# 2020–21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Fighting Irish were led by 21st-year head coach Mike Brey and played their home games at the Purcell Pavilion in Notre Dame, Indiana as eight-year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Fighting Irish finished the season 11–15, 7–11 in ACC play, to finish in eleventh place. In the ACC tournament they defeated Wake Forest before losing to North Carolina in the second round. They were not invited to either the NCAA tournament or NIT.

## Previous season

The Fighting Irish finished the 2019–20 season 20–12, 10–10 in ACC play to finish in a tie for eight place. As the No. 7 seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated Boston College in the second round. The team was scheduled to play Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament and NIT were also cancelled due to the pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Rex Pflueger | 0 | G | 6'6" | 218 | Graduate Student | Dana Point, CA | Graduated |
| T. J. Gibbs | 10 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Scotch Plains, NJ | Graduated |
| Chris Doherty | 15 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Sophomore | Marlborough, MA | Transferred to Northeastern |
| John Mooney | 33 | F | 6'9" | 245 | Senior | Orlando, FL | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Trey Wertz | 2 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Junior | Charlotte, NC | Santa Clara |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Elijah Taylor #41 PF | Philadelphia, PA | Imhotep Charter | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 231 lb (105 kg) | Sep 19, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Matt Zona #51 C | Blauvelt, NY | Bergen Catholic | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 243 lb (110 kg) | Sep 30, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Tony Sanders Jr. #47 SF | Miami, FL | Gulliver Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Apr 3, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| 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: "Notre Dame Fighting Irish". ESPN.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "Notre Dame 2020 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 28, 2020* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 13 Michigan State | L 70–80 | 0–1 | 23 – Hubb | 9 – Laszewski | 4 – Goodwin | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI |
| December 2, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Western Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Purcell Pavilion Notre Dame, IN |
| December 5, 2020* 11:00 a.m., ACCNX | | Purdue Fort Wayne | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Purcell Pavilion Notre Dame, IN |
| December 6, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Detroit Mercy | W 78–70 | 1–1 | 18 – Hubb | 11 – Laszewski | 8 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (84) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 8, 2020* 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 22 Ohio State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 85–90 | 1–2 | 26 – Hubb | 9 – Tied | 6 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (156) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 12, 2020* 12:00 p.m., CBS | | at Kentucky | W 64–63 | 2–2 | 21 – Laszewski | 9 – Laszewski | 4 – Ryan | Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY |
| December 16, 2020 9:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 21 Duke | L 65–75 | 2–3 (0–1) | 25 – Goodwin | 8 – Laszewski | 3 – Tied | Purcell Pavilion (89) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 19, 2020* 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Purdue Crossroads Classic | L 78–88 | 2–4 | 27 – Wertz | 6 – Tied | 5 – Wertz | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 23, 2020* 12:00 p.m. | | Bellarmine | W 81–70 | 3–4 | 27 – Goodwin | 8 – Laszewski | 4 – Tied | Purcell Pavilion (82) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 30, 2020 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 23 Virginia | L 57–66 | 3–5 (0–2) | 28 – Laszewski | 7 – Goodwin | 8 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (86) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at North Carolina | L 65–66 | 3–6 (0–3) | 25 – Laszewski | 9 – Laszewski | 5 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (0) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 6, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Georgia Tech | 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 | Purcell Pavilion Notre Dame, IN |
| January 10, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 19 Virginia Tech | L 63–77 | 3–7 (0–4) | 17 – Laszewski | 7 – Ryan | 6 – Hubb | Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 13, 2021 4:30 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 18 Virginia | L 68–80 | 3–8 (0–5) | 16 – Ryan | 8 – Laszewski | 4 – Wertz | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | Boston College | W 80–70 | 4–8 (1–5) | 21 – Goodwin | 11 – Durham | 10 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (78) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 18, 2021* 2:30 p.m., FOX | | at Howard | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| January 24, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Miami (FL) | W 73–59 | 5–8 (2–5) | 21 – Laszewski | 10 – Laszewski | 9 – Hubb | Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL |
| January 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | No. 20 Virginia Tech | L 51–62 | 5–9 (2–6) | 22 – Hubb | 10 – Laszewski | 3 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (103) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 30, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 84–58 | 6–9 (3–6) | 19 – Ryan | 9 – Tied | 9 – Hubb | Petersen Events Center (500) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 2, 2021 5:00 p.m., ACCN | | Wake Forest | W 79–58 | 7–9 (4–6) | 18 – Durham | 10 – Laszewski | 10 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (123) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 6, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | L 80–82 | 7–10 (4–7) | 27 – Laszewski | 7 – Tied | 10 – Hubb | McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA |
| February 9, 2021 4:30 p.m., ACCN | | at Duke | W 93–89 | 8–10 (5–7) | 28 – Ryan | 7 – Goodwin | 8 – Hubb | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| February 14, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Miami (FL) | W 71–61 | 9–10 (6–7) | 18 – Djogo | 11 – Goodwin | 5 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (114) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Clemson | 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 | Purcell Pavilion Notre Dame, IN |
| February 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | L 67–75 | 9–11 (6–8) | 17 – Wertz | 12 – Laszewski | 10 – Hubb | Carrier Dome (0) Syracuse, NY |
| February 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Louisville | L 57–69 | 9–12 (6–9) | 18 – Durham | 8 – Ryan | 6 – Hubb | KFC Yum! Center (2,948) Louisville, KY |
| February 27, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Boston College | L 90–94 | 9–13 (6–10) | 28 – Hubb | 9 – Laszewski | 7 – Hubb | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| March 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | NC State | L 69–80 | 9–14 (6–11) | 14 – Hubb | 9 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Purcell Pavilion (497) Notre Dame, IN |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 11 Florida State | W 83–73 | 10–14 (7–11) | 22 – Hubb | 9 – Tied | 5 – Hubb | Purcell Pavilion (646) Notre Dame, IN |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | (11) | vs. (14) Wake Forest First round | W 80–77 | 11–14 | 16 – Tied | 10 – Durham | 4 – Hubb | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| March 10, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | (11) | vs. (6) North Carolina Second round | L 59–101 | 11–15 | 13 – Tied | 6 – Durham | 3 – Hubb | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings