# 2020–21 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team represented Clemson University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by eleventh-year head coach Brad Brownell and played their home games at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Tigers finished the season 16–8, and 10–6 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the fifth seed in the ACC tournament they earned a bye into the Second Round where they lost to Miami. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a seven seed in the Midwest Region. They lost in the first round to 10 seed Rutgers.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2019–20 season 16–15, 9–11 in ACC play to finish in eighth place. The team was scheduled to play Florida State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament and NIT were also cancelled due to the pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Curran Scott | 10 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Edmond, OK | Graduated |
| Tevin Mack | 13 | G/F | 6'6" | 227 | Senior | Columbia, SC | Graduated |
| Khavon Moore | 21 | G/F | 6'8" | 217 | Sophomore | Macon, GA | Transferred to USC Upstate |
| Paul Grinde | 30 | F | 6'10" | 300 | Senior | Virginia Beach, VA | Graduated |
| Trey Jemison | 55 | C | 7'0" | 256 | Sophomore | Birmingham, AL | Transferred to UAB |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Olivier-Maxence Prosper G/F | Montreal, Canada | NBA Academy Latin America | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | Oct 24, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| PJ Hall F | Spartanburg, SC | Dorman High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Oct 23, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Lynn Kidd C | Gainesville, FL | IMG Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jul 29, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| 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 Clemson Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020. "Clemson Tigers". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Mississippi State Space Coast Challenge | W 53–42 | 1–0 | 10 – Tied | 8 – Tyson | 4 – Trapp | Titan Field House (0) Melbourne, FL |
| November 26, 2020* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Purdue Space Coast Challenge | W 81–70 | 2–0 | 24 – Simms | 5 – Dawes | 4 – Simms | Titan Field House (0) Melbourne, FL |
| December 2, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | South Carolina State | W 75–38 | 3–0 | 13 – Tyson | 6 – Tyson | 4 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,345) Clemson, SC |
| December 9, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Maryland ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 67–51 | 4–0 | 16 – Simms | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| December 12, 2020* 8:30 p.m., ACCNX | | vs. Alabama Holiday Hoopsgiving | W 64–56 | 5–0 | 10 – Dawes | 8 – Baehre | 3 – Tied | State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA |
| December 15, 2020 6:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 24 | at Virginia Tech | L 60–66 | 5–1 (0–1) | 18 – Dawes | 4 – Dawes | 4 – Honor | Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA |
| December 19, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 24 | at South Carolina Rivalry | 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 | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC |
| December 21, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | Morehead State | W 66–51 | 6–1 | 14 – Honor | 10 – Simms | 3 – Dawes | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,508) Clemson, SC |
| December 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | No. 18 Florida State | W 77–67 | 7–1 (1–1) | 15 – Trapp | 11 – Simms | 4 – Newman III | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Miami (FL) | W 66–65 | 8–1 (2–1) | 25 – Simms | 7 – Simms | 5 – Tied | Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL |
| January 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 19 | NC State | W 74–70 $^{OT}$ | 9–1 (3–1) | 21 – Honor | 7 – Tied | 4 – Simms | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 19 | at North Carolina | 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 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 16, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 12 | No. 18 Virginia | L 50–85 | 9–2 (3–2) | 8 – Hall | 5 – Tied | 2 – Honor | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 20 | at Georgia Tech | L 65–83 | 9–3 (3–3) | 19 – Simms | 7 – Trapp | 4 – Baehre | McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA |
| January 23, 2021 3:00 p.m., ABC | No. 20 | at Florida State | L 61–80 | 9–4 (3–4) | 12 – Newman III | 5 – Tied | 3 – Honor | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 27, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Boston College | 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 | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| January 27, 2021 9:00 p.m., RSN | | No. 25 Louisville | W 54–50 | 10–4 (4–4) | 16 – Simms | 9 – Simms | 4 – Simms | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 30, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Duke | L 53–79 | 10–5 (4–5) | 19 – Simms | 9 – Prosper | 4 – Simms | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| February 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | North Carolina | W 63–50 | 11–5 (5–5) | 16 – Tyson | 9 – Trapp | 6 – Simms | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| February 6, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | Syracuse | W 78–61 | 12–5 (6–5) | 18 – Simms | 11 – Simms | 11 – Trapp | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| February 12, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Georgia Tech | W 74–72 | 13–5 (7–5) | 25 – Simms | 8 – Trapp | 3 – 3 tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Notre Dame | 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 | Edmund P. Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN |
| February 21, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | 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 | Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 24, 2021 4:30 p.m., ACCN | | at Wake Forest | W 60–39 | 14–5 (8–5) | 17 – Hemenway | 10 – Tied | 6 – Honor | LJVM Coliseum (70) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 27, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Miami (FL) | W 66–58 | 15–5 (9–5) | 19 – Tied | 6 – Tied | 4 – Trapp | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| March 3, 2021 5:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | L 54–64 | 15–6 (9–6) | 11 – Tied | 8 – Simms | 5 – Trapp | Carrier Dome (0) Syracuse, NY |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Pittsburgh | W 77–62 | 16–6 (10–6) | 21 – Dawes | 6 – Trapp | 5 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2021 2:30 p.m., ACCN | (5) | vs. (13) Miami Second round | L 64–67 | 16–7 | 17 – Simms | 8 – Simms | 4 – Simms | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2021 9:20 pm, TBS | (7 MW) | vs. (10 MW) Rutgers First Round | L 56–60 | 16–8 | 15 – Simms | 11 – Simms | 3 – Tied | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | RV | RV | 24 | RV | RV | 19т | 12 | 20 | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —^ | RV | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 12 | 22 | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.