# 2020–21 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Salukis were led by second-year head coach Bryan Mullins and played their home games at the Banterra Center (formerly SIU Arena) in Carbondale, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. In as season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Salukis finished the season 12–14, 5–13 in MVC play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Bradley in the first round of the MVC tournament before losing to Loyola in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Salukis finished the 2019–20 season 16–16, 10–8 in MVC play, finishing in fifth place. In the MVC tournament, the Salukis were eliminated by No. 4-seeded Bradley in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 2, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 87–79 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Show Me Center Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dec 6, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Quincy University | W 102–61 | 2–0 | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| December 11, 2020* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Murray State Charles Helleny Tip-off Classic | W 70–66 | 3–0 | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 17, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota | W 85–64 | 4–0 | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 18, 2020* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota | W 62–50 | 5–0 | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 21, 2020* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Butler | W 76–73 | 6–0 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| Dec 27, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 63–57 | 7–0 (1–0) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 28, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | L 72–84 | 7–1 (1–1) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 3, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Drake | L 55–73 | 7–2 (1–2) | Knapp Center Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 4, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Drake | L 55–86 | 7–3 (1–3) | Knapp Center Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 25, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | L 66–69 | 7–4 (1–4) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN |
| Jan 26, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | L 59–71 | 7–5 (1–5) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN |
| Jan 30, 2021 3:00 pm, FSMW | | Northern Iowa | L 62–74 | 7–6 (1–6) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 31, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Northern Iowa | W 71–68 | 8–6 (2–6) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 6, 2021 3:00 pm, FSMW | | at Bradley | L 66–74 | 8–7 (2–7) | Carver Arena Peoria, IL |
| Feb 7, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley | W 69–68 | 9–7 (3–7) | Carver Arena Peoria, IL |
| Feb 10, 2021 7:00 pm, FSMW | | at Missouri State | L 53–65 | 9–8 (3–8) | JQH Arena Springfield, MO |
| Feb 13, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State | L 55–80 | 9–9 (3–9) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 14, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State | W 59–49 | 10–9 (4–9) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 17, 2021 8:15 pm, Marquee/ESPN3 | | Missouri State | L 53–68 | 10–10 (4–10) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 21, 2021 4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | L 65–66 | 10–11 (4–11) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 22, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 67–64 | 11–11 (5–11) | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 26, 2021 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 21 Loyola | L 52–60 | 11–12 (5–12) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Feb 27, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 21 Loyola | L 58–65 $^{OT}$ | 11–13 (5–13) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| Mar 4, 2021 5:00 pm, FSMW | (9) | vs. (8) Bradley First Round | W 73–63 | 12–13 | Enterprise Center (771) St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 5, 2021 11:00 am, FSMW | (9) | vs. (1) No. 20 Loyola Quarterfinals | L 49–73 | 12–14 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||