# 2020–21 UConn Huskies men's basketball team

The 2020–21 UConn Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies were led by third-year head coach Dan Hurley in their first season of the Big East Conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Huskies played all of their home games this year at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on the UConn campus in Storrs, Connecticut.
The Huskies returned to the new Big East for the 2020–21 season following seven years in the American Athletic Conference.
They finished the season 15-8, 11-6, in Big East Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated DePaul in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament before losing in the semifinals to Creighton. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the First Round to Maryland.

## Previous season

They finished the season 19–12, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. Their season ended when the AAC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Christian Vital | 1 | G | 6'2" | 187lbs | Senior | Queens, NY | Graduated |
| Alterique Gilbert | 3 | G | 6'0" | 180lbs | RS Junior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Wichita State |
| Sidney Wilson | 15 | G/F | 6'7" | 180lbs | RS Sophomore | Bronx, NY | Transferred to SIU Edwardsville |
| Omotayo Aiyegbusi | 45 | G | 6'4" | 200lbs | Senior | Conshohocken, PA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Tyrese Martin | 4 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Junior | Allentown, PA | Transfer from Rhode Island. Under NCAA transfer rules, Cole received a waiver and will be eligible for the 2020–21 season. He will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Andre Jackson Jr. G | Amsterdam, NY | Albany Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 2, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Adama Sanogo F | Bamako, Mali | The Patrick School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | May 5, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Javonte Brown-Ferguson C | Toronto, ON | Thornlea Secondary School | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Nov 13, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 14 247Sports: 23 ESPN: 17 ||||||
| 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: "2020 UConn Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020. ||||||

## Roster

Javonte Brown was only on the roster for the fall semester and announced plans to transfer on January 8, 2021.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Central Connecticut | W 102–75 | 1–0 | 20 – Bouknight | 8 – Bouknight | 6 – Tied | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (125) Storrs, CT |
| November 27, 2020* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Hartford | W 69–57 | 2–0 | 18 – Bouknight | 10 – Tied | 4 – Whaley | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| December 1, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Vanderbilt Legends Classic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| December 3, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. USC Legends Classic | W 61–58 | 3–0 | 18 – Bouknight | 11 – Carlton | 4 – Cole | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 5, 2020* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. NC State Bubbleville | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Big East Conference regular season |||||||||
| December 20, 2020 12:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 9 Creighton | L 74–76 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 (0–1) | 40 – Bouknight | 10 – Martin | 3 – Gaffney | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| December 30, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | DePaul | W 82–61 | 4–1 (1–1) | 22 – Martin | 10 – Tied | 6 – Cole | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 5, 2021 9:00 pm, FS1 | | at Marquette | W 65–54 | 5–1 (2–1) | 23 – Polley | 13 – Whaley | 5 – Cole | Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Butler | W 72–60 | 6–1 (3–1) | 19 – Polley | 7 – Tied | 3 – 3 tied | Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,879) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 11, 2021 6:00 pm, FS1 | No. 25 | at DePaul | W 60–53 | 7–1 (4–1) | 18 – Martin | 5 – Tied | 4 – Cole | Wintrust Arena Chicago, IL |
| January 18, 2021 2:30 pm, FOX | No. 23 | St. John's | L 70–74 | 7–2 (4–2) | 18 – Cole | 8 – Whaley | 5 – Cole | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 20, 2021 8:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 23 | Xavier | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 23, 2021 12:00 pm, FOX | No. 23 | at No. 11 Creighton | L 66–74 | 7–3 (4–3) | 14 – Cole | 9 – Tied | 5 – Cole | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,839) Omaha, NE |
| January 26, 2021 8:30 pm, FS1 | | Butler | W 63–51 | 8–3 (5–3) | 20 – Martin | 6 – 3 tied | 5 – Cole | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 28, 2021 9:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 3 Villanova | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 31, 2021 3:30 pm, FOX | | at St. John's | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY |
| February 6, 2021 12:00 pm, FOX | | Seton Hall | L 73–80 | 8–4 (5–4) | 20 – Gaffney | 6 – Martin | 2 – 3 tied | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| February 10, 2021 4:00 pm, FS1 | | at Providence | L 59–70 | 8–5 (5–5) | 14 – Cole | 9 – Martin | 6 – Cole | Alumni Hall Providence, RI |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 pm, FOX | | at Xavier | W 80–72 | 9–5 (6–5) | 24 – Cole | 10 – Whaley | 7 – Cole | Cintas Center (922) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 16, 2021 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Providence | W 73–61 | 10–5 (7–5) | 18 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 5 – Cole | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| February 20, 2021 1:00 pm, FOX | | at No. 10 Villanova | L 60–68 | 10–6 (7–6) | 21 – Bouknight | 11 – Martin | 2 – Tied | Finneran Pavilion Villanova, PA |
| February 23, 2021 9:00 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown Rivalry | W 70–57 | 11–6 (8–6) | 20 – Bouknight | 10 – Bouknight | 7 – Cole | McDonough Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| February 27, 2021 2:30 pm, FOX | | Marquette | W 80–62 | 12–6 (9–6) | 24 – Bouknight | 8 – Tied | 4 – Gaffney | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| March 3, 2021 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at Seton Hall | W 69–58 | 13–6 (10–6) | 17 – Whaley | 10 – Whaley | 2 – Tied | Prudential Center (1,756) Newark, NJ |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 pm, CBS | | Georgetown Rivalry | W 98–82 | 14–6 (11–6) | 21 – Bouknight | 10 – Sanogo | 8 – Cole | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 9:00 pm, FS1 | (3) | vs. (11) DePaul Quarterfinals | W 94–60 | 15–6 | 14 – 3 tied | 10 – Martin | 8 – Cole | Madison Square Garden (824) New York, NY |
| March 12, 2021 9:00 pm, FS1 | (3) | vs. (2) No. 17 Creighton Semifinals | L 56–59 | 15–7 | 14 – Bouknight | 8 – Bouknight | 3 – Cole | Madison Square Garden (824) New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 7:10 pm, CBS | (7 E) | vs. (10 E) Maryland First Round | L 54–63 | 15–8 | 15 – Bouknight | 11 – Martin | 4 – Whaley | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | NR | NR | RV | 25 | 23 | RV | RV | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | RV | Not Released |
| Coaches | RV | - | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |