2020–21 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team represented Appalachian State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers, led by second-year head coach Dustin Kerns, played their home games at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina as members of the Sun Belt Conference. With the creation of divisions to cut down on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they played in the East Division. They finished the season 17–12, 7–8 in Sun Belt Play to finish 4th in the East Division. They defeated Little Rock, Texas State, Coastal Carolina, and Georgia State to win the Sun Belt tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the First Four to Norfolk State.

2020–21 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball
Sun Belt tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Four
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Division	East Division
Record	17–12 (7–8 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Dustin Kerns (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Patrick Moynihan Bob Szorc Frank Young
Home arena	George M. Holmes Convocation Center

2020–21 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Georgia State	8	–	4		.667			16	–	6		.727
Coastal Carolina	9	–	5		.643			18	–	8		.692
South Alabama	10	–	7		.588			17	–	11		.607
Appalachian State †	7	–	8		.467			17	–	12		.586
Georgia Southern	7	–	9		.438			13	–	13		.500
Troy	4	–	12		.250			11	–	17		.393
West
Texas State	12	–	3		.800			18	–	7		.720
Louisiana	10	–	7		.588			17	–	9		.654
UT Arlington	9	–	8		.529			13	–	13		.500
Arkansas State	7	–	8		.467			11	–	13		.458
Little Rock	7	–	11		.389			11	–	15		.423
Louisiana–Monroe	5	–	13		.278			7	–	19		.269
† 2021 Sun Belt Tournament winner

Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2019–20 season 18–15, 11–9 in Sun Belt play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Coastal Carolina in the second round of the Sun Belt tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Texas State.

Roster

2020–21 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Xavion Brown 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Sacramento, California G 1 Justin Forrest 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Decatur, Georgia F 2 Kendall Lewis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Snellville, Georgia G 3 Deshon Parker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Huber Heights, Ohio F 4 RJ Duhart 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Boynton Beach, Florida G 5 Michael Almonacy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Brentwood, New York G 10 Michael Eads 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Orlando, Florida G/F 11 Donovan Gregory 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Charlotte, North Carolina G 12 Andrew Muse 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Winston-Salem, North Carolina G 14 Bryant Greene 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Boone, North Carolina F 15 CJ Huntley 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Huntersville, North Carolina G 20 Adrian Delph 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Kings Mountain, North Carolina F 24 R.J. Wilson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Fr Raleigh, North Carolina F 25 James Lewis Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Mount Holly, North Carolina G 30 Jamie Baker 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Concord, North Carolina C 33 Sasha Glushkov 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Vladivostok, Russia	Head coach Dustin Kerns (Clemson) Assistant coach(es) Patrick Moynihan (North Georgia) Bob Szorc (St. John's) Frank Young (West Virginia) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 25, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference Regular season
November 25, 2020* 7:00 pm		at South Carolina State	W 81–61	1–0	14 – Gregory	7 – Forrest	3 – Forrest	SHM Memorial Center  Orangeburg, SC
November 27, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Carver	W 105–23	2–0	12 – Lewis Jr.	13 – Glushkov	4 – Forrest	Holmes Center (25) Boone, NC
November 30, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Bowling Green	L 76–78 OT	2–1	21 – Almonacy	8 – Lewis Jr.	5 – Gregory	Holmes Center (25) Boone, NC
December 1, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		St. Andrews	Game cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions					Holmes Center  Boone, NC
December 3, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Carolina	Game cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions					Holmes Center  Boone, NC
December 6, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		North Carolina Wesleyan	W 81–57	3–1	18 – Huntley	8 – Almonacy	5 – Forrest	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
December 7, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		LaGrange	Game cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions					Holmes Center  Boone, NC
December 11, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPNU		at Charlotte	W 61–57	4–1	21 – Delph	7 – Lewis	5 – Delph	Halton Arena (73) Charlotte, NC
December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN		at No. 10 Tennessee	L 38–79	4–2	9 – Almonacy	6 – Almonacy	3 – Almonacy	Thompson–Boling Arena (4,191) Knoxville, TN
December 17, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Greensboro	W 87–47	5–2	18 – Gregory	7 – TEAM	5 – Gregory	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
December 18, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Columbia International	W 77–41	6–2	14 – Delph	9 – Gregory	3 – Brown	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
December 22, 2020* 3:00 pm, SECN		at Auburn	L 53–67	6–3	15 – Almonacy	4 – Parker	2 – Parker	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
Conference Regular season
January 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Troy	L 56–69	6–4 (0–1)	16 – Lewis Jr.	8 – Gregory	3 – Forrest	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
January 2, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Troy	W 90–59	7–4 (1–1)	21 – Forrest	5 – Almonacy	10 – Almonacy	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
January 8, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia Southern	W 66–63	8–4 (2–1)	14 – Almonacy	6 – Gregory	3 – Forrest	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia Southern	W 77–71	9–4 (3–1)	19 – Gregory	11 – Lewis Jr.	6 – Forrest	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
January 15, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at South Alabama	L 64–73	9–5 (3–2)	14 – Gregory	8 – Delph	4 – Parker	Mitchell Center (871) Mobile, AL
January 16, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at South Alabama	W 83–77	10–5 (4–2)	28 – Delph	6 – Lewis Jr.	6 – Forrest	Mitchell Center (867) Mobile, AL
January 22, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia State	W 80–71	11–5 (5–2)	23 – Forrest	5 – Lewis Jr.	4 – Gregory	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Georgia State	W 74–61	12–5 (6–2)	22 – Lewis Jr.	14 – Lewis Jr.	2 – Forrest	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
January 29, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Troy	L 62–71	12–6 (6–3)	15 – Gregory	9 – Lewis Jr.	2 – Forrest	Trojan Arena (1,189) Troy, AL
January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Troy	L 59–65	12–7 (6–4)	15 – Forrest	7 – Almonacy	4 – Forrest	Trojan Arena (1,021) Troy, AL
February 5, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Georgia State	Postponed due to COVID-19					GSU Sports Arena  Atlanta, GA
February 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Georgia State	Postponed due to COVID-19					GSU Sports Arena  Atlanta, GA
February 11, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Coastal Carolina	Canceled due to COVID-19					Holmes Center  Boone, NC
February 13, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Coastal Carolina	Canceled due to COVID-19					HTC Center  Conway, SC
February 19, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		South Alabama	L 63–65	12–8 (6–5)	20 – Forrest	13 – Gregory	2 – Almonacy	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
February 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+		South Alabama	L 54–56	12–9 (6–6)	20 – Forrest	10 – Lewis Jr.	3 – Gregory	Holmes Center (85) Boone, NC
February 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Georgia State	L 71–85	12–10 (6–7)	24 – Almonacy	7 – Lewis Jr.	4 – Forrest	GSU Sports Arena (1,328) Atlanta, GA
February 26, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Georgia Southern	W 84–78 2OT	13–10 (7–7)	24 – Forrest	8 – Delph	6 – Almonacy	Hanner Fieldhouse  Statesboro, GA
February 27, 2021  ESPN+		at Georgia Southern	L 57–65	13–11 (7–8)	19 – Delph	8 – Gregory	2 – Almonacy	Hanner Fieldhouse  Statesboro, GA
Sun Belt tournament
March 5, 2021 8:30 pm, ESPN+	(E4)	vs. (W5) Little Rock First round	W 67–60	14–11	24 – Forrest	7 – Almonacy	7 – Almonacy	Hartsell Arena (148) Pensacola, FL
March 6, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+	(E4)	vs. (W1) Texas State Quarterfinals	W 76–73 OT	15–11	28 – Forrest	9 – Gregory	5 – Gregory	Pensacola Bay Center  Pensacola, FL
March 7, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN+	(E4)	vs. (E2) Coastal Carolina Semifinals	W 64–61 OT	16–11	19 – Tied	14 – Gregory	6 – Gregory	Pensacola Bay Center  Pensacola, FL
March 8, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2	(E4)	vs. (E1) Georgia State Championship	W 80–73	17–11	32 – Almonacy	10 – Gregory	2 – Tied	Pensacola Bay Center  Pensacola, FL
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2021 8:40 pm, truTV	(16 W)	vs. (16 W) Norfolk State First Four	L 53–54	17–12	18 – Forrest	11 – Duhart	4 – Gregory	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall  Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern.

Source