# 2020–21 Florida Gators men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Mike White, and played their home games at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 15-10, 9-7 in SEC Play to finish in 5th place. They defeated Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Tennessee. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Virginia Tech in the first round before getting upset in the second round by Oral Roberts.

## 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* 4:30 pm | | vs. UMass Lowell Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| November 27, 2020* 11:30 am, ESPN | | vs. No. 4 Virginia Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Oklahoma | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 2, 2020* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Army Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville | W 76–69 | 1–0 | 19 – Mann | 8 – Castleton | 4 – Mann | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 3, 2020* 9:30 pm, ESPN | | vs. Boston College Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville | W 90–70 | 2–0 | 24 – Johnson | 12 – Johnson | 6 – Mann | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 6, 2020* 2:00 pm, SECN | | Stetson | W 86–40 | 3–0 | 19 – Johnson | 10 – Lewis | 6 – Lewis | O'Connell Center (2,193) Gainesville, FL |
| December 12, 2020* 11:00 am, ESPNU | | at No. 20 Florida State Sunshine Showdown | L 71–83 | 3–1 | 19 – Lewis | 8 – Mann | 7 – Mann | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,761) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 16, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN | | North Florida | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| December 19, 2020* 12:00 pm | | Florida Atlantic | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| December 20, 2020* | | Florida A&M | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| December 22, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN | | James Madison | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| SEC Regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Vanderbilt | W 91–72 | 4–1 (1–0) | 23 – Castleton | 10 – Mann | 4 – 2 tied | Memorial Gymnasium (94) Nashville, TN |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 pm, CBS | | LSU | W 83–79 | 5–1 (2–0) | 21 – Castleton | 7 – Duruji | 5 – Appleby | O'Connell Center (2,211) Gainesville, FL |
| January 5, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Alabama | L 71–86 | 5–2 (2–1) | 13 – Castleton | 8 – Castleton | 6 – Mann | Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 9, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN | | Kentucky Rivalry | L 58–76 | 5–3 (2–2) | 15 – Duruji | 6 – Tied | 3 – Mann | O'Connell Center (2,324) Gainesville, FL |
| January 12, 2021 7:00 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | W 72–63 | 6–3 (3–2) | 21 – Castleton | 10 – Castleton | 3 – Tied | O'Connell Center (2,254) Gainesville, FL |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Mississippi State | L 69–72 | 6–4 (3–3) | 20 – Appleby | 7 – Castleton | 6 – Mann | Humphrey Coliseum (1,000) Starkville, MS |
| January 19, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 6 Tennessee | W 75–49 | 7–4 (4–3) | 14 – Locke | 9 – Payne | 7 – Appleby | O'Connell Center (2,280) Gainesville, FL |
| January 23, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Georgia | W 92–84 | 8–4 (5–3) | 24 – Mann | 9 – Payne | 4 – Mann | Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA |
| January 27, 2021 6:30 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 78–71 | 9–4 (6–3) | 15 – Mann | 5 – Tied | 6 – Appleby | O'Connell Center (2,404) Gainesville, FL |
| January 30, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 11 West Virginia Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 85–80 | 10–4 | 21 – Castleton | 7 – Castleton | 7 – Appleby | WVU Coliseum (1,000) Morgantown, WV |
| February 3, 2021 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 22 | South Carolina | L 66–72 | 10–5 (6–4) | 17 – Mann | 8 – Mann | 4 – Appleby | O'Connell Center (2,282) Gainesville, FL |
| February 6, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | at LSU | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 13, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN | | Texas A&M | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| February 16, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 24 Arkansas | L 64–75 | 10–6 (6–5) | 16 – Appleby | 8 – Mann | 2 – Appleby | Bud Walton Arena (4,400) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 20, 2021 3:30 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 70–63 | 11–6 (7–5) | 14 – Castleton | 9 – Duruji | 3 – Mann | O'Connell Center (2,345) Gainesville, FL |
| February 23, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at Auburn | W 74–57 | 12–6 (8–5) | 19 – Mann | 13 – Mann | 3 – Mann | Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 pm, CBS | | at Kentucky Rivalry | W 71–67 | 13–6 (9–5) | 21 – Mann | 8 – Mann | 5 – Appleby | Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY |
| March 3, 2021 6:30 pm, SECN | | Missouri | L 70–72 | 13–7 (9–6) | 21 – Mann | 11 – Duruji | 5 – Appleby | O'Connell Center (2,306) Gainesville, FL |
| March 7, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tennessee | L 54–65 | 13–8 (9–7) | 18 – Appleby | 6 – Castleton | 3 – Appleby | Thompson–Boling Arena (4,191) Knoxville, TN |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:30 pm, SECN | (5) | vs. (12) Vanderbilt Second Round | W 69–63 | 14–8 | 22 – Mann | 8 – Castleton | 6 – Mann | Bridgestone Arena (1,733) Nashville, TN |
| March 12, 2021 2:30 pm, ESPN | (5) | vs. (4) Tennessee Quarterfinals | L 66–78 | 14–9 | 30 – Mann | 7 – Castleton | 2 – Tied | Bridgestone Arena (2,186) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2021 12:15 pm, CBS | (7 S) | vs. (10 S) No. 25 Virginia Tech First Round | W 75–70 $^{OT}$ | 15–9 | 19 – Castleton | 13 – Castleton | 4 – Mann | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 21, 2021 7:45 pm, truTV | (7 S) | vs. (15 S) Oral Roberts Second Round | L 78–81 | 15–10 | 19 – Mann | 10 – Castleton | 5 – Appleby | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (979) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
    The games against UMass Lowell and Virginia were canceled due to Florida pausing team activities for one week due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing protocols. The Oklahoma game was canceled later in the week, moving the home-and-home series back one year.
    The games against North Florida, Florida Atlanta, Florida A&M, and James Madison were postponed following the hospitalization of Keyontae Johnson after collapsing mid-game during the first half of the Florida State game.

## 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 | 22 | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV^ | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | 23 | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | — | RV |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.