Schedules for Men's, Women's Basketball". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. December 14, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
2. "Eagles Sprint past Delaware State into MEAC Semifinal". North Carolina Central University Athletics. March 11, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
3. "MEAC ANNOUNCES SUSPENSION OF ALL SPORTS COMPETITIONS". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
4. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". North Carolina Central University Athletics. Retrieved January 9, 2021.