# 2020–21 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by first-year head coach Steve Smiley, played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 11-11, 6-8 in Big Sky Play to finish a tie for 7th place. They defeated Sacramento State in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to Southern Utah.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2019–20 season 22–9, 15–5 Big Sky play to finish in second place. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all postseason tournaments were canceled including the Big Sky tournament.
On March 17, 2020, head coach Jeff Linder was named the head coach at Wyoming. A few days later, the school promoted assistant coach Steve Smiley as the school's new head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 27, 2020* | | vs. Southeast Missouri State Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Tipoff Classic Semifinal | Canceled | Canceled | Mabee Fieldhouse Kansas City, MO |
| November 28, 2020* | | vs. Kansas City / Avila Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Tipoff Classic Final | Canceled | Canceled | Mabee Fieldhouse Kansas City, MO |
| December 5, 2020* | | at Arizona | Canceled | Canceled | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| December 9, 2020* 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Colorado Christian | W 87–62 | 1–0 | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| December 11, 2020* 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Regis | W 83–58 | 2–0 | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| December 14, 2020* 7:00 pm, P12N | | at Colorado | L 45–81 | 2–1 | CU Events Center (26) Boulder, CO |
| December 16, 2020* 6:00 pm | | at Denver | W 83–75 | 3–1 | Hamilton Gymnasium Denver, CO |
| December 18, 2020* 7:00 pm | | at Utah State | L 50–63 | 3–2 | Smith Spectrum (1,376) Logan, UT |
| December 22, 2020 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Idaho State | W 69–64 | 4–2 (1–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| December 23, 2020 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Idaho State | L 56–71 | 4–3 (1–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Montana | W 64–62 | 5–3 (2–1) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 4, 2021 9:00 am, Pluto TV | | at Montana | L 54–56 | 5–4 (2–2) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 7, 2021 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Montana State | L 67–79 | 5–5 (2–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 9, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Montana State | L 74–76 | 5–6 (2–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 14, 2021 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Idaho | W 74–54 | 6–6 (3–4) | Cowan Spectrum Moscow, ID |
| January 16, 2021 1:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Idaho | W 75–61 | 7–6 (4–4) | Cowan Spectrum Moscow, ID |
| January 21, 2021 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Eastern Washington | W 78–76 | 8–6 (5–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 23, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Eastern Washington | L 76–82 | 8–7 (5–5) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 29, 2021 6:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Northern Arizona | L 64–68 | 8–8 (5–6) | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| February 4, 2021 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Southern Utah | Canceled | Canceled | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT |
| February 6, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Southern Utah | Canceled | Canceled | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT |
| February 11, 2021 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Sacramento State | Canceled | Canceled | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Sacramento State | Canceled | Canceled | Hornets Nest Sacramento, CA |
| February 16, 2021* | | at Colorado State | Canceled | Canceled | Moby Arena Fort Collins, CO |
| February 22, 2021* 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Warner Pacific | W 89–60 | 9–8 | Bank of Colorado Arena (100) Greeley, CO |
| February 25, 2021 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Portland State | W 66–64 | 10–8 (6–6) | Bank of Colorado Arena (100) Greeley, CO |
| February 27, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Portland State | L 65–73 | 10–9 (6–7) | Bank of Colorado Arena (125) Greeley, CO |
| March 4, 2021 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Weber State | L 59–60 | 10–10 (6–8) | Dee Events Center (1,093) Ogden, UT |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Weber State | Canceled | Canceled | Dee Events Center Ogden, UT |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2021 9:00 am, Pluto TV | (8) | vs. (9) Sacramento State First Round | W 90–83 | 11–10 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | (8) | vs. (1) Southern Utah Quarterfinals | L 83–91 | 11–11 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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