# 2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Will Wade, in his fourth season at LSU. They played their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 19-10, 11-6 in SEC Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated Ole Miss and Arkansas to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Alabama. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated St. Bonaventure in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Michigan.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the season 21–10, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Skylar Mays | 4 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Baton Rouge, LA | Graduated; selected 50th overall by the Atlanta Hawks |
| Emmitt Williams | 5 | F | 6'6" | 230 | Sophomore | Fort Myers, FL | Declared for the 2020 NBA draft |
| James Bishop | 10 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Freshman | Baltimore, MD | Transferred to George Washington |
| Marshall Graves | 12 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Senior | Ponchatoula, LA | Graduated |
| Marlon Taylor | 14 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Mount Vernon, New York | Graduated |
| Caleb Starks | 20 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Junior | Lafayette, LA | Walk-on; Transferred to Tarleton State |
| Courtese Cooper | 21 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Sophomore | Elgin, IL | Transferred to Southern Utah |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Josh LeBlanc Sr. | 11 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Junior | Baton Rouge, LA | Georgetown |
| Bryan Penn-Johnson | 22 | C | 7'0" | 260 | Sophomore | Long Beach, CA | Washington |
| Shareef O'Neal | 32 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | UCLA |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Cameron Thomas SG | Chesapeake, VA | Oscar Smith High/Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Mwani Wilkinson PF | Las Vegas, NV | Bishop Gorman High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Feb 8, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jalen Cook PG | Walker, LA | Walker High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Eric Gaines CG | Walker, LA | Lithonia High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Mar 1, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Josh Gray C | Brooklyn, NY | Putnam Science Academy | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 18, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "LSU 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "2020 LSU Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. ||||||

## Preseason
### SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on November 13, 2020.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Tennessee |
| 2 | Kentucky |
| 3 | LSU |
| 4 | Florida |
| 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Arkansas |
| 7 | Auburn |
| 8 | South Carolina |
| 9 | Ole Miss |
| 10 | Missouri |
| 11 | Texas A&M |
| 12 | Mississippi State |
| 13 | Georgia |
| 14 | Vanderbilt |

### Preseason All-SEC teams

The Tigers had two players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 26, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. SIU Edwardsville Billiken Classic | W 94–81 | 1–0 | 27 – Thomas | 7 – Watford | 9 – Watford | Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO |
| November 28, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis Billiken Classic | L 81–85 | 1–1 | 25 – Thomas | 11 – Days | 6 – Watford | Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO |
| November 30, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 96–43 | 2–1 | 21 – Thomas | 9 – Tied | 5 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,008) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 6, 2020* 5:00 pm, SECN | | Louisiana Tech | W 86–55 | 3–1 | 18 – Watford | 8 – Days | 2 – Tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,505) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 14, 2020* 11:00 am, SECN | | Sam Houston State | W 88–66 | 4–1 | 25 – Smart | 10 – Days | 5 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (55) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 26, 2020* 1:00 pm, SECN | | Nicholls | W 86–80 | 5–1 | 29 – Thomas | 9 – Watford | 6 – Watford | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,198) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 29, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN | | Texas A&M | W 77–54 | 6–1 (1–0) | 32 – Thomas | 10 – Days | 6 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,212) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 2, 2021 1:00 pm, CBS | | at Florida | L 79–83 | 6–2 (1–1) | 28 – Thomas | 8 – Watford | 3 – Watford | O'Connell Center (2,211) Gainesville, FL |
| January 6, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 94–92 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 (2–1) | 26 – Thomas | 11 – Days | 4 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,635) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 9, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | W 75–61 | 8–2 (3–1) | 21 – Watford | 7 – Days | 6 – Smart | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| January 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Arkansas | W 92–76 | 9–2 (4–1) | 23 – Watford | 13 – Days | 5 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,540) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 16, 2021 7:30 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 85–80 | 10–2 (5–1) | 25 – Thomas | 9 – Days | 5 – Watford | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,143) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 19, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 18 Alabama | L 75–105 | 10–3 (5–2) | 21 – Thomas | 8 – Watford | 4 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,295) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN | | at Kentucky | L 69–82 | 10–4 (5–3) | 26 – Watford | 10 – Watford | 3 – Smart | Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY |
| January 26, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | W 78–66 | 11–4 (6–3) | 28 – Thomas | 8 – Watford | 9 – Smart | Reed Arena (1,485) College Station, TX |
| January 30, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 10 Texas Tech Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 71–76 | 11–5 | 29 – Smart | 9 – Days | 2 – Tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,808) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 3, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 10 Alabama | L 60–78 | 11–6 (6–4) | 22 – Thomas | 9 – Watford | 3 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 6, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 22 Florida | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 10, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Mississippi State | W 94–80 | 12–6 (7–4) | 25 – Thomas | 11 – Days | 11 – Smart | Humphrey Coliseum (1,000) Starkville, MS |
| February 13, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 16 Tennessee | W 78–65 | 13–6 (8–4) | 25 – Thomas | 8 – Hyatt | 4 – Thomas | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,224) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 18, 2021 4:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | Postponed due to weather concerns. | Postponed due to weather concerns. | Postponed due to weather concerns. | Postponed due to weather concerns. | Postponed due to weather concerns. | The Pavilion at Ole Miss Oxford, MS |
| February 20, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN | | Auburn | W 104–80 | 14–6 (9–4) | 27 – Thomas | 11 – Watford | 5 – Smart | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,384) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 23, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 78–91 | 14–7 (9–5) | 21 – Thomas | 10 – Watford | 3 – Tied | Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA |
| February 27, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 20 Arkansas | L 75–83 | 14–8 (9–6) | 25 – Thomas | 10 – LeBlanc Sr. | 4 – Smart | Bud Walton Arena (4,400) Fayetteville, AR |
| March 2, 2021 7:30 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 83–68 | 15–8 (10–6) | 23 – Thomas | 13 – Watford | 4 – Tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,426) Baton Rouge, LA |
| March 6, 2021 2:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | W 86–80 | 16–8 (11–6) | 29 – Thomas | 9 – Days | 4 – Watford | Mizzou Arena (3,112) Columbia, MO |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN | (3) | vs. (6) Ole Miss Quarterfinals | W 76–73 | 17–8 | 24 – Watford | 12 – Days | 5 – Smart | Bridgestone Arena (2,155) Nashville, TN |
| March 13, 2021 2:30 pm, ESPN | (3) | vs. (2) No. 8 Arkansas Semifinals | W 78–71 | 18–8 | 21 – Thomas | 8 – Tied | 4 – Smart | Bridgestone Arena (3,164) Nashville, TN |
| March 14, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN | (3) | vs. (1) No. 6 Alabama Championship | L 79–80 | 18–9 | 30 – Watford | 12 – Days | 5 – Smart | Bridgestone Arena (2,586) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 12:45 pm, TNT | (8 E) | vs. (9 E) St. Bonaventure First Round | W 76–61 | 19–9 | 27 – Thomas | 11 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| March 22, 2021 6:10 pm, CBS | (8 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 4 Michigan Second Round | L 78–86 | 19–10 | 30 – Thomas | 9 – Smart | 5 – Smart | Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Schedule Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked 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 | RV | RV | — | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV^ | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll