# 2020–21 UCF Knights men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights were members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 52nd season of basketball, are led by fifth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the Addition Financial Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida. They finished the season 11–12, 8–10 in AAC Play to finish in 6th place. They defeated East Carolina in the first round of the AAC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Memphis.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2019–20 season 16–14 overall and 7–11 in AAC play to finish in eighth place. They entered as the No. 8 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 |
| Yuat Alok | 0 | F | 6'11" | 225 | Junior | Auckland, New Zealand | Transferred to Southern Utah (mid-season) |
| Matt Milon | 2 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Graduate Student | Oviedo, FL | Completed college eligibility |
| Ceasar DeJesus | 4 | G | 6'2" | 190 | RS Junior | Jersey City, NJ | Play professionally |
| Dazon Ingram | 12 | G | 6'6" | 205 | Graduate Student | Theodore, AL | Completed college eligibility |
| Frank Bertz | 20 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Senior | Hesperia, CA | Graduated |
| Collin Smith | 35 | F | 6'11" | 240 | Redshirt Junior | Jacksonville, FL | Left the team due to health issues |
* 1 2 Milon and Ingram were both graduate transfers in the 2019–20 season, with Milon having graduated from William & Mary and Ingram from Alabama.

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Darius Perry | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Marietta, GA | Transferred from Louisville after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| C. J. Walker | F | 6'8" | 205 | Sophomore | Sanford, FA | Transferred from Oregon. Walker 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 |
| Jamille Reynolds PF | Saint Petersburg, FL | Lakewood Senior High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Isaiah Adams SF | Jacksonville, FL | Paxon School for Advanced Studies | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 2, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| 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 April 16, 2020. ||||||

## 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

UCF will start a series with Michigan beginning this season in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

### COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Knights' 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. Oklahoma scheduled for November 28 was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.
* The game @ Tulsa rescheduled for March 2 was moved to Orlando.
* The game vs. Tulsa originally scheduled for February 6 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 30, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Auburn | W 63–55 | 1–0 | 13 – Fuller Jr. | 8 – Walker | 5 – Fuller Jr. | Addition Financial Arena (1,944) Orlando, FL |
| December 6, 2020* 4:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan | L 58–80 | 1–1 | 21 – Mahan | 5 – Mahan | 3 – Fuller Jr. | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 19, 2020* 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 15 Florida State | W 86–74 | 2–1 | 32 – Mahan | 8 – Adams | 4 – Fuller Jr. | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,576) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 22, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cincinnati | W 75–70 | 3–1 (1–0) | 25 – Mahan | 10 – Mahan | 3 – Fuller Jr. | Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL |
| December 26, 2020 1:00 p.m., ABC | | No. 6 Houston Previously scheduled for Dec. 15 | L 54–63 | 3–2 (1–1) | 13 – Tied | 10 – Fuller Jr. | 2 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (1,476) Orlando, FL |
| January 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Florida War on I-4 | L 61–68 | 3–3 (1–2) | 23 – Perry | 8 – Fuller Jr. | 6 – Perry | Yuengling Center (1,016) Tampa, FL |
| January 14, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple | L 55–62 | 3–4 (1–3) | 17 – Green Jr. | 10 – Fuller Jr. | 7 – Mahan | Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA |
| January 17, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 11 Houston | L 58–75 | 3–5 (1–4) | 14 – Reynolds | 10 – Adams | 2 – Tied | Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX |
| January 23, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | SMU | L 65–78 | 3–6 (1–5) | 14 – Perry | 5 – Tied | 7 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (1,394) Orlando, FL |
| January 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | W 71–64 | 4–6 (2–5) | 18 – Green Jr. | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (1,407) Orlando, FL |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Wichita State | L 88–93 $^{OT}$ | 4–7 (2–6) | 17 – Tied | 8 – Reynolds | 4 – Adams | Charles Koch Arena (2,100) Wichita, KS |
| February 1, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Memphis Previously scheduled for Jan. 5 | L 69–96 | 4–8 (2–7) | 15 – Mahan | 6 – Mahan | 4 – Perry | FedEx Forum (2,106) Memphis, TN |
| February 3, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Memphis | L 61–75 | 4–9 (2–8) | 18 – Perry | 7 – Tied | 5 – Mahan | FedEx Forum (2,284) Memphis, TN |
| February 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Tulsa | W 65–58 | 5–9 (3–8) | 18 – Perry | 4 – Fuller Jr. | 3 – Mobley | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| February 10, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wichita State | L 60–61 | 5–10 (3–9) | 27 – Perry | 6 – Fuller Jr. | 2 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (1,385) Orlando, FL |
| February 12, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tulane Previously scheduled for Dec. 30 | L 49–53 | 6–10 (4–9) | 18 – Green Jr. | 8 – Adams | 5 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (1,420) Orlando, FL |
| February 14, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Cincinnati | L 68–69 | 6–11 (4–10) | 21 – Mahan | 10 – Walker | 4 – Perry | Fifth Third Arena (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | South Florida War on I-4 | W 81–65 | 7–11 (5–10) | 18 – Walker | 9 – Walker | 4 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (1,764) Orlando, FL |
| February 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Tulane | W 84–81 | 8–11 (6–10) | 26 – Adams | 6 – Walker | 7 – Perry | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| February 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at 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 | Moody Coliseum University Park, TX |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Temple | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL |
| March 2, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tulsa Previously scheduled for Jan. 9 | W 73–69 | 9–11 (7–10) | 19 – Adams | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (1,309) Orlando, FL |
| March 4, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at East Carolina | W 64–60 | 10–11 (8–10) | 15 – Adams | 11 – Perry | 5 – Perry | Williams Arena (424) Greenville, NC |
| American Athletic Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (6) | vs. (11) East Carolina First Round | W 72–62 | 11–11 | 15 – Perry | 7 – Fuller Jr. | 4 – Fuller Jr. | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 12, 2021 10:00 p.m., ESPNU | (6) | vs. (3) Memphis Quarterfinals | L 62–70 | 11–12 | 15 – Perry | 11 – Fuller Jr. | 5 – Perry | Dickies Arena (826) Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Awards and honors
### American Athletic Conference honors
#### All-AAC Third Team

* Brandon Mahan
* Darius Perry

#### All-AAC Freshman Team

* Isaiah Adams
Source