The 2020–21 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky, for the 45th consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 20,545. The Wildcats were led by John Calipari in his 12th season as head coach and play in the Southeastern Conference.
The Wildcats season was marred by inconsistent stretches. The Wildcats got off to an ugly 1–6 start (the worst since 1911) and never recovered. They finished the season with a 9–16 overall record and 8–9 in conference for 8th place. It was Kentucky's first losing season since 1988–89 and its worst winning percentage since the 1926–27 season. Their season came to an end when they lost to Mississippi State 74–73, ending their year also not participating in the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2012–13 season.
The season also marked the worst season that John Calipari had coached since 1988–89, when he was in his first season as head coach of Massachusetts.
Previous season The Wildcats finished the season 25–6, 15–3 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship. They were set to be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kentucky was announced as the league's champion following the cancellation of the tournament and, therefore, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, shortly thereafter, the NCAA Tournament was also canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Offseason
Coaching changes
Departures Name Position Year atKentucky Alma mater (year) Reason for departure Associate head coach 11th Louisville (1989) Hired as assistant by the New York Knicks
Additions to staff Name Position Year atKentucky Alma mater (year) Previous Team Bruiser Flint Assistant coach 1st Saint Joseph's (1987) Indiana Jai Lucas Assistant coach/Recruiting Coordinator 1st Texas (2011) Texas
Player departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason left 0 Guard 198 Covington, Georgia Declared for the 2020 NBA draft 3 Guard 198 Garland, Texas Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 21st overall by the Philadelphia 76ers 5 Guard 188 Havre de Grace, Maryland Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 25th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder 2 Guard 190 Roselle, New Jersey Left team at midseason and later declared for the 2020 NBA draft 10 Guard 214 Los Angeles, California Transferred to UCLA 1 Forward 234 Emporium, Pennsylvania Completed athletic eligibility; graduated from Bucknell in 2019 23 Forward 228 Marietta, Georgia Declared for the 2020 NBA draft Nick Richards 4 Forward 247 Kingston, Jamaica Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 42nd overall by the New Orleans Pelicans
2020 recruiting class On July 27, 2019, Brandon Boston Jr. committed to play basketball for the University of Kentucky over offers from Florida and Duke. Boston was the first commitment to the 2020 recruiting class, and the #2 ranked shooting guard in the 2020 class by 247 sports.
Cam'Ron Fletcher, from St. Louis, Missouri, was the second commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on August 4, 2019, and chose Kentucky over Michigan State. He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #36 overall by 24/7 Sports.
Power forward Lance Ware, from Camden, New Jersey, was the third commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on September 12, 2019, and chose Kentucky over Ohio State. He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #32 overall by Rivals.
Two days later, on September 14, 2019, SF Terrence Clarke from Brewster Academy pledged to Kentucky. Clarke is one of the most highly regarded prospects in the 2020 class, with most services ranking him among the top five players overall.
Incoming transfers
Preseason Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School 0 F 6'9" 194 Brooklyn, NY Rhode Island 10 G 6'3" 196 Charlotte, NC Creighton 30 C 7'0" 237 Toulouse, France Wake Forest
In-season Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Years Eligible Date Eligible Oscar Tshiebwe 34 C 6'9" 260 Sophomore Lubumbashi, DR Congo West Virginia 3 October 1, 2021
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| SEC regular season
!colspan=12 style=| SEC Tournament
Rankings
On January 18, 2021, Duke fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since February 8, 2016. This broke a 59-year streak and marked the first time since December 25, 1961 that the powerhouse trio of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina were all out of the Top 25 ranking.
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.
References