# 2020–21 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by first-year head coach Jason Shay, played their home games at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference.

## Previous season

The Buccaneers finished the 2019–20 season 30–4, 16–2 in SoCon play to finish as the SoCon regular season champions. They defeated VMI, Western Carolina and Wofford to become champions of the SoCon tournament. They earned the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 30, 2020, head coach Steve Forbes resigned to become the head coach at Wake Forest. He finished at ETSU with a five-year record of 130–43.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 11:00 am | | vs. Abilene Christian Gulf Coast Showcase | L 47–70 | 0–1 | Hertz Arena (50) Estero, FL |
| November 26, 2020* 2:00 pm | | vs. Austin Peay Gulf Coast Showcase | L 66–67 | 0–2 | Hertz Arena (50) Estero, FL |
| November 27, 2020* 11:00 am | | vs. Middle Tennessee Gulf Coast Showcase | W 57–43 | 1–2 | Hertz Arena (50) Estero, FL |
| December 12, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UAB | L 61–65 | 1–3 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (124) Johnson City, TN |
| December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Gardner–Webb | W 65–60 | 2–3 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (105) Johnson City, TN |
| December 17, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Columbia International | W 96–54 | 3–3 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (102) Johnson City, TN |
| December 19, 2020* 4:00 pm | | Lee | W 62–53 | 4–3 | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| December 22, 2020* 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 69–85 | 4–4 | Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| SoCon Regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 86–78 | 5–4 (1–0) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (618) Johnson City, TN |
| January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | W 71–61 | 6–4 (2–0) | Greensboro Coliseum (150) Greensboro, NC |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Furman | L 66–78 | 6–5 (2–1) | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (250) Greenville, SC |
| January 18, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | VMI | W 92–81 | 7–5 (3–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (720) Johnson City, TN |
| January 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | W 59–48 | 8–5 (4–1) | Ramsey Center Cullowhee, NC |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Furman | W 71–62 | 9–5 (5–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 112–84 | 10–5 (6–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (618) Johnson City, TN |
| February 1, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | Postponed | Postponed | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| February 1, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 62–67 | 10–6 (6–2) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Spartanburg, SC |
| February 3, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Mercer | W 70–64 | 11–6 (7–2) | Hawkins Arena (927) Macon, GA |
| February 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 65–67 | 11–7 (7–3) | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| February 10, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | L 71–79 | 11–8 (7–4) | McAlister Field House Charleston, SC |
| February 13, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 71–49 | 12–8 (8–4) | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| February 15, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | L 51–53 | 12–9 (8–5) | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, TN |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Mercer | L 64–71 | 12–10 (8–6) | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| February 20, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Samford | Cancelled | Cancelled | Pete Hanna Center Homewood, AL |
| February 24, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at VMI | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cameron Hall Lexington, VA |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 74–85 $^{OT}$ | 12–11 (8–7) | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2021 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Chattanooga Quarterfinals | W 63–53 | 13–11 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| March 7, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPNU | (5) | vs. (1) UNC Greensboro Semifinals | L 65–77 | 13–12 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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