# 2020–21 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ragin' Cajuns, led by eleventh-year head coach Bob Marlin, played their home games at the Cajundome as members of the Sun Belt Conference. With the creation of divisions to cut down on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they played in the West Division.

## Previous season

The Ragin' Cajuns finished the 2019–20 season 14–19, 8–12 in Sun Belt play to finish eighth in the conference. The Cajuns proceeded to the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. They ultimately lost to the Georgia Southern Eagles in heartbreaking fashion by the score of 81–82 in the second round. Shortly after their elimination, all sporting events as well as the finale of the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jalen Johnson | 1 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Transfer to Mississippi State |
| Javonne Lowery | 5 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Freshman | Pearland, Texas | Released/Quit |
| Tirus Smith | 11 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Junior | Richton, Mississippi | Released/Quit |
| P. J. Hardy | 15 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Senior | Lake Charles, Louisiana | Graduated |
| Calvin Temple | 22 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Freshman | Memphis, Tennessee | Released/Quit |
| Mason Aucoin | 31 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Luling, Louisiana | Graduated |
| Kristian Lafayette | 35 | F | 6'10" | 200 | Sophomore | Detroit, Michigan | Released/Quit |
| Jaylon Williams | 55 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Freshman | Franklin, Louisiana | Released/Quit |

### Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Old School |
| Devin Butts | 1 | G | 6'6" | 180 | Sophomore | Macon, Georgia | Mississippi State |
| Jacobi Gordon | 5 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Houston, Texas | California |
| Brayan Au | 41 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Nuevo Casas Grande, Mexico | Ranger College |
| Theo Akwuba | - | F | 6'11" | 225 | Junior | Montgomery, Alabama | Portland |

### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Michael Thomas Guard | Lake Charles, LA | Hamilton Christian | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Nov 18, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kentrell Garnett Forward | Donaldsonville, LA | Catholic HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Isaiah Richards Forward | Brooklyn, NY | South Shore HS Commonwealth Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | May 15, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 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: "Louisiana 2020-21 Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020. "2020-21 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference Regular season |||||||||
| 11/28/2020* 7:00 p.m., FloHoops | | No. 2 Baylor Men's Vegas Bubble | L 82–112 | 0–1 | 26 – Russell | 8 – Akwuba | 3 – Gueye | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| 12/02/2020* 7:00 p.m. | | at New Orleans | W 66–63 | 1–1 | 21 – Wilson | 15 – Akwuba | 6 – Au | Lakefront Arena (500) New Orleans, LA |
| 12/05/2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | LSU–Shreveport | W 84–73 | 2–1 | 17 – Tied | 11 – Tied | 7 – Wilson | Cajundome (272) Lafayette, LA |
| 12/08/2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | LSU–Alexandria | W 90–75 | 3–1 | 19 – Russell | 17 – Gueye | 6 – Wilson | Cajundome (349) Lafayette, LA |
| 12/12/2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | W 61–56 | 4–1 | 25 – Russell | 10 – Akwuba | 2 – Butts | Cajundome (1,459) Lafayette, LA |
| 12/15/2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Orleans | W 73–63 | 5–1 | 20 – Russell | 14 – Akwuba | 7 – Au | Cajundome (366) Lafayette, LA |
| 12/18/2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VCU | Cancelled due to NCAA scheduling limitations. | Cancelled due to NCAA scheduling limitations. | Cancelled due to NCAA scheduling limitations. | Cancelled due to NCAA scheduling limitations. | Cancelled due to NCAA scheduling limitations. | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| 12/19/2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | McNeese State | W 75–65 | 6–1 | 23 – Russell | 13 – Gueye | 7 – Au | Cajundome (314) Lafayette, LA |
| Conference Regular season |||||||||
| 01/01/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas State | W 83–77 $^{OT}$ | 7–1 (1–0) | 22 – Butts | 11 – Wilson | 4 – Au | Cajundome (1,312) Lafayette, LA |
| 01/02/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas State | L 59–71 | 7–2 (1–1) | 14 – Wilson | 9 – Akwuba | 3 – Wilson | Cajundome (416) Lafayette, LA |
| 01/08/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Little Rock | W 66–64 | 8–2 (2–1) | 12 – Tied | 13 – Akwuba | 4 – Au | Cajundome (457) Lafayette, LA |
| 01/09/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Little Rock | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 (2–2) | 17 – Tied | 10 – Akwuba | 3 – 3 tied | Cajundome (405) Lafayette, LA |
| 01/15/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | L 86–91 | 8–4 (2–3) | 17 – Russell | 10 – Akwuba | 6 – Au | College Park Center (624) Arlington, TX |
| 01/16/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | W 68–51 | 9–4 (3–3) | 25 – Wilson | 16 – Wilson | 3 – 3 tied | College Park Center (624) Arlington, TX |
| 01/22/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 81–68 | 10–4 (4–3) | 26 – Russell | 10 – Akwuba | 4 – Au | Cajundome (669) Lafayette, LA |
| 01/23/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 77–74 | 11–4 (5–3) | 14 – Tied | 9 – Akwuba | 6 – Au | Cajundome (464) Lafayette, LA |
| 01/29/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas State | W 62–60 | 12–4 (6–3) | 21 – Russell | 10 – Gueye | 2 – 3 tied | Strahan Arena (853) San Marcos, TX |
| 01/30/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas State | W 74–73 | 13–4 (7–3) | 24 – Russell | 5 – Au | 6 – Au | Strahan Arena (935) San Marcos, TX |
| 02/05/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | L 87–95 | 13–5 (7–4) | 23 – Gueye | 14 – Gueye | 4 – Au | First National Bank Arena (605) Jonesboro, AR |
| 02/06/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | L 77–83 | 13–6 (7–5) | 30 – Russell | 8 – Gueye | 2 – Butts | First National Bank Arena (734) Jonesboro, AR |
| 02/11/2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe | L 66–72 | 13–7 (7–6) | 13 – Russell | 12 – Akwuba | 3 – Wilson | Cajundome (452) Lafayette, LA |
| 02/13/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 88–72 | 14–7 (8–6) | 20 – Wilson | 7 – Akwuba | 7 – Wilson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,750) Monroe, LA |
| 02/19/2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | Cancelled due to weather concerns. | Cancelled due to weather concerns. | Cancelled due to weather concerns. | Cancelled due to weather concerns. | Cancelled due to weather concerns. | Cajundome Lafayette, LA |
| 02/22/2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | W 76–74 | 15–7 (9–6) | 26 – Russell | 8 – Wilson | 5 – Wilson | Cajundome (389) Lafayette, LA |
| 02/26/2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Little Rock | W 66–61 | 16–7 (10–6) | 13 – Akwuba | 9 – Gueye | 4 – Gueye | Jack Stephens Center (410) Little Rock, AR |
| 02/27/2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Little Rock | L 59–69 | 16–8 (10–7) | 13 – Russell | 16 – Akwuba | 4 – Wilson | Jack Stephens Center Little Rock, AR |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| 03/06/2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | (W2) | vs. (E3) South Alabama Quarterfinals | W 79–68 | 17–8 | 19 – Akwuba | 14 – Akwuba | 6 – Wilson | Hartsell Arena Pensacola, FL |
| 03/07/2021 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | (W2) | vs. (E1) Georgia State Semifinals | L 73–84 | 17–9 | 20 – Russell | 9 – Gueye | 6 – Wilson | Pensacola Bay Center Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||