# 2020–21 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by second-year head coach Casey Alexander, played their home games at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bruins finished the season 26–4, 18–2 in OVC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated SIU–Edwardsville and Jacksonville State before losing to Morehead State in the OVC tournament championship game. Because of a limited National Invitation Tournament due to COVID-19, the Bruins did not receive an automatic bid to the NIT for being regular season champions. They did not receive an at-large bid to the NIT either.

## Previous season

The Bruins finished the 2019–20 season 26–7, 15–3 in OVC play to finish in a tie for the regular season championship. They defeated Eastern Kentucky and Murray State to win the championship of the OVC tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 26, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Howard DC Paradise Jam | W 95–78 | 1–0 | Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. |
| November 27, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. George Mason DC Paradise Jam | W 77–67 | 2–0 | Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. |
| November 28, 2020* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | vs. Queens (NC) DC Paradise Jam | W 73–61 | 3–0 | Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. |
| December 5, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | L 83–96 | 3–1 | Curb Event Center Nashville, TN |
| December 8, 2020 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 79–64 | 4–1 (1–0) | Curb Event Center (250) Nashville, TN |
| December 12, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb Battle of the Boulevard | W 81–71 | 5–1 | Allen Arena Nashville, TN |
| December 16, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | W 64–53 | 6–1 | Curb Event Center Nashville, TN |
| December 18, 2020 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee State | W 88–63 | 7–1 (2–0) | Gentry Center (224) Nashville, TN |
| December 21, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 72–63 | 8–1 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 68–55 | 9–1 (3–0) | Curb Event Center (756) Nashville, TN |
| January 2, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 90–69 | 10–1 (4–0) | Skyhawk Arena (165) Martin, TN |
| January 7, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 77–66 | 11–1 (5–0) | Curb Event Center (271) Nashville, TN |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 89–69 | 12–1 (6–0) | Curb Event Center (141) Nashville, TN |
| January 14, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 88–67 | 13–1 (7–0) | Eblen Center (589) Cookeville, TN |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 98–91 | 14–1 (8–0) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (516) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 21, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 79–66 | 15–1 (9–0) | Curb Event Center (247) Nashville, TN |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | W 114–62 | 16–1 (10–0) | Curb Event Center (244) Nashville, TN |
| January 28, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Austin Peay | W 81–76 | 17–1 (11–0) | Dunn Center (603) Clarksville, TN |
| January 30, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | W 72–71 | 18–1 (12–0) | CFSB Center (1,290) Murray, KY |
| February 4, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Illinois | W 89–61 | 19–1 (13–0) | Lantz Arena (12) Charleston, IL |
| February 6, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 94–62 | 20–1 (14–0) | First Community Arena (50) Edwardsville, IL |
| February 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 92–74 | 21–1 (15–0) | Curb Event Center (241) Nashville, TN |
| February 13, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 73–58 | 22–1 (16–0) | Curb Event Center (233) Nashville, TN |
| February 18, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 63–59 | 23–1 (17–0) | Curb Event Center (178) Nashville, TN |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee Tech | W 90–66 | 24–1 (18–0) | Curb Event Center (231) Nashville, TN |
| February 25, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 67–81 | 24–2 (18–1) | McBrayer Arena (957) Richmond, KY |
| February 27, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Morehead State | L 82–89 $^{2OT}$ | 24–3 (18–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (800) Morehead, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) SIU Edwardsville First Round | W 78–61 | 25–3 | Ford Center (266) Evansville, IN |
| March 5, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (1) | vs. (4) Jacksonville State Semifinals | W 72–69 | 26–3 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| March 6, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (2) Morehead State Championship | L 71–86 | 26–4 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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