# 2020–21 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team represented Tulane University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Green Wave, led by second-year head coach Ron Hunter, played their home games at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, as seventh-year members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 10-13, 4-12 in AAC Play to finish in 10th place. They defeated Tulsa in the first round of the AAC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Houston.

## Previous season

The Green Wave 12–18, 4–14 in AAC play to finish in 12th place. They entered as the No. 12 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Charlie Russell Jr. | 0 | G/F | 6'7" | 190 | Freshman | New Orleans, LA | Transferred to UMass Lowell |
| K. J. Lawson | 1 | G/F | 6'7" | 215 | Graduate Student | Memphis, TN | Completed college eligibility |
| Ray Ona Embo | 3 | G | 6'5" | 195 | RS Junior | Lognes, France | Left team (mid-season) |
| TeShuan Hightower | 5 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | Lithonia, GA | Dismissed from team |
| Kevin Zhang | 12 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Sophomore | Shenyang, China | Play professionally |
| Nic Thomas | 14 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Graduate Student | Arlington, TX | Completed college eligibility |
| Grant Quinn | 15 | G | 6'5" | 200 | RS Junior | Lewisville, TX | Walk-on; did not return |
| Christion Thompson | 25 | G | 6'4" | 215 | Graduate Student | Gonzales, LA | Completed college eligibility |
| Cameron Galic | 32 | G | 6'6" | 205 | Junior | Bethesda, MD | Walk-on; did not return |
* 1 2 3 Lawson, Thomas, and Thompson were all graduate transfers in the 2019–20 season, with Lawson having graduated from Kansas, Thomas from Norfolk State, and Thompson from Rhode Island.

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Oton Jankovic | F | 6'10" | 212 | Sophomore | Zagreb, Croatia | Transferred from Vanderbilt. Jankovic was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Gabe Watson | G | 6'2" | 192 | Junior | Jackson, MS | Transferred from Southern Miss. Watson was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Jaylen Forbes | G | 6'4" | 186 | Sophomore | Florence, MS | Transferred from Alabama. Forbes was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Kevin Cross Jr. | F | 6'8" | 240 | Sophomore | Little Rock, AR | Transferred from Nebraska. Cross was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jadan Coleman SG | Madison, AL | Bob Jones High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Nov 15, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Sion James PG | Buford, GA | Lanier High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 131 ||||||
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020. ||||||
Tulane will also add Preferred Walk-on Ben Callahan-Gold, a 6'7" swingman from Northfield Mount Hermon School. Ben is the son of comedian Judy Gold.

## 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 |

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

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Green Wave'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.
* The game vs. Tulsa scheduled for February 10 was moved to Tulsa.

### Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 27, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lamar Tulane Classic | W 66–57 | 1–0 | 15 – Forbes | 7 – Forbes | 4 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| November 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lipscomb Tulane Classic | W 68–66 | 2–0 | 16 – Tied | 8 – McGee | 6 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| December 9, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Miss | W 58–38 | 3–0 | 15 – McGee | 11 – McGee | 6 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| December 12, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 67–56 | 4–0 | 16 – Forbes | 9 – Forbes | 3 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| December 16, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Memphis | L 74–80 | 4–1 (0–1) | 18 – Watson | 5 – Tied | 4 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| December 19, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Grambling State | W 77–65 | 5–1 | 21 – Forbes | 6 – Tied | 5 – Tied | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| December 22, 2020 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | L 58–68 | 5–2 (0–2) | 16 – Forbes | 7 – McGee | 4 – Watson | Williams Arena (65) Greenville, NC |
| January 2, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | W 60–56 | 6–2 (1–2) | 20 – Forbes | 7 – Cross | 2 – Watson | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| January 9, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 11 Houston | L 50–71 | 6–3 (1–3) | 13 – Walker | 6 – Pope | 3 – Watson | Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX |
| January 16, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Temple Previously scheduled for Jan. 6 | L 57–65 | 6–4 (1–4) | 14 – Forbes | 5 – Tied | 4 – James | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| January 20, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SMU | 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 | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| January 23, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulsa | 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 28, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | Houston | L 60–83 | 6–5 (1–5) | 16 – Walker | 9 – Cross | 4 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| January 31, 2020 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple | W 81–64 | 7–5 (2–5) | 23 – Forbes | 13 – Pope | 8 – Walker | Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA |
| February 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | L 67–75 | 7–6 (2–6) | 23 – Walker | 8 – Pope | 4 – Walker | Charles Koch Arena Wichita, KS |
| February 7, 2020 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | Cincinnati | L 61–64 | 7–7 (2–7) | 15 – Forbes | 9 – Pope | 4 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| February 10, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulsa | W 58–48 | 8–7 (3–7) | 20 – Forbes | 7 – Pope | 7 – Walker | Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK |
| February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UCF Previously scheduled for Dec. 30 | L 49–53 | 8–8 (3–8) | 14 – Tied | 8 – Forbes | 5 – Walker | Addition Financial Arena (1,420) Orlando, FL |
| February 14, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at South Florida Previously scheduled for Feb. 13 | W 62–59 | 9–8 (4–8) | 19 – Forbes | 5 – Tied | 4 – Walker | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| February 17, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at SMU | Postponed due to severe weather | Postponed due to severe weather | Postponed due to severe weather | Postponed due to severe weather | Postponed due to severe weather | Moody Coliseum University Park, TX |
| February 20, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UCF | L 81–84 | 9–9 (4–9) | 30 – Forbes | 8 – Cross | 10 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| February 24, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Memphis | L 46–61 | 9–10 (4–10) | 18 – Walker | 10 – Forbes | 3 – Walker | FedEx Forum (2,253) Memphis, TN |
| February 26, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati Previously scheduled for Jan. 16 | L 71–91 | 9–11 (4–11) | 37 – Forbes | 4 – James | 3 – Watson | Fifth Third Arena (1,135) Cincinnati, OH |
| March 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wichita State | L 70–78 | 9–12 (4–12) | 17 – Walker | 9 – McGee | 4 – Walker | Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA |
| March 6, 2020 11:00 a.m., ESPNU | | South Florida | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| AAC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | (10) | vs. (7) Tulsa First Round | W 77–70 | 10–12 | 24 – Walker | 7 – Tied | 7 – Walker | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 12, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (10) | vs. (2) No. 7 Houston Quarterfinals | L 52–77 | 10–13 | 11 – Cross | 5 – McGee | 4 – Cross | 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 Third Team

* Jaylen Forbes
Source