# 2020–21 Valparaiso University men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Valparaiso University men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Valpo, led by fifth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 10–18, 7–11 in MVC play to finish a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Missouri State in the quarterfinals.
In February 2021, the school officially retired the use of the Crusaders name and mascot due to its use by certain hate groups.

## Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2019–20 season 19–16, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville, Loyola–Chicago, and Missouri State to advance to the championship game where they lost to Bradley. All further postseason play was canceled shortly thereafter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Javon Freeman-Liberty | 0 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Transferred to DePaul |
| John Kiser | 33 | G/F | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Noblesville, IN | Graduated |
| Ryan Fazekas | 35 | G/F | 6'7" | 220 | RS Senior | Chesterton, IN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Goodnews Kpegeol | 0 | G | 6'5" | 200 | RS Sophomore | St. Paul, MN | Transferred from Southwest Mississippi CC. |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Sheldon Edwards #13 SG | West Palm Beach, FL | Palm Beach Lakes / TLAP Sports Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jacob Ognacevic #34 PF | Sheboygan, Wisconsin | Sheboygan Area Lutheran | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Connor Barrett #35 SG | Chicago, Illinois | Loyola Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| 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: ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 27, 2020* 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 71–77 | 0–1 | Memorial Gymnasium (0) Nashville, TN |
| December 1, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UIC | L 50–66 | 0–2 | Credit Union 1 Arena (0) Chicago, IL |
| December 4, 2020* 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Purdue | L 61–68 | 0–3 | Mackey Arena (0) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 6, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Judson | W 85–45 | 1–3 | Athletics–Recreation Center (66) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 9, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | SIU Edwardsville | W 80–58 | 2–3 | Athletics–Recreation Center (60) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 12, 2020* 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | L 79–84 | 2–4 | McGuirk Arena (0) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 16, 2020 6:00 pm | | Eastern Michigan Canceled due to lack of available scholarship players for Eastern Michigan | | | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| December 17, 2020* 5:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Purdue Northwest | W 89–71 | 3–4 | Athletics–Recreation Center (74) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 19, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 57–71 | 3–5 | Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH |
| December 21, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Mount St. Joseph Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | | | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| January 9, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | L 68–81 | 3–6 (0–1) | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| January 10, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | L 68–78 | 3–7 (0–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (80) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 16, 2021* 3:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | L 58–77 | 3–8 | Wintrust Arena Chicago, IL |
| January 20, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 39–75 | 3–9 (0–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| January 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Illinois State | W 69–60 | 4–9 (1–3) | Redbird Arena Normal, IL |
| January 24, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Illinois State | W 70–66 | 5–9 (2–3) | Redbird Arena Normal, IL |
| January 28, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bradley | W 91–85 $^{2OT}$ | 6–9 (3–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (77) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 31, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 52–70 | 6–10 (3–4) | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| February 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 51–58 | 6–11 (3–5) | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| February 6, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | No. 25 Drake | L 77–80 | 6–12 (3–6) | Athletics–Recreation Center (123) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 7, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 25 Drake | W 74–57 | 7–12 (4–6) | Athletics–Recreation Center (119) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 10, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bradley | L 52–76 | 7–13 (4–7) | Athletics–Recreation Center (88) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | W 70–57 | 8–13 (5–7) | McLeod Center (713) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 14, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 60–74 | 8–14 (5–8) | McLeod Center (953) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 22 Loyola–Chicago | L 52–54 | 8–15 (5–9) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 66–65 | 9–15 (6–9) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| February 21, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 64–67 | 9–16 (6–10) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| February 26, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Indiana State | L 43–58 | 9–17 (6–11) | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| February 27, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 70–58 | 10–17 (7–11) | Athletics–Recreation Center (128) Valparaiso, IN |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Missouri State Quarterfinals | L 55–66 | 10–18 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source