2020–21 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by fourth-year head coach Joe Pasternack, play their home games at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 22-5, 13-3 in Big West Play to finish as regular season champions. They defeated Long Beach State, UC Davis, and UC Irvine to be champions of the Big West tournament. They received the Big West’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Creighton.

2020–21 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball
Big West regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	22–5 (13–3 Big West)
Head coach	Joe Pasternack (4th season)
Associate head coach	John Rillie
Assistant coaches	Larry Lewis Ben Tucker
Home arena	The Thunderdome

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
* ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament and 2021 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings
† 2021 Big West tournament winner

Previous season

The Gauchos finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 10–6 in Big West play to finish in a tie for second place. They were scheduled to play UC Riverside in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament, however, the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Roster

2020–21 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Sékou Touré 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Prolific Prep Academy Conakry, Guinea F 1 Jay Nagle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Will C. Wood High School Vacaville, California G 2 Josh Pierre-Louis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Temple Plainfield, New Jersey G 3 JaQuori McLaughlin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Oregon State Tacoma, Washington G 4 Devearl Ramsey 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Nevada Los Angeles, California F 5 Miles Norris 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr City College of San Francisco San Diego, California G 11 Brandon Cyrus 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS DePaul Oakville, Ontario F 12 Amadou Sow 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Prolific Prep Academy Bamako, Mali G 13 Ajare Sanni 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS So Pacific Houston, Texas F 14 Jakov Kukic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr La Lumiere School Split, Croatia G 15 Max Cheylov 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Calabasas High School Toronto, Canada F 23 Destin Barnes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Jacksonville Chicago, Illinois F 24 Robinson Idehen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Trinity Valley Community College Tudela, Navarre, Spain G 50 Gage Gomez 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Arroyo Grande High School Arroyo Grande, California G 52 Kyle MacLean 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Westlake High School Westlake, California F 54 Niko Rocak 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Phillips Exeter Academy Geneva, Switzerland G Calvin Wishart  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Georgia Southern Delano, Minnesota	Head coach Joe Pasternack (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) John Rillie (Gonzaga) Larry Lewis (Morehouse) Ben Tucker (Arizona) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 26, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 29, 2020* 4:00 pm		St. Katherine	W 92–55	1–0	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
December 3, 2020* 4:00 pm		Bethesda	W 123–52	2–0	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
December 7, 2020* 5:00 pm, BigWest.tv		Loyola Marymount	W 69–58	3–0	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
December 12, 2020* 2:00 pm		at Loyola Marymount	L 78–81	3–1	Gersten Pavilion  Los Angeles, CA
December 19, 2020* 3:00 pm		at Pepperdine	W 75–63	4–1	Firestone Fieldhouse  Malibu, CA
Big West regular season
December 27, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at UC Irvine	L 56–75	4–2 (0–1)	Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
December 28, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at UC Irvine	L 69–73	4–3 (0–2)	Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
January 1, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Cal State Fullerton	W 81–63	5–3 (1–2)	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Cal State Fullerton	W 65–61	6–3 (2–2)	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 15, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		UC San Diego	W 69–52	7–3	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 16, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN3		UC San Diego	W 84–53	8–3	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 22, 2021 4:00 pm		at Cal State Northridge	W 105–58	9–3 (3–2)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 23, 2021 4:00 pm		at Cal State Northridge	W 80–66	10–3 (4–2)	Matadome  Northridge, CA
January 29, 2021 4:00 pm		at UC Davis	W 72–51	11–3 (5–2)	The Pavilion  Davis, CA
January 30, 2021 4:00 pm		at UC Davis	W 89–86 OT	12–3 (6–2)	The Pavilion  Davis, CA
February 5, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Long Beach State	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues.		The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
February 6, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Long Beach State	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues.		The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
February 12, 2021 9:00 pm, Spectrum Sports		at Hawaii	W 59–50	13–3 (7–2)	Stan Sheriff Center (0) Honolulu, HI
February 13, 2021 7:00 pm, Spectrum Sports		at Hawaii	W 81–74 OT	14–3 (8–2)	Stan Sheriff Center (0) Honolulu, HI
February 19, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN3		Cal State Bakersfield	W 71–66	15–3 (9–2)	The Thunderdome (0) Santa Barbara, CA
February 20, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Cal State Bakersfield	W 63–44	16–3 (10–2)	The Thunderdome (0) Santa Barbara, CA
February 26, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN2		at UC Riverside	W 72–68	17–3 (11–2)	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
February 27, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at UC Riverside	L 52–68	17–4 (11–3)	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
March 5, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Cal Poly Rivalry	W 71–57	18–4 (12–3)	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
March 6, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3		Cal Poly Rivalry	W 70–54	19–4 (13–3)	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
Big West tournament
March 11, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (9) Long Beach State Quarterfinals	W 95–87	20–4	Mandalay Bay Events Center (3) Las Vegas, NV
March 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (4) UC Davis Semifinals	W 71–55	21–4	Mandalay Bay Events Center  Las Vegas, NV
March 13, 2021 8:30 pm, ESPN2	(1)	vs. (2) UC Irvine Championship	W 79–63	22–4	Mandalay Bay Events Center  Las Vegas, NV
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021 12:30 pm, truTV	(12 W)	vs. (5 W) No. 19 Creighton First Round	L 62–63	22–5	Lucas Oil Stadium  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific.

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