# 2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the University of California, Riverside in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by first-year head coach Mike Magpayo, played their home games at SRC Arena in Riverside, California as members of the Big West Conference.

## Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 6–9 in Big West play to finish sixth in the Big West Conference standings. Initially set to play UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference tournament, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ending the Highlanders' season.
On July 1, 2020, associate head coach Mike Magpayo was elevated to head coach of the program, replacing David Patrick, who had accepted an associate coach position at Arkansas. Magpayo, who is Filipino–American, thus became the first head coach of Asian descent in Division I men's basketball history.

## Roster

Rather unusually, nine out of the fourteen players on UCR's roster during the 2020–21 season were from either Australia or New Zealand, with four players coming from the city of Melbourne alone, compared to only five who were from the United States.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | at Pacific | L 60–66 | 0–1 | 16 – Chidom | 8 – Cameron | 4 – Pullin | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA |
| November 30, 2020* | | at Fresno State | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Save Mart Center Fresno, CA |
| December 1, 2020* 1:00 p.m., Flohoops | | at Washington Men's Vegas Bubble | W 57–42 | 1–1 | 21 – Perry | 12 – Chidom | 9 – Pullin | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| December 2, 2020* 4:00 p.m. | | Bethesda | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| December 6, 2020* 12:00 p.m. | | at Denver | W 83–63 | 2–1 | 22 – Pullin | 8 – Hayes-Brown | 6 – Pickett | Hamilton Gymnasium Denver, CO |
| December 10, 2020* 5:00 p.m., Pluto TV | | at Northern Arizona | W 74–50 | 3–1 | 17 – Chidom | 7 – Hayes-Brown | 5 – Cameron | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| December 19, 2020* 4:00 p.m. | | Southern | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| December 27, 2020 4:00 p.m. | | Long Beach State | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| December 28, 2020 4:00 p.m. | | Long Beach State | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | Postponed to a later date | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| January 1, 2021 | | at UC Davis | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | The Pavilion Davis, CA |
| January 2, 2021 | | at UC Davis | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | The Pavilion Davis, CA |
| January 8, 2021 4:00 p.m., BigWest.tv | | Hawaii | L 83–88 | 3–2 (0–1) | 20 – Chidom | 10 – Pullin | 3 – Pickett | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., BigWest.tv | | Hawaii | W 70–68 | 4–2 (1–1) | 15 – Chidom | 4 – Tied | 4 – Chidom | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| January 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m., P12N | | at USC | L 62–67 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | 16 – Pickett | 10 – Perry | 4 – Pickett | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| January 15, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | at Cal Poly | W 86–51 | 5–3 (2–1) | 19 – Tattersall | 7 – 3 tied | 6 – Pullin | Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA |
| January 16, 2020 4:00 p.m. | | at Cal Poly | W 70–53 | 6–3 (3–1) | 20 – Pullin | 8 – Tied | 6 – Pickett | Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA |
| January 22, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | Cal State Bakersfield | L 45–47 | 6–4 (3–2) | 13 – Pullin | 9 – Pullin | 3 – Tied | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 70–63 | 7–4 (4–2) | 14 – Tied | 6 – Hayes-Brow | 3 – Tied | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| January 31, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | UC San Diego | W 71–59 | 8–4 (4–2) | 14 – Perry | 9 – Pullin | 6 – Pullin | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| February 5, 2021 5:00 p.m. | | at Cal State Fullerton | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| February 6, 2021 5:00 p.m. | | at Cal State Fullerton | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| February 12, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | UC Irvine | W 86–65 | 9–4 (5–2) | 22 – Pickett | 8 – Chidom | 6 – Pullin | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| February 13, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UC Irvine | L 67–73 | 9–5 (5–3) | 17 – Chidom | 6 – Cameron | 4 – Pullin | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| February 19, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at UC San Diego | W 81–75 | 10–5 (5–3) | 19 – Pickett | 7 – Chidom | 6 – Pullin | RIMAC Arena La Jolla, CA |
| February 20, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at UC San Diego | L 82–83 $^{OT}$ | 10–6 (5–3) | 19 – Chidom | 8 – Cameron | 6 – Pullin | RIMAC Arena La Jolla, CA |
| February 26, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | UC Santa Barbara | L 68–72 | 10–7 (5–4) | 17 – Chidom | 4 – Chidom | 3 – Chidom | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| February 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | UC Santa Barbara | W 68–52 | 11–7 (6–4) | 21 – Pullin | 11 – Hayes-Brown | 5 – Pullin | SRC Arena Riverside, CA |
| March 5, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | at Cal State Northridge | W 72–68 | 12–7 (7–4) | 17 – Pullin | 8 – Perry | 7 – Pullin | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| March 6, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | at Cal State Northridge | W 66–65 | 13–7 (8–4) | 18 – Cameron | 8 – Perry | 5 – Pullin | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| Big West tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (6) Hawaii Quarterfinals | W 62–52 | 14–7 | 14 – Pickett | 7 – Perry | 5 – Pullin | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 12, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) | vs. (2) UC Irvine Semifinals | L 61–78 | 14–8 | 16 – Perry | 10 – Perry | 5 – Pullin | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time Zone. |||||||||
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