2020–21 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team represented California State University, Northridge in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Matadors, led by third-year head coach Mark Gottfried, played their home games at the Matadome in Northridge, California as members of the Big West Conference.

2020–21 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	9–13 (5–9 Big West)
Head coach	Mark Gottfried (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Jim Harrick (3rd season) Jeff Dunlap (3rd season)
Home arena	Matadome

2020–21 Big West men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UC Santa Barbara †	13	–	3		.813			22	–	5		.815
UC Irvine	10	–	4		.714			18	–	9		.667
UC Riverside	8	–	4		.667			14	–	8		.636
UC Davis	6	–	4		.600			10	–	8		.556
Cal State Bakersfield	9	–	7		.563			15	–	11		.577
Hawai'i	9	–	9		.500			11	–	10		.524
Cal State Fullerton	5	–	7		.417			6	–	10		.375
Cal State Northridge	5	–	9		.357			9	–	13		.409
Long Beach State	4	–	8		.333			6	–	12		.333
Cal Poly	1	–	15		.063			4	–	20		.167
UC San Diego*	0	–	0		–			7	–	10		.412
† 2021 Big West tournament winner * ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament and 2021 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings

Previous season

The Matadors finished the 2019–20 season 15–17, 10–6 in Big West play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament, and face Cal State Fullerton, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roster

2020–21 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Festus Ndumanya 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Capistrano Valley Christian School Anambra, Nigeria F 1 Lance Coleman II 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Fullerton College Antioch, California G 2 TJ Starks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) RS Jr Texas A&M Oak Cliff, Texas G 3 Kailen Rains 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr San Ysidro High School San Diego, California G 4 Atin Wright 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Fairmont Prep Lakewood, California F 5 Miles Brookins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr La Salle Cypress, California G 10 Darius Brown II 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Pasadena High School Pasadena, California G 11 Amound Anderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Leuzinger High School Hawthorne, California G 12 Marcel Stevens 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Impact Basketball Academy Beverly Hills, California G 13 Matt Solomon 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Newbury Park High School Newbury Park, California G 14 Vante Hendrix 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr New Mexico Woodland Hills, California F 15 Ron Artest III 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Hillcrest Prep (AZ) New York, New York F 22 George Nwogu 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Lafitte Prep Academy Baton Rouge, Louisiana F 23 Alex Merkviladze 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Modesto Christian School Kutaisi, Georgia F 24 Fidelis Okereke 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr King/Drew High School Carson, California G/F 32 Brendan Harrick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Esperanza High School Anaheim, California	Head coach Mark Gottfried (Alabama) Assistant coach(es) Jim Harrick (Charleston (WV)) Jeff Dunlap (UCLA) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 21, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		Westmont	W 97–79	1–0	Matadome  Northridge, CA
November 28, 2020* 1:00 pm, FloHoops		vs. Air Force Vegas Bubble	L 61–66	1–1	T-Mobile Arena  Paradise, NV
November 30, 2020* 2:00 pm, FloHoops		vs. Seattle Vegas Bubble	W 76–65	2–1	T-Mobile Arena  Paradise, NV
December 8, 2020*		at Fresno State	Canceled		Save Mart Center  Fresno, CA
December 12, 2020* 6:00 pm, WCC Network		at Pepperdine	W 89–84	3–1	Firestone Fieldhouse  Malibu, CA
December 15, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Stanford	L 71–82	3–2	Matadome  Northridge, CA
December 16, 2020* 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		Pacific	Postponed		Matadome  Northridge, CA
December 19, 2020* 2:00 pm, P12N		at California	L 56–87	3–3	Haas Pavilion  Berkeley, CA
December 27, 2020 Big West.TV		at Cal State Fullerton	Canceled		Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
December 28, 2020 Big West.TV		at Cal State Fullerton	Canceled		Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
December 28, 2020* 2:00 pm, Big West.TV		New Mexico State	W 66–63	4–3	Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 1, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		UC Irvine	Canceled		Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 2, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		UC Irvine	Canceled		Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 8, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at UC San Diego	Canceled		RIMAC Arena  La Jolla, CA
January 9, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at UC San Diego	Canceled		RIMAC Arena  La Jolla, CA
January 15, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at Long Beach State	Canceled		Walter Pyramid  Long Beach, CA
January 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at Long Beach State	Canceled		Walter Pyramid  Long Beach, CA
January 16, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cal State Fullerton	W 86–85	5–3 (1–0)	Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
January 17, 2021 7:00 pm, Big West.TV		at Cal State Fullerton	L 77–85	5–4 (1–1)	Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA
January 22, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		UC Santa Barbara	L 58–105	5–5 (1–2)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		UC Santa Barbara	L 66–80	5–6 (1–3)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 29, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		at Cal Poly	L 70–76	5–7 (1–4)	Mott Athletics Center  San Luis Obispo, CA
January 30, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		at Cal Poly	W 64–51	6–7 (2–4)	Mott Athletics Center  San Luis Obispo, CA
February 5, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		UC Davis	W 80–77	7–7 (3–4)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
February 6, 2021 2:00 pm, Big West.TV		UC Davis	L 63–75	7–8 (3–5)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
February 12, 2021* 4:30 pm, GCU TV		at Grand Canyon	Canceled		GCU Arena  Phoenix, AZ
February 19, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		Hawaii	L 74–75	7–9 (3–6)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
February 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Hawaii	W 88–80 OT	8–9 (4–6)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
February 26, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cal State Bakersfield	L 58–84	8–10 (4–7)	Icardo Center  Bakersfield, CA
February 27, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cal State Bakersfield	W 90–87	9–10 (5–7)	Icardo Center  Bakersfield, CA
March 5, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		UC Riverside	L 68–72	9–11 (5–8)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
March 6, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV		UC Riverside	L 65–66	9–12 (5–9)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
Big West tournament
March 9, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3	(8)	vs. (9) Long Beach State First Round	L 63–85	9–13	Mandalay Bay Events Center  Las Vegas, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific.

Source