The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020, and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5.
Season headlines November 11 – The Associated Press preseason All-American team was released. Iowa center Luka Garza was the lone unanimous selection (64 votes). Joining him on the team were Baylor guard Jared Butler, Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu, Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, Gonzaga guard Corey Kispert (26), and Arizona State guard Remy Martin (26). November 15 – The UT Martin Skyhawks announced that head coach Anthony Stewart, who had been set to start his fifth season with the Skyhawks, had died earlier that day. No cause of death was given at the time. January 18 – When the AP poll's Week 9 top 25 rankings were released, it was the first time since December 18, 1961, that neither Duke, Kentucky, nor North Carolina were included on the list. In 1961, the poll was only composed of the top 10 teams. February 7 – The UTRGV Vaqueros announce the death of fifth-year head coach Lew Hill from coronavirus. Longtime assistant Jai Steadman was named interim head coach four days later. February 9 – For the first time since an 0–2 start to the 1999–2000 season, the Duke men's basketball team fell below .500 after an 89–93 loss to Notre Dame. March 23 – Just three days after playing in the NCAA tournament, Grand Canyon senior Oscar Frayer died in a car crash, along with his sister and one other person.
COVID-19 pandemic-related October 14 – The NCAA announced that all student-athletes in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year, including men's and women's basketball, would receive an extra year of athletic eligibility, whether or not they or their teams play during that school year. October 27 – Bethune–Cookman, which had previously canceled its 2020 fall sports due to COVID-19 concerns, announced that none of its other teams, including men's and women's basketball, would play in the 2020–21 school year. November 12 – The Ivy League became the first conference to cancel all winter sports for the 2020–21 season, including men's and women's basketball, due to COVID-19 concerns. November 19 – Maryland Eastern Shore became the second MEAC program to opt out of the 2020–21 men's and women's basketball seasons due to COVID-19 concerns. December 23 – Chicago State ended its 2020–21 season after an 0–9 start marked by many COVID-19-related issues. Head coach Lance Irvin opted out before the season started due to concerns over the disease; the Cougars played one game with only six available players and another with only seven; the team's final game before suspending its season was canceled due to a lack of players. February 9 – Howard ended its 2020–21 season after a 1–4 start of an abundance of caution due to the health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. February 11 – Organizers of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament announced that the 2021 edition had been canceled. February 13 – Maine decided to conclude their 2020–21 season due to challenges related to COVID-19 after not being cleared to practice or play a game since January 17. February 23 – Charleston Southern ended its 2020–21 season after a 3–18 start, citing player concerns over COVID-19. February 26 – Jacksonville ended its 2020–21 season after an 11–13 start, citing player concerns over COVID-19. March 2 – Holy Cross ended its 2020–21 season after a 5–11 start, citing player concerns over COVID-19.
Milestones and records During the season, the following players reached the 2,000-career-point milestone – Austin Peay swingman Terry Taylor, Pepperdine guard Colbey Ross, Iowa center Luka Garza, Bowling Green guard Justin Turner, Detroit Mercy guard Antoine Davis, UTSA guard Keaton Wallace, and Davidson guard Kellan Grady. November 30 – Kansas took sole possession of the record for most consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll. The Jayhawks' 222nd straight appearance surpassed UCLA's 221 from 1966 to 1980. The Jayhawks' streak ended at 231 when they dropped out of the poll released on February 8. December 1 – UC Riverside head coach Mike Magpayo became the first head coach of Asian or Filipino descent to coach and won a Division I game in their 57–42 victory over Washington. Magpayo had missed the Highlanders' season opener on November 25 against Pacific due to his child's birth. February 21 – Iowa center Luka Garza scored 23 points in a win against Penn State to become the school's all-time leading scorer, breaking a 32-year-old record previously held by Roy Marble (2,116 points).
Conference membership changes Ten schools joined a new conference for the 2020–21 season with four schools leaving Division II for Division I.
School Former conference New conference Bellarmine Great Lakes Valley Conference (D-II) ASUN Conference Cal State Bakersfield Western Athletic Conference Big West Conference Dixie State Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (D-II) Western Athletic Conference Kansas City Western Athletic Conference Summit League NJIT ASUN Conference America East Conference Purdue Fort Wayne Summit League Horizon League Robert Morris Northeast Conference Horizon League Tarleton State Lone Star Conference (D-II) Western Athletic Conference UC San Diego California Collegiate Athletic Association (D-II) Big West Conference UConn American Athletic Conference Big East Conference
Arenas
New arenas James Madison opened the new Atlantic Union Bank Center on November 25, 2020, defeating Division II Limestone 89–55. Liberty played its first game at Liberty Arena, winning 78–62 over Saint Francis (PA) on December 3, 2020. The first event at the arena, which had officially opened on November 23, was a women's game on December 1.
Arenas of new D-I teams Three of the four new D-I members for this season are using existing on-campus facilities: Dixie State plays in Burns Arena. Tarleton State plays in Wisdom Gym. UC San Diego plays in RIMAC Arena. The other D-I newcomer, Bellarmine, announced a multi-year deal with the Kentucky State Fair Board on November 2, 2020, to play home games at Freedom Hall, located at the Kentucky Exposition Center near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The arena had been home to Louisville for more than 50 years before that team moved to the downtown KFC Yum! Center in 2010. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Bellarmine could only seat 300 at its on-campus facility, Knights Hall. With Freedom Hall's basketball capacity of 18,252, the Knights were able to seat 2,700.
Arenas closing High Point had originally planned to open Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center for the 2020–21 season. However, construction delays brought on by COVID-19 led to the university delaying the new arena's opening until 2021–22, meaning that the Millis Center was in use for one more season. This was intended to be Idaho's final season at the Kibbie Dome, a facility also home to Idaho football, with its basketball configuration known as Cowan Spectrum. When Idaho moved its 2020 football season to spring 2021, it displaced the men's and women's basketball teams, forcing them to use Memorial Gymnasium. The latter facility had been home to both basketball teams before the Kibbie Dome opened in 1976, and remained a part-time home for both. The school plans to open the new Idaho Central Credit Union Arena for the 2021–22 season. The Dome will remain in use for football and several other sports.
Temporary arenas Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County, Santa Clara and Stanford played the majority of their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena in neighboring Santa Cruz County.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches polls APRankingTeam 1Gonzaga (28) 2Baylor (24) 3Villanova (1) 4Virginia (1) 5Iowa 6Kansas 7Wisconsin 8Illinois 9Duke 10Kentucky 11Creighton 12Tennessee 13Michigan State 14Texas Tech 15West Virginia 16North Carolina 17Houston 18Arizona State 19Texas 20Oregon 21Florida State 22UCLA 23Ohio State 24Rutgers 25Michigan USA Today CoachesRankingTeam 1Baylor (12) 2Gonzaga (10) 3Villanova (3) 4Virginia 5Kansas 6Iowa (1) 7Wisconsin 8Duke (1) 9Kentucky 10Illinois 11Creighton 12Michigan State 13Texas Tech 14Tennessee 15West Virginia 16North Carolina 17Arizona State 18Houston т Florida State т 20Oregon 21UCLA 22Texas 23Rutgers 24Ohio State 25Alabama
Regular season top-10 matchups Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25.
November 26 No. 1 Gonzaga defeated No. 6 Kansas, 102–90 (Fort Myers Tip-Off, Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Fort Myers, FL) December 1 No. 8 Michigan State defeated No. 6 Duke, 75–69 (Champions Classic, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC) December 2 No. 2 Baylor defeated No. 5 Illinois, 82–69 (Jimmy V Classic, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN) December 8 No. 5 Kansas defeated No. 8 Creighton, 73–72 (Big East–Big 12 Battle, Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS) No. 6 Illinois defeated No. 10 Duke, 83–68 (ACC–Big Ten Challenge, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC) December 19 No. 1 Gonzaga defeated No. 3 Iowa, 99–88 (Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, SD) December 22 No. 3 Kansas defeated No. 7 West Virginia, 79–65 (Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS) January 2 No. 8 Texas defeated No. 3 Kansas, 84–59 (Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS) January 12 No. 7 Michigan defeated No. 9 Wisconsin, 77–54 (Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI) January 18 No. 2 Baylor defeated No. 9 Kansas, 77–69 (Ferrell Center, Waco, TX) February 2 No. 2 Baylor defeated No. 6 Texas, 83–69 (Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX) February 4 No. 7 Ohio State defeated No. 8 Iowa, 89–85 (Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA) February 21 No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 4 Ohio State, 92–87 (Value City Arena, Columbus, OH) February 25 No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 9 Iowa, 79–57 (Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI) February 28 No. 9 Iowa defeated No. 4 Ohio State, 73–57 (Value City Arena, Columbus, OH) March 2 No. 3 Baylor defeated No. 6 West Virginia, 94–89 OT (WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV) No. 4 Illinois defeated No. 2 Michigan, 76–53 (Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI) March 6 No. 4 Illinois defeated No. 7 Ohio State, 73–68 (Value City Arena, Columbus, OH) March 13 No. 3 Illinois defeated No. 5 Iowa, 82–71 (2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN) No. 9 Ohio State defeated No. 4 Michigan, 68–67 (2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis) March 14 No. 3 Illinois defeated No. 9 Ohio State, 91–88 OT (2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)
Regular season
Early season tournaments The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau, Bahamas was cancelled due to logistical issues associated with COVID-19. A new tournament known as the Crossover Classic is scheduled to be held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and had invited almost all of the teams that had originally planned to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament (although five teams would later drop out).
On October 26, 2020, ESPN Events cancelled 10 early-season tournaments that it organizes. It had planned to hold them at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando within a protected "bubble" (the same site had recently hosted the remainder of the 2019–20 NBA season under similar circumstances), but The Athletic reported that there had been disagreements over health and COVID-19 testing protocols that had been mandated by ESPN Events (in accordance with recommendations by the CDC), which were stricter than those being adopted by conferences.
Upsets Teams listed in bold type won "true road games", defined as games held at an opponent's regular home court (including regularly used alternate homes).