# 2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UMass Lowell River Hawks men's basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Pat Duquette and played their home games at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts as members of the America East Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the River Hawks finished the season 11–12, 7–9 in America East play, to finish in sixth place. They defeated Stony Brook, New Hampshire and UMBC to advance to the championship of the America East tournament. In the championship game, they lost to Hartford.

## Previous season

The River Hawks finished the 2019–20 season 13–19, 7–9 in America East play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to Hartford.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 4:00 p.m. | | vs. San Francisco Mohegan Sun Bubbleville | W 76–68 | 1–0 | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| November 28, 2020* 1:00 p.m. | | vs. Illinois State | L 72–82 | 1–1 | Covelli Center (0) Columbus, OH |
| November 29, 2020* 12:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 23 Ohio State | L 64–74 | 1–2 | Covelli Center (0) Columbus, OH |
| December 3, 2020* 4:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. NC State Mohegan Sun Bubbleville | L 59–90 | 1–3 | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 9, 2020* 7:00 p.m., NESN | | at Northeastern Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | | | Cabot Center Boston, MA |
| December 21, 2020 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Vermont | W 73–65 | 2–3 (1–0) | Costello Athletic Center (0) Lowell, MA |
| December 22, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Vermont | L 53–62 | 2–4 (1–1) | Costello Athletic Center (0) Lowell, MA |
| December 27, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Stony Brook | L 58–73 | 2–5 (1–2) | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (0) Stony Brook, NY |
| December 28, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Stony Brook | L 64–71 | 2–6 (1–3) | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (0) Stony Brook, NY |
| January 2, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | NJIT | L 67–73 | 2–7 (1–4) | Costello Athletic Center (0) Lowell, MA |
| January 3, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | NJIT | W 74–60 | 3–7 (2–4) | Costello Athletic Center (0) Lowell, MA |
| January 9, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Hartford | W 71–62 | 4–7 (3–4) | Costello Athletic Center Lowell, MA |
| January 10, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Hartford | L 58–75 | 4–8 (3–5) | Costello Athletic Center Lowell, MA |
| January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Binghamton | W 92–78 | 5–8 (4–5) | Binghamton University Events Center Vestal, NY |
| January 17, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Binghamton | W 77–67 | 6–8 (5–5) | Binghamton University Events Center Vestal, NY |
| February 5, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at New Hampshire | W 74–69 | 7–8 (6–5) | Lundholm Gym Durham, NH |
| February 6, 2021 1:00 p.m. | | at New Hampshire | L 63–74 | 7–9 (6–6) | Lundholm Gym Durham, NH |
| February 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Albany | W 79–71 | 8–9 (7–6) | SEFCU Arena Albany, NY |
| February 13, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Albany | L 69–81 | 8–10 (7–7) | SEFCU Arena Albany, NY |
| February 20, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | New Hampshire | L 67–69 | 8–11 (7–8) | Costello Athletic Center Lowell, MA |
| America East tournament ||||||
| February 27, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | (7) Stony Brook First round | W 64–62 | 9–11 | Lundholm Gym Durham, NH |
| February 28, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | at (3) New Hampshire Quarterfinals | W 72–64 | 10–11 | Lundholm Gym Durham, NH |
| March 6, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | at (1) UMBC Semifinals | W 79–77 | 11–11 | UMBC Event Center Catonsville, MD |
| March 13, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | (6) | at (4) Hartford Championship | L 50–64 | 11–12 | Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion West Hartford, CT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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