# 2020–21 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 La Salle Explorers basketball team represented La Salle University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Explorers, led by third-year head coach Ashley Howard, played their home games at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 9–16, 6–11 in A-10 Play to finish in 12th place. They lost in the first round of the A-10 tournament to Saint Joseph's.

## Previous season

The Explorers finished the 2019–20 season 15–15, 6–12 in A-10 play to finish in tenth place. Their season ended when the A-10 tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ayinde Hakim | 0 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Sophomore | Washington, D.C. | Midseason transfer to UMass Lowell |
| Isaiah Deas | 10 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduated |
| Ed Croswell | 11 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Sophomore | Philadelphia, PA | Transferred to Providence |
| Saul Phiri | 13 | G | 6'4" | 215 | Senior | Haverhill, MA | Graduated |
| Brandon Stone | 23 | F | 6'11" | 200 | Sophomore | Alverton, PA | Midseason transfer to Robert Morris |
| Moustapha Diagne | 35 | F | 6'9" | 230 | RS Senior | Rufisque, Senegal | Graduated |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Anwar Gill SG | Washington, DC | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Oct 5, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 69 ||||||
| Jhamir Brickus PG | Coatesville, PA | Coatesville Area High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Mar 18, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Tegray Izay C | Montreal, Canada | Archbishop Carroll High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Mar 21, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Derrius Ward SG | Philadelphia, PA | St. Thomas More School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 5, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 26, 2020* 2:00 p.m., FS1 | | at St. John's Joe Lapchick Tournament | L 65–82 | 0–1 | Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY |
| November 27, 2020* 4:00 p.m. | | vs. Saint Peter's Joe Lapchick Tournament | L 51–62 | 0–2 | Carnessecca Arena Queens, NY |
| December 6, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Army | L 59–63 | 0–3 | Christl Arena West Point, NY |
| December 8, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lincoln (PA.) | W 80–62 | 1–3 | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| December 12, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | at Drexel | W 58–48 | 2–3 | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, PA |
| December 16, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UMass | L 66–85 | 2–4 (0–1) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| December 19, 2020* 4:30 p.m. | | Delaware | W 71–61 | 3–4 | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| December 22, 2020* 7:00 p.m. | | at Maryland | L 71–84 | 3–5 | Xfinity Center College Park, MD |
| December 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Dayton | W 67–65 | 4–5 (1–1) | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| January 2, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | Fordham | W 89–52 | 5–5 (2–1) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| January 6, 2021 5:00 p.m. | | No. 23 Saint Louis | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| January 9, 2021 7:00 pm, NBCSN | | at UMass | L 67–83 | 5–6 (2–2) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| January 13, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | George Mason | L 42–75 | 5–7 (2–3) | EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Davidson | L 53–77 | 5–8 (2–4) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| January 18, 2021 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | Saint Joseph's | W 90–83 | 6–8 (3–4) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| January 23, 2021 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Richmond | W 84–78 | 7–8 (4–4) | Robins Center Richmond, VA |
| January 27, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Rhode Island | L 60–73 | 7–9 (4–5) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| January 30, 2021 1:00 pm, NBCSN | | at VCU | L 62–73 | 7–10 (4–6) | Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| February 3, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | W 82–75 | 8–10 (5–6) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| February 6, 2021 12:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Fordham | L 68–76 | 8–11 (5–7) | Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY |
| February 10, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at St. Bonaventure | L 73–86 | 8–12 (5–8) | Reilly Center Olean, NY |
| February 13, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | George Washington | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| February 16, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis | L 57–78 | 8–13 (5–9) | Chaifetz Arena St. Louis, MO |
| February 20, 2021 12:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Saint Joseph's | L 82–91 $^{OT}$ | 8–14 (5–10) | Hagan Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| February 24, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Duquesne | W 85–65 | 9–14 (6–10) | Tom Gola Arena (26) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 27, 2021 4:30 pm, NBCSN | | at George Mason | L 54–89 | 9–15 (6–11) | EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA |
| Atlantic 10 tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN+ | (12) | vs. (13) Saint Joseph's First round | L 66–72 | 9–16 | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
Source