# 2020–21 UMass Minutemen basketball team

The 2020–21 UMass Minutemen basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Minutemen were led by fourth-year head coach Matt McCall and played their home games at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, Massachusetts as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 8–7, 6–4 in A-10 Play to finish in 5th place. They defeated Saint Joseph’s in the second round of the A-10 tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Saint Louis.

## Previous season

The Minutemen finished the 2019–20 season 14–17, 8–10 in A-10 play to finish in eighth place. Their season ended when the A-10 tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| John Buggs | 0 | G | 6' 2“ | 185 | Freshman | Homer, LA | Entered transfer portal; missed final 27 games of previous season due to torn ACL. |
| Sy Chatman | 1 | F | 6' 8“ | 200 | Sophomore | Saint Paul, MN | Transferred to Illinois State |
| C.J. Jackson | 3 | G/F | 6'6" | 185 | Freshman | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Florida SouthWestern State College |
| Keon Clergeot | 4 | G | 6'1“ | 185 | Junior | Winter Haven, FL | Transferred to Southeastern Louisiana |
| Samba Diallo | 5 | F | 6'7“ | 195 | Sophomore | Rufisque, Senegal | Transferred to Manhattan |
| Sean East II | 10 | G | 6'3“ | 185 | Freshman | Louisville, KY | Transferred to Bradley |
| Djery Baptiste | 11 | C | 6' 10“ | 245 | RS Senior | Gonaives, Haiti | Graduated |
| Davonté Higginbottom | 20 | G | 6'1“ | 175 | Senior | Mattapan, MA | Graduated |
| Randall West | 31 | F | 6'4" | 220 | Senior | Moorestown, NJ | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Mark Gasperini | 10 | C | 6'10" | 255 | Graduate Student | Moscow, Russia | Graduate transfer from American |
| Noah Fernandes | 11 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Sophomore | Mattapoisett, MA | Transferred from Wichita State. NCAA transfer rules mandate that he sit out 2020-21, but he was granted a legislative relief waiver and was therefore immediately eligible for the 2020-21 season. |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dyondre Dominguez #4 F | Providence, RI | Woodstock Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Feb 29, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ronnie DeGray III #13 F | Parker, CO | Woodstock Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Apr 6, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Javohn Garcia #1 G | Pickerington, OH | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Cairo McCrory #5 G | Hartford, CT | Woodstock Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 2, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Ryan Marcus #20 G | Wakefield, MA | Wakefield Memorial | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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 December 12, 2020. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| December 11, 2020* 1:30 pm, NESN | | Northeastern | W 94–79 | 1–0 | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| December 13, 2020* 12:00 pm, NESN | | at Northeastern | L 75–78 | 1–1 | Cabot Center Boston, MA |
| December 21, 2020* 4:00 pm, NESN | | Bryant | L 88–93 | 1–2 | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| A-10 regular season ||||||
| December 16, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at La Salle | W 85–66 | 2–2 (1–0) | Tom Gola Arena Philadelphia, PA |
| December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | George Mason | L 92–93 $^{2OT}$ | 2–3 (1–1) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| January 6, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at George Washington Postponed due to the 2021 United States Capitol attack | | | Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, NBCSN | | La Salle | W 80–78 | 3–3 (2–1) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| January 13, 2021 1:00 pm | | Rhode Island | W 80–77 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 (3–1) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| January 17, 2021 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Fordham | W 65–46 | 5–3 (4–1) | Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY |
| January 20, 2021 | | Saint Louis Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | | | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| January 24, 2021 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Davidson | L 60–69 | 5–4 (4–2) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at George Mason Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | | | EagleBank Arena Fairfax, VA |
| February 3, 2021 6:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+ | | Fordham | W 60–54 | 6–4 (5–2) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| February 6, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Rhode Island | W 75–63 | 7–4 (6–2) | Ryan Center Kingston, RI |
| February 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Dayton Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | | | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| February 12, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at VCU Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | | | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| February 14, 2021 2:00 pm, NBCSN | | St. Bonaventure Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | | | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| February 20, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Duquesne Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | | | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 23, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Richmond | L 65–79 | 7–5 (6–3) | Robins Center Richmond, VA |
| March 1, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Saint Louis | L 54–78 | 7–6 (6–4) | Chaifetz Arena St. Louis, MO |
| A-10 tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2021 1:00 pm, NBCSN | (5) | vs. (13) Saint Joseph's Second round | W 100–66 | 8–6 | Robins Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| March 5, 2021 1:00 pm, NBCSN | (5) | vs. (4) Saint Louis Quarterfinals | L 72–86 | 8–7 | Robins Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source