# 2020–21 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represented Florida State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Seminoles were led by head coach Leonard Hamilton, in his 19th year, and played their home games at the Donald L. Tucker Center on the university's Tallahassee, Florida campus as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Seminoles entered the year as the defending conference champions and were picked to finish the season third in the league with Scottie Barnes and M. J. Walker receiving pre-season recognition.
The Seminoles finished the season 18–7, and 11–4 in ACC play, to finish in second place. As the second seed in the ACC tournament they earned a bye into the Quarterfinals where they advanced due to COVID-19 issues over Duke, defeated North Carolina in the semifinals, but lost to Georgia Tech in the Finals. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a four seed in the East Region. They defeated 13-seed UNC Greensboro in the first round and 5-seed Colorado in the second round before losing to 1-seed Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen. Scottie Barnes, Balsa Koprivica, and RaiQuan Gray went on to be selected in the 2021 NBA draft.

## Previous season

The Seminoles finished the 2019–20 season with a record of 26–5, 16–4 in ACC play, to finish in first place. The ACC tournament was canceled prior to the team beginning play. The NCAA tournament was subsequently canceled as well due to the coronavirus pandemic. Florida State ended the season ranked in the top five of both polls. On March 14, 2020, the Florida State Senate declared the Florida State Seminoles as the national champions for the 2019–2020 season.
Patrick Williams, Devin Vassell, and Trent Forrest would go on to participate in the 2020 NBA draft.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Trent Forrest | 3 | G | 6'4" | 210 | Graduate Student | Chipley, FL | Graduated |
| Patrick Williams | 4 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Freshman | Charlotte, NC | Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 4th overall by the Chicago Bulls |
| Dominik Olejniczak | 15 | C | 7'0" | 260 | Graduate Student | Toruń, Poland | Graduated |
| Devin Vassell | 24 | G | 6'7" | 194 | Sophomore | Suwanee, GA | Declared for 2020 NBA draft; selected 11th overall by the San Antonio Spurs |
| Ty Hands | 44 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Freshman | Palm Beach Lakes, FL | — |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tanor Ngom | 34 | C | 7'2" | 236 | Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred from Ryerson |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Scottie Barnes PF | West Palm Beach, FL | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 14, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Sardaar Calhoun SG | Tappahannock, VA | Missouri State University - West Plains | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 10, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Quincy Ballard C | Syracuse, NY | Quality Education Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | N/A | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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: "Florida State Seminoles". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020. ||||||

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| December 2, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 22 | North Florida | W 86–58 | 1–0 | 17 – Walker | 6 – Barnes | 6 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,720) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 9, 2020* 7:15 p.m., ESPN | No. 20 | Indiana ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 69–67 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | 19 – Walker | 19 – Tied | 5 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,956) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 12, 2020* 11:00 a.m., ESPNU | No. 20 | Florida Rivalry | W 83–71 | 3–0 | 17 – Tied | 8 – Gray | 5 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,761) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 15, 2020 8:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 15 | Georgia Tech | W 74–61 | 4–0 (1–0) | 16 – Barnes | 8 – Koprivica | 3 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,664) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 19, 2020 9:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 15 | UCF | L 74–86 | 4–1 | 22 – Walker | 6 – Polite | 3 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,576) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 21, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 21 | Gardner-Webb | W 72–59 | 5–1 | 15 – Polite | 9 – Polite | 5 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,078) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 18 | at Clemson | L 67–77 | 5–2 (1–1) | 14 – Barnes | 9 – Koprivica | 5 – Barnes | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 18 | No. 20 Duke | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL |
| January 6, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 25 | at Syracuse | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| January 13, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | NC State | W 105–73 | 6–2 (2–1) | 24 – Evans | 6 – Evans | 4 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,837) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 16, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN | | North Carolina | W 82–75 | 7–2 (3–1) | 21 – Walker | 9 – Koprivica | 5 – Gray | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,850) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 18, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Louisville | W 78–65 | 8–2 (4–1) | 17 – Gray | 8 – Gray | 10 – Walker | KFC Yum! Center (3,024) Louisville, KY |
| January 23, 2021 3:00 p.m., ABC | | No. 20 Clemson | W 80–61 | 9–2 (5–1) | 13 – Tied | 10 – Koprivica | 7 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | Miami (FL) | W 81–59 | 10–2 (6–1) | 11 – Tied | 11 – Gray | 4 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,825) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | at Georgia Tech | L 65–76 | 10–3 (6–2) | 19 – Gray | 8 – Gray | 5 – Barnes | McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA |
| February 2, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 20 | at Boston College | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 9, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 17 | at No. 18 Virginia Tech | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 17 | Wake Forest | W 92–85 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (7–2) | 24 – Gray | 12 – Gray | 5 – Walker | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| February 15, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 16 | No. 7 Virginia | W 81–60 | 12–3 (8–2) | 17 – Walker | 6 – Walker | 6 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | No. 18 Virginia Tech | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 16 | at Pittsburgh | W 79–72 | 13–3 (9–2) | 16 – Tied | 9 – Osborne | 4 – Polite | Petersen Events Center (500) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 24, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 11 | at Miami (FL) | W 88–71 | 14–3 (10–2) | 16 – Calhoun | 13 – Gray | 8 – Barnes | Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 11 | at North Carolina | L 70–78 | 14–4 (10–3) | 17 – Gray | 8 – Gray | 2 – Gray | Dean E. Smith Center (0) Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 3, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 11 | Boston College | W 93–64 | 15–4 (11–3) | 18 – Walker | 6 – Tied | 7 – Barnes | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 11 | at Notre Dame | L 73–83 | 15–5 (11–4) | 17 – Barnes | 10 – Gray | 2 – Tied | Purcell Pavilion (646) South Bend, IN |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 | (2) No. 15 | vs. (10) Duke Quarterfinals | Won by forfeit due to COVID-19 issues | Won by forfeit due to COVID-19 issues | Won by forfeit due to COVID-19 issues | Won by forfeit due to COVID-19 issues | Won by forfeit due to COVID-19 issues | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 12, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) No. 15 | vs. (6) North Carolina Semifinals | W 69–66 | 16–5 | 17 – Koprivica | 11 – Koprivica | 4 – Barnes | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| March 13, 2021 8:30 p.m., ESPN | (2) No. 15 | vs. (4) Georgia Tech Championship | L 75–80 | 16–6 | 21 – Barnes | 10 – Koprivica | 4 – Polite | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021* 12:45 p.m., truTV | (4 E) No. 14 | vs. (13 E) UNC Greensboro First Round | W 64–54 | 17–6 | 17 – Gray | 9 – Koprivica | 6 – Walker | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 22, 2021 7:45 p.m., TBS | (4 E) No. 14 | vs. (5 E) No. 22 Colorado Second Round | W 71–53 | 18–6 | 22 – Polite | 6 – Gray | 5 – Barnes | Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN |
| March 28, 2021 5:00 p.m., CBS | (4 E) No. 14 | vs. (1 E) No. 4 Michigan Sweet Sixteen | L 58–76 | 18–7 | 12 – Osborne | 6 – Osborn | 3 – Barnes | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 15 | 21 | 18 | 25 | RV | RV | 16 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 14 | Not released |
| Coaches | 18 | 18* | 21 | 15 | 21 | 19 | 22 | RV | 25 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 10 |
*Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

## Awards

* Ben Jobe Award
** Leonard Hamilton
* Werner Ladder National Coach of the Year semifinalist
** Leonard Hamilton

### Watchlists

* Bob Cousy Award
** Scottie Barnes
* Jerry West Award
** M. J. Walker
* Naismith Trophy
** Scottie Barnes

### All-ACC

* Second Team
** M.J. Walker
* Third Team
** RaiQuan Gray
** Scottie Barnes
* Freshman Team
** Scottie Barnes
* ACC Sixth Man of the Year
** Scottie Barnes
* ACC Freshman of the Year
** Scottie Barnes