The 2020–21 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 12th-year head coach Sean Miller, in his final season at the program, and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as members of the Pac-12 Conference. The Wildcats finished the season 17–9, 11–9 in Pac–12 play to finish in fifth place.

The school self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2020–21 season amid an ongoing NCAA investigation over an FBI bribery scandal involving a former assistant coach and agent between 2017 and 2018 hoping to avoid further punishment from the NCAA. The ban included both the Pac–12 Tournament and the NCAA tournament. On April 7, 2021, the school fired head coach Sean Miller due to allegations related to the corruption scandal.

Previous season The Wildcats finished the 2019–20 season 20–11, 10–8 in Pac-12 play to finish in tie for 5th place. They received the 5-seed in the 2020 Pac-12 tournament, where they defeated Washington in the first round and were set to take on USC in the quarterfinals before the remainder of the Pac-12 Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

DeparturesNamePositionYearHometownReasonStone GettingsFGraduate Student Malibu, CA Completed athletic eligibility.Max HazzardGGraduate StudentLos Angeles, CACompleted athletic eligibility.Chase JeterFRedshirt SeniorLas Vegas, NVCompleted athletic eligibility. Dylan SmithGRedshirt SeniorMobile, ALCompleted athletic eligibility.Jake DesJardinsFSeniorHenderson, NVGraduated Brandon WilliamsGSophomoreLos Angeles, CAElected to play professionally.Josh GreenGFreshman Sydney, NSW Declared for 2020 NBA draftNico MannionGFreshman Siena, ITL Declared for 2020 NBA draft.Zeke NnajiFFreshman Lakeville, MN Declared for 2020 NBA draft.Reference:

Incoming transfersNamePositionYearHometownPrevious SchoolRemaining EligibilityNotes James Akinjo G Junior Richmond, CA Georgetown 2 Transfer from Georgetown in January 2020. Terrell Brown Jr. G Graduate Student Seattle, WA Seattle 1 Graduate from Seattle University. Terrell is eligible to play immediately as a graduate.Reference:

2020 recruiting class Dalen Terry, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, was the first commit of the 2020 recruiting class. He verbally committed to Arizona on July 23, 2019 over rival Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Memphis, USC and Utah. Terry a consensus four-star prospect out of Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bennedict Mathurin, originally from Montreal, Canada was the second commitment of the 2020 recruiting class. He verbally committed to Arizona on January 15, 2020 over Baylor & Washington State. Mathurin a consensus four-star prospect out of the NBA Academy Latin America.

Kerr Kriisa, originally from Tartu, Estonia, was the third commitment of the 2020 recruiting class. He verbally committed to Arizona on April 18, 2020 over BYU, Oregon & Syracuse. Kriisa a consensus four-star prospect out of BC Prienai in Prienai, Lithuania.

Daniel Batcho, originally from Chatenay-Malabry, France, was the fourth commitment in the Arizona class. He committed to Arizona on April 23, 2020, over Arizona State, Creighton, Miami & Virginia Tech. He is a consensus four-star prospect out of Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball in Paris, France.

Tibet Gorener, originally from Şişli, Turkey, was the fifth commitment in the Arizona class. He committed to Arizona on April 28, 2020, over Nebraska, Creighton, UC Santa Barbara & UConn. He is consensus four-star out of Orange Lutheran HS in Orange, California.

Ąžuolas Tubelis, originally from Lithuania, was the sixth commitment in the Arizona class. He committed to Arizona on May 27, 2020. He is currently a four-star prospect out of Rytas Vilnius in Lithuania.

Tautvilas Tubelis, originally from Lithuania, was the seventh commitment in the Arizona class. He committed to Arizona on May 27, 2020. He is currently an unranked prospect out of Rytas Vilnius in Lithuania.

2021 recruiting class Shane Nowell, originally from Sammamish, WA, was the third commit of the 2021 recruiting class. He verbally committed to Arizona on October 31, 2020 over rival Montana, Montana State, Oklahoma & Washington. Nowell was a consensus four-star prospect out of Eastside Catholic in Sammamish, WA.

2022 recruiting class

Coaching changes On April 3, 2020, Assistant coach Justin Gainey accepted the Associate Head coach position at Marquette.

On May 27, 2020, former Arizona great & NBA veteran Jason Terry was announced as an assistant coach on Miller's staff.

Personnel

Roster

Freshman forward Daniel Batcho had surgery on his right knee in late October and is out indefinitely. A timeline for his return to the court for the 2020-21 season will be reevaluated in late January. Freshman guard Kerr Kriisa has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA until Feb. 4. Jan. 11, 2021 - Jemarl Baker Jr. out for remainder of the season.

Coaching staff Name Position Year at Arizona Alma Mater (year)Sean MillerHead coach 12th Pittsburgh (1992)Jack Murphy Associate head coach 2nd Arizona (2005)Danny Peters Assistant coach 3rd Ohio State (2010)Jason Terry Assistant coach 1st Arizona (1999)Ryan Reynolds Director of Basketball Operations 12th Xavier (2007)Austin Carroll Assistant director of Basketball Operations 5th American (2014)

Depth chart

Schedule and results Before the Summer of 2020, Arizona had scheduled opponents Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Baptist & Montana at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. Arizona was forced to cancel the 2020 NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn with Cincinnati, Texas Tech & St. John's because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Wildcats two true road against Gonzaga & Illinois. The Pac-12 announced it would add two Pac-12 regular season games from the previous 18-game schedule, adding Colorado & Stanford. The Pac-12 announced on August 11, 2020 that all fall sporting events would be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

!colspan=12 style=| Regular season

Rankings

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

Player statistics +Individual player statistics (Final)MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-ThrowsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgAPFTOStlBlk James Akinjo262690334.740515.612432737.9%5313040.8%10412781.9%851592.31415160370 Jemarl Baker Jr.121235329.414412.05012440.3%247034.3%202483.3%232342.821221274 Daniel Batcho000000000%000%000%000000000 Terrell Brown Jr.26966625.61907.36215939.0%143836.8%526777.6%1377903.5903723246 Jordan Brown261251219.72449.49316656.0%010%589759.8%41941355.21561231223 Tibet Görener80303.891.13933.3%3933.3%000%0660.814300 Christian Koloko261944817.21194.6399452.0%010%355662.5%58671254.8870191235 Kerr Kriisa8518022.5445.5144233.3%143836.8%22100%1340.519121030 Ira Lee23125611.1683.0274955.1%000%141973.7%2248703.07362347 Jordan Mains2042.031.51333.3%1250.0%000%1010.500001 Bennedict Mathurin261264724.928010.88818747.1%389141.8%667884.6%32921244.8304330182 Dalen Terry261454020.81194.6399441.5%144332.6%274455.9%2063833.23861311910 Ąžuolas Tubelis262068926.531712.211523149.8%134231.0%7410469.2%671171847.13265611516 Tautvilas Tubelis5091.810.2020%020.0%1250.0%0110.201000 Grant Weitman5081.400000%000%000%0110.200000 Matt Weyand4061.500000%000%000%0110.210010Total 19 – – – 1961 75.4 667 1492 44.7% 174 468 37.2% 453 623 72.7% 307 690 997 38.3 403 463 309 152 104Opponents 19 – – – 1783 68.5 631 1470 42.9% 184 539 34.1% 337 477 71.7% 223 589 812 31.2 292 524 322 140 72 Legend  GP  Games played  GS  Games started Avg  Average per game  FG Field-goals made FGA Field-goal attempts Off  Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds  A Assists  TO Turnovers Blk  Blocks Stl  Steals High  Team high

Awards & milestones

Season highs

Players Points: Jermal Baker Jr. – 33 (Northern Arizona) Rebounds: Jordan Brown, Ąžuolas Tubelis (twice) – 15 (Grambling, USC, Washington) Assists: James Akinjo (twice), Terrell Brown Jr. – 9 (Oregon State, Stanford) Steals: Akinjo – 5 (Oregon State) Blocks: Terrell Brown Jr., Christian Koloko (twice) – 4 (Northern Arizona, Cal State Bakersfield, Washington State) Minutes: Akinjo – 44 (Washington State)

Team Points: 98 (Oregon State) Field Goals: 35 (Oregon State) Field Goal Attempts: 75 (Washington State) 3 Point Field Goals Made: 13 (Northern Arizona) 3 Point Field Goals Attempts: 28 (twice) (Cal State Bakersfield, Washington) Free Throws Made: 32 (ASU) Free Throws Attempts: 43 (ASU) Rebounds: 58 (Washington) Assists: 21(three) (Cal State Bakersfield, Northern Arizona, Oregon State) Steals: 10 (ASU) Blocked Shots: 10 (Northern Arizona) Turnovers: 18 (Stanford) Fouls: 29 (Washington State)

Weekly awards Jermal Baker Jr. (Dec. 14) Bennedict Mathurin (Jan. 4) Ąžuolas Tubelis (Feb. 22) Ąžuolas Tubelis (Mar. 1)

Pac-12 Conference honors James Akinjo All—Pac-12 First Team

Jordan Brown Pac-12 6th Man of the Year

Bennedict Mathurin All―Pac-12 Freshman First Team

Ąžuolas Tubelis All―Pac-12 Freshman First Team All―Pac-12 Honorable Mention

See also 2020–21 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

References