# 2020–21 Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team represented the University of Tulsa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Hurricane, led by seventh-year head coach Frank Haith, played their home games at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 11-12, 7-9 in AAC Play to finish in 7th place. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to Tulane.

## Previous season

The Golden Hurricane finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 13–5 in AAC play to finish in a three-way tie for first place. Frank Haith was named AAC Coach of the Year for the season. Due to tiebreaking rules, they received the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, which was canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Shortly thereafter, the NCAA tournament and all postseason tournaments were canceled, effectively ending Tulsa's season.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Martins Igbanu | 1 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Lagos, Nigeria | Graduated |
| Isaiah Hill | 4 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Freshman | Bakersfield, CA | Transferred to Fresno State. |
| Lawson Korita | 5 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Little Rock, AR | Graduated |
| Reggie Jones | 22 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Sophomore | Marion, IN | Transferred to Ball State. |
| Jeriah Horne | 41 | F | 6'7" | 222 | RS Junior | Overland Park, KS | Graduate transferred to Colorado. |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Rey Idowu | F | 6'9" | 240 | Junior | Melbourne, FL | Transferred from Illinois State. Idowu was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Austin Richie | F | 6'6" | 225 | Junior | Glenwood, IL | Junior college transferred from Triton College. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Keshawn Williams PG | Chicago, Illinois | Bloom High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 22, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Peyton Urbancic SG | Naples, Florida | First Baptist Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Feb 27, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Christian Shumate SF | Chicago Heights, Illinois | Bloom High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 17, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Bradley Alcime F | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Archbishop McCarthy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 9, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Tulsa 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "2020 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. ||||||
Tulsa will also add Preferred Walk-on Ari Seals a 6'3" guard from Frisco High School in Frisco, Texas. Seals is the son of current Tulsa assistant Shea Seals.

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Gavyn Elkamil CG | Branson, Missouri | Link Year Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 10, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Tulsa 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020. "2021 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020. |||||||

## Preseason
### AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards
Coaches Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 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 – Brandon Rachal

## Schedule and results
### COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Hurricane's schedule is 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.
* Tulsa added a game vs. Southwestern Christian on December 23.
* The game vs. UCF rescheduled for March 2 was moved to Orlando.
* The game @ UCF originally scheduled for February 6 was moved to Tulsa.
* The game @ Tulane scheduled for February 10 was moved to Tulsa.
* Tulsa added a game vs. Northeastern State on March 3.
Tulsa announced that home games for the first month of the season would be played in front of no fans.

### Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 28, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. TCU Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals | L 65–71 | 0–1 | 19 – Rachal | 8 – Rachal | 5 – Joiner | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO |
| November 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. South Carolina Hall of Fame Classic third-place game | L 58–69 | 0–2 | 14 – Rachal | 7 – Joiner | 4 – Jackson | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO |
| December 4, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | W 79–64 | 1–2 | 19 – Rachal | 9 – Jackson | 5 – Haywood II | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 8, 2020* 6:00 p.m. | | Arkansas | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 12, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | at Oral Roberts | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Mabee Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 15, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Wichita State Rivalry | L 65–69 | 1–3 (0–1) | 17 – Rachal | 11 – Rachal | 5 – Joiner | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 18, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northwestern State | W 82–55 | 2–3 | 19 – Richie | 8 – Idowu | 5 – Williams | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 21, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Memphis | W 56–49 | 3–3 (1–1) | 14 – Richie | 7 – Rachal | 6 – Joiner | FedExForum Memphis, TN |
| December 23, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southwestern Christian | W 102–45 | 4–3 | 20 – Williams | 10 – Rachal | 9 – Williams | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 29, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 5 Houston | W 65–64 | 5–3 (2–1) | 20 – Rachal | 7 – Rachal | 4 – Joiner | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | W 70–66 | 6–3 (3–1) | 25 – Rachal | 13 – Rachal | 4 – Joiner | Fifth Third Arena (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 6, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Florida | W 61–51 | 7–3 (4–1) | 15 – Rachal | 7 – Joiner | 6 – Joiner | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| January 13, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State rivalry | L 53–72 | 7–4 (4–2) | 12 – Jackson | 9 – Jackson | 3 – Tied | Charles Koch Arena (2,048) Wichita, KS |
| January 17, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Memphis | W 58–57 | 8–4 (5–2) | 14 – Joiner | 5 – Joiner | 2 – Tied | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 8 Houston | L 59–86 | 8–5 (5–3) | 18 – Rachal | 5 – Haywood II | 3 – Tied | Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX |
| January 23, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulane | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| January 26, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple Previously scheduled for Mar. 2 | L 67–76 | 8–6 (5–4) | 20 – Idowu | 4 – Tied | 4 – Rachal | Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA |
| January 30, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | W 77–68 | 9–6 (6–4) | 21 – Rachal | 10 – Rachal | 4 – Jackson | Williams Arena (82) Greenville, NC |
| February 3, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | South Florida | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| February 3, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | SMU Previously scheduled for Feb. 13 | L 63–65 | 9–7 (6–5) | 18 – Haywood II | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| February 6, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | | UCF | L 58–65 | 9–8 (6–6) | 14 – Joiner | 8 – Rachal | 5 – Joiner | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| February 10, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulane | L 48–58 | 9–9 (6–7) | 14 – Rachal | 10 – Rachal | 6 – Haywood II | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| February 16, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Temple | W 72–66 | 10–9 (7–7) | 17 – Joiner | 7 – Jackson | 4 – Haywood II | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| February 24, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Cincinnati | L 69–70 | 10–10 (7–8) | 22 – Joiner | 12 – Rachal | 4 – Joiner | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| March 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at UCF Previously scheduled for Jan. 9 | L 69–73 | 10–11 (7–9) | 16 – Rachal | 9 – Rachal | 7 – Joiner | Addition Financial Arena (1,309) Orlando, FL |
| March 4, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northeastern State | W 107–74 | 11–11 | 18 – Rachal | 6 – Tied | 7 – Jackson | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| March 7, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at SMU | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Moody Coliseum University Park, TX |
| American Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPNU | (7) | vs. (10) Tulane First round | L 70–77 | 11–12 | 21 – Rachal | 14 – Rachal | 12 – Joiner | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Awards and honors
### American Athletic Conference honors
#### All-AAC Awards

* Sixth Man of the Year: Darien Jackson

#### All-AAC Second Team

* Brandon Rachal
Source