The 2020–21 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mustangs, led by fifth-year head coach Tim Jankovich, played their home games at Moody Coliseum on their campus in University Park, Texas as members of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). They finished the season 11–6, 7–4 in AAC play, to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to Cincinnati. They received an invitation to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Boise State.

Previous season The Mustangs finished the 2019–20 season 19–11, 9–9 in AAC play, to finish in seventh place. They entered as the No. 7 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes C. J. White 13 G 6'5" 185 Little Rock, AR Walk-on; transferred to Little Rock Isiaha Mike 15 F 6'8" 215 Scarborough, ON Played professionally Grant Youngkin 20 G 6'3" 190 Washington, D.C. Walk-on; not on team roster

Incoming transfers Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Yor Anei F 235 Overland Park, KS Transferred from Oklahoma State. Anei was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on December 16 and will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2020 recruiting class SMU did not sign any recruits for the 2020 class.

2021 recruiting class

Preseason AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason poll and other preseason awards.

Coaches Poll 1 Houston 99 (2) 2 Memphis 90 (2) 3 SMU 80 4 Cincinnati 77 5 South Florida 61 6 Tulsa 50 7 Wichita State 44 8 UCF 37 9 East Carolina 34 10 Temple 18 11 Tulane 15

Preseason awards All-AAC First Team – Kendric Davis All-AAC Second Team – Tyson Jolly

Roster

Preseason: Tyson Jolly decided to opt out for the season. January 23, 2021: Tyson Jolly decided to rejoin the team for the remainder of the season.

Schedule and results The Mustangs began a series with Dayton in Dayton, Ohio beginning in the 2020–21 season.

COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Mustangs' schedule was subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.

Two previously scheduled games were postponed (vs. Arizona State and @ UNLV) were postponed to the 2021–22 season. The game @ South Florida scheduled for February 20 was moved to Dallas.

Schedule

!colspan=12 style=| Regular season

!colspan=12 style=| AAC tournament

!colspan=12 style=| NIT

Awards and honors American Athletic Conference honors All-AAC First Team Kendric Davis

All-AAC Third Team Feron Hunt

Source:

References