2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Will Wade, in his fourth season at LSU. They played their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 19-10, 11-6 in SEC Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated Ole Miss and Arkansas to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Alabama. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated St. Bonaventure in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Michigan.

2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record19–10 (11–6 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPete Maravich Assembly Center
Seasons
2020–21 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Alabama 16 2   .889 26 7   .788
No. 10 Arkansas 13 4   .765 25 7   .781
LSU 11 6   .647 19 10   .655
Tennessee 10 7   .588 18 9   .667
Florida 9 7   .563 15 10   .600
Ole Miss 10 8   .556 16 12   .571
Missouri 8 8   .500 16 10   .615
Kentucky 8 9   .471 9 16   .360
Mississippi State 8 10   .444 18 15   .545
Georgia 7 11   .389 14 12   .538
Auburn* 7 11   .389 13 14   .481
South Carolina 4 12   .250 6 15   .286
Texas A&M 2 8   .200 8 10   .444
Vanderbilt 3 13   .188 9 16   .360
2021 SEC tournament winner
* Ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed postseason ban.

Previous season

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The Tigers finished the season 21–10, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Skylar Mays 4 G 6'4" 205 Senior Baton Rouge, LA Graduated; selected 50th overall by the Atlanta Hawks
Emmitt Williams 5 F 6'6" 230 Sophomore Fort Myers, FL Declared for the 2020 NBA draft
James Bishop 10 G 6'2" 190 Freshman Baltimore, MD Transferred to George Washington
Marshall Graves 12 G 6'4" 195 Senior Ponchatoula, LA Graduated
Marlon Taylor 14 G 6'6" 210 Senior Mount Vernon, New York Graduated
Caleb Starks 20 G 6'3" 205 Junior Lafayette, LA Walk-on; Transferred to Tarleton State
Courtese Cooper 21 F 6'9" 220 Sophomore Elgin, IL Transferred to Southern Utah

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Josh LeBlanc Sr. 11 F 6'7" 230 Junior Baton Rouge, LA Georgetown
Bryan Penn-Johnson 22 C 7'0" 260 Sophomore Long Beach, CA Washington
Shareef O'Neal 32 F 6'10" 225 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA UCLA

2020 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Cameron Thomas
SG
Chesapeake, VA Oscar Smith High/Oak Hill Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 18, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Mwani Wilkinson
PF
Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Feb 8, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Jalen Cook
PG
Walker, LA Walker High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 18, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Eric Gaines
CG
Walker, LA Lithonia High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Mar 1, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Josh Gray
C
Brooklyn, NY Putnam Science Academy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Apr 18, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "LSU 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  • "2020 LSU Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

Preseason

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SEC media poll

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The SEC media poll was released on November 13, 2020.[1]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team
1 Tennessee
2 Kentucky
3 LSU
4 Florida
5 Alabama
6 Arkansas
7 Auburn
8 South Carolina
9 Ole Miss
10 Missouri
11 Texas A&M
12 Mississippi State
13 Georgia
14 Vanderbilt

Preseason All-SEC teams

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The Tigers had two players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

Roster

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2020–21 LSU Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Mwani Wilkinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Bishop Gorman High School Las Vegas, NV
G 1 Javonte Smart 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Scotlandville Magnet HS Baton Rouge, LA
F 2 Trendon Watford 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Mountain Brook HS Birmingham, AL
G 3 Jalen Cook 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Walker High School Walker, LA
F 4 Darius Days 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr IMG Academy Raleigh, FL
G 5 Parker Edwards (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Southeastern Louisiana Mandeville, LA
G 10 Brandon Egemo (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr University HS Los Angeles, CA
G 11 Josh LeBlanc Sr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Georgetown Baton Rouge, LA
F 15 Aundre Hyatt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Miller School The Bronx, NY
G 21 Charles Manning Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Florida SouthWestern State College Riverhead, NY
C 22 Bryan Penn-Johnson 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Washington Long Beach, CA
G 24 Cam Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Oak Hill Academy Chesapeake, VA
G 25 Eric Gaines 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Lithonia High School Lithonia, GA
F 32 Shareef O'Neal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So UCLA Los Angeles, CA
C 34 Josh Gray 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Putnam Science Academy Brooklyn, NY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 4, 2020

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 26, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
vs. SIU Edwardsville
Billiken Classic
W 94–81  1–0
 27  Thomas   7  Watford   9  Watford  Chaifetz Arena (0)
St. Louis, MO
November 28, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Saint Louis
Billiken Classic
L 81–85  1–1
 25  Thomas   11  Days   6  Watford  Chaifetz Arena (0)
St. Louis, MO
November 30, 2020*
7:00 pm, SECN+
Southeastern Louisiana W 96–43  2–1
 21  Thomas   9  Tied   5  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,008)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 6, 2020*
5:00 pm, SECN
Louisiana Tech W 86–55  3–1
 18  Watford   8  Days   2  Tied  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,505)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 14, 2020*
11:00 am, SECN
Sam Houston State W 88–66  4–1
 25  Smart   10  Days   5  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (55)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 26, 2020*
1:00 pm, SECN
Nicholls W 86–80  5–1
 29  Thomas   9  Watford   6  Watford  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,198)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 29, 2020
6:00 pm, SECN
Texas A&M W 77–54  6–1
(1–0)
 32  Thomas   10  Days   6  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,212)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 2, 2021
1:00 pm, CBS
at Florida L 79–83  6–2
(1–1)
 28  Thomas   8  Watford   3  Watford  O'Connell Center (2,211)
Gainesville, FL
January 6, 2021
6:00 pm, SECN
Georgia W 94–92 OT 7–2
(2–1)
 26  Thomas   11  Days   4  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,635)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 9, 2021
8:30 pm, SECN
at Ole Miss W 75–61  8–2
(3–1)
 21  Watford   7  Days   6  Smart  The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895)
Oxford, MS
January 13, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN2
Arkansas W 92–76  9–2
(4–1)
 23  Watford   13  Days   5  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,540)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 16, 2021
7:30 pm, SECN
South Carolina W 85–80  10–2
(5–1)
 25  Thomas   9  Days   5  Watford  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,143)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 19, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18 Alabama L 75–105  10–3
(5–2)
 21  Thomas   8  Watford   4  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,295)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 23, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN
at Kentucky L 69–82  10–4
(5–3)
 26  Watford   10  Watford   3  Smart  Rupp Arena (3,075)
Lexington, KY
January 26, 2021
8:00 pm, SECN
at Texas A&M W 78–66  11–4
(6–3)
 28  Thomas   8  Watford   9  Smart  Reed Arena (1,485)
College Station, TX
January 30, 2021*
1:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 10 Texas Tech
Big 12/SEC Challenge
L 71–76  11–5
 29  Smart   9  Days   2  Tied  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,808)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 3, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 10 Alabama L 60–78  11–6
(6–4)
 22  Thomas   9  Watford   3  Tied  Coleman Coliseum (2,055)
Tuscaloosa, AL
February 6, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN
No. 22 Florida Postponed Pete Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
February 10, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Mississippi State W 94–80  12–6
(7–4)
 25  Thomas   11  Days   11  Smart  Humphrey Coliseum (1,000)
Starkville, MS
February 13, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN
No. 16 Tennessee W 78–65  13–6
(8–4)
 25  Thomas   8  Hyatt   4  Thomas  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,224)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 18, 2021
4:00 pm, SECN
at Ole Miss Postponed due to weather concerns. The Pavilion at Ole Miss 
Oxford, MS
February 20, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN
Auburn W 104–80  14–6
(9–4)
 27  Thomas   11  Watford   5  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,384)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 23, 2021
6:00 pm, SECN
at Georgia L 78–91  14–7
(9–5)
 21  Thomas   10  Watford   3  Tied  Stegeman Coliseum (1,638)
Athens, GA
February 27, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 20 Arkansas L 75–83  14–8
(9–6)
 25  Thomas   10  LeBlanc Sr.   4  Smart  Bud Walton Arena (4,400)
Fayetteville, AR
March 2, 2021
7:30 pm, SECN
Vanderbilt W 83–68  15–8
(10–6)
 23  Thomas   13  Watford   4  Tied  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,426)
Baton Rouge, LA
March 6, 2021
2:00 pm, SECN
at Missouri W 86–80  16–8
(11–6)
 29  Thomas   9  Days   4  Watford  Mizzou Arena (3,112)
Columbia, MO
SEC Tournament
March 12, 2021
8:30 pm, SECN
(3) vs. (6) Ole Miss
Quarterfinals
W 76–73  17–8
 24  Watford   12  Days   5  Smart  Bridgestone Arena (2,155)
Nashville, TN
March 13, 2021
2:30 pm, ESPN
(3) vs. (2) No. 8 Arkansas
Semifinals
W 78–71  18–8
 21  Thomas   8  Tied   4  Smart  Bridgestone Arena (3,164)
Nashville, TN
March 14, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN
(3) vs. (1) No. 6 Alabama
Championship
L 79–80  18–9
 30  Watford   12  Days   5  Smart  Bridgestone Arena (2,586)
Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021
12:45 pm, TNT
(8 E) vs. (9 E) St. Bonaventure
First Round
W 76–61  19–9
 27  Thomas   11  Tied   3  Tied  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
March 22, 2021
6:10 pm, CBS
(8 E) vs. (1 E) No. 4 Michigan
Second Round
L 78–86  19–10
 30  Thomas   9  Smart   5  Smart  Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Schedule Source[2]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
APRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVNot released
CoachesRVRV^RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll

References

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  1. ^ "Media picks Vols to win 2021 SEC Men's Basketball title". SEC Sports. November 13, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  2. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule" (Press release). LSU Department of Athletics. November 1, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.