# 2020–21 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team represented Winthrop University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 9th-year head coach Pat Kelsey, played their home games at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 23–2, 17–1 in Big South Play to finish as regular season champions. They defeated High Point, Longwood, and Campbell to be champions of the Big South tournament. They received the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Villanova.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2019–20 season 24–10, 15–3 in Big South play to finish as Big South regular season co-champions, alongside Radford. Due to tiebreakers, they received the #2 seed in the Big South tournament. They defeated the #7 seed USC Upstate in the quarterfinals, 106–70. In the semifinals, they defeated the #3 seed Gardner–Webb, 78–66, to clinch their spot in the Big South tournament championship game. There, they matched up against the #5 seed Hampton, winning 76–68, earning the Big South's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 29, 2020* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. UNC Greensboro Wade Houston Tipoff Classic | Postponed | Postponed | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| December 1, 2020* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. UNC Greensboro Wade Houston Tipoff Classic | W 75–67 | 1–0 | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| December 7, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Little Rock Wade Houston Tipoff Classic | W 80–75 | 2–0 | KFC Yum! Center (110) Louisville, KY |
| December 4, 2020* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | vs. Duquesne Wade Houston Tipoff Classic | Canceled | Canceled | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| December 12, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at USC Upstate | W 95–77 | 3–0 (1–0) | G. B. Hodge Center (140) Spartanburg, SC |
| December 13, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at USC Upstate | W 107–77 | 4–0 (2–0) | G. B. Hodge Center (140) Spartanburg, SC |
| December 19, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Furman | W 87–71 | 5–0 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| December 30, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 84–83 | 6–0 (3–0) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| December 31, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 94–76 | 7–0 (4–0) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 4, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | W 85–69 | 8–0 (5–0) | Buccaneer Field House (36) North Charleston, SC |
| January 5, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | W 78–76 | 9–0 (6–0) | Buccaneer Field House (24) North Charleston, SC |
| January 9, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Gardner–Webb | W 75–65 | 10–0 (7–0) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 10, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Gardner–Webb | W 91–83 | 11–0 (8–0) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 14, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Longwood | W 72–61 | 12–0 (9–0) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 15, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Longwood | W 70–50 | 13–0 (10–0) | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 19, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Presbyterian | W 72–58 | 14–0 (11–0) | Templeton Physical Education Center (20) Clinton, SC |
| January 20, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | W 78–66 | 15–0 (12–0) | Templeton Physical Education Center (15) Clinton, SC |
| January 24, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hampton | Postponed | Postponed | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 25, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hampton | Postponed | Postponed | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| January 28, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | UNC Asheville | W 84–80 | 16–0 (13–0) | Winthrop Coliseum (41) Rock Hill, SC |
| January 29, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Asheville | L 55–57 | 16–1 (13–1) | Winthrop Coliseum (43) Rock Hill, SC |
| February 11, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Radford | W 80–64 | 17–1 (14–1) | Dedmon Center (250) Radford, VA |
| February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Radford | W 55–47 | 18–1 (15–1) | Dedmon Center (250) Radford, VA |
| February 18, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at High Point | W 76–70 | 19–1 (16–1) | Millis Center High Point, NC |
| February 19, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at High Point | W 71–63 | 20–1 (17–1) | Millis Center High Point, NC |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| March 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (8) High Point Quarterfinals | W 83–54 | 21–1 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| March 4, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | (5) Longwood Semifinals | W 82–61 | 22–1 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| March 7, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN | (1) | (3) Campbell Championship | W 80–53 | 23–1 | Winthrop Coliseum Rock Hill, SC |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 19, 2021* 9:57 pm, TNT | (12 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 18 Villanova First Round | L 63–73 | 23–2 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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