# 2020–21 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team

The 2020–21 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team represented the University of South Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the 49th basketball season for USF, the eighth as a member of the American Athletic Conference, and the fourth season under head coach Brian Gregory. The Bulls play their home games at Yuengling Center on the university's Tampa, Florida campus. The season ended on March 12, 2021 with a 68–67 loss to regular season conference champion Wichita State in the second round of the AAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2019–20 season 14–17, 7–11 in AAC play to finish in ninth place. They entered as the No. 9 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Laquincy Rideau | 3 | G | 6'1" | 205 | Senior | West Palm Beach, FL | Graduated |
| B.J. Mack | 33 | F | 6'8" | 261 | Freshman | Charlotte, NC | Transferred to Wofford |
| Antun Maricevic | 34 | F | 6'10" | 260 | Senior | Zagreb, Croatia | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Luke Anderson | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Freshman | Lakeland, FL | Transferred from Iowa State during the 2019–20 season. Anderson will be eligible immediately. Anderson has four years of remaining eligibility. |
| Prince Oduro | F | 6'8" | 250 | RS Junior | Toronto, Canada | Transferred from Mississippi State. Oduro was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Russel Tchewa | C | 7'0" | 260 | Sophomore | Douala, Cameroon | Transferred from Texas Tech. Tchewa was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Caleb Murphy SG | Loganville, GA | Grayson High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020. ||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trey Moss PG | Windermere, FL | Windermere Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 12, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020. |||||||

## Preseason
### AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards
Coaches Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Houston | 99 (2) |
| 2 | Memphis | 90 (2) |
| 3 | SMU | 80 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 77 |
| 5 | South Florida | 61 |
| 6 | Tulsa | 50 |
| 7 | Wichita State | 44 |
| 8 | UCF | 37 |
| 9 | East Carolina | 34 |
| 10 | Temple | 18 |
| 11 | Tulane | 15 |

### Preseason Awards

* All-AAC Second Team - Alexis Yetna

## Schedule and results
### COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulls' schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.
* The game vs. Florida A&M scheduled for December 4 was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.
* USF was originally scheduled to play LSU instead of Wofford on December 12, but LSU pulled out of the Hoopsgiving event due to COVID-19.
* The game vs. Temple rescheduled for February 21 was moved to Philadelphia.
* The game vs. SMU scheduled for February 20 was moved to Dallas.
* The game @ Temple scheduled for February 24 was moved to Tampa.

### Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 11:30 a.m., ESPN+ | | Florida College | W 94–84 | 1–0 | 17 – Collins | 7 – Chaplin | 7 – Murphy | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| November 28, 2020* 5:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | vs. Rhode Island Hall of Fame Tip Off | L 68–84 | 1–1 | 16 – Collins | 7 – Durr | 4 – Collins | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| November 29, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Virginia Tech Hall of Fame Tip Off | L 58–76 | 1–2 | 11 – Murphy | 7 – Durr | 2 – Murphy | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 76–57 | 2–2 | 14 – Durr | 9 – Durr | 5 – Collins | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| December 8, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stetson | W 73–62 | 3–2 | 18 – Collins | 9 – Collins | 6 – Murphy | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| December 12, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ESPNews | | vs. Wofford Holiday Hoopsgiving | W 58–56 | 4–2 | 13 – Collins | 11 – Collins | 3 – Collins | State Farm Arena Atlanta, GA |
| December 16, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Cincinnati | W 74–71 | 5–2 (1–0) | 16 – Yetna | 12 – Yetna | 4 – Tied | Fifth Third Arena (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 22, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wichita State | L 77–82 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 (1–1) | 17 – Collins | 14 – Tied | 6 – Murphy | Yuengling Center (519) Tampa, FL |
| December 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Memphis | L 57–58 | 5–4 (1–2) | 20 – Murphy | 10 – Durr | 3 – Murphy | FedEx Forum (133) Memphis, TN |
| January 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UCF War on I-4 | W 68–61 | 6–4 (2–2) | 19 – Collins | 11 – Durr | 7 – Collins | Yuengling Center (1,016) Tampa, FL |
| January 6, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulsa | L 51–61 | 6–5 (2–3) | 16 – Chaplin | 11 – Durr | 4 – Murphy | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| January 9, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | W 69–63 | 7–5 (3–3) | 16 – Collins | 6 – Yetna | 5 – Collins | Williams Arena (67) Greenville, NC |
| January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| January 30, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cincinnati | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| February 3, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Tulsa | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| February 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at SMU | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Moody Coliseum University Park, TX |
| February 10, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Houston Previously scheduled for Jan. 14 | L 65–82 | 7–6 (3–4) | 18 – Collins | 7 – Durr | 4 – Collins | Yuengling Center (629) Tampa, FL |
| February 14, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Tulane Previously scheduled for Feb. 13 | L 59–62 | 7–7 (3–5) | 16 – Brown | 8 – Tied | 6 – Castaneda | Yuengling Center Tampa, FL |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at UCF War on I-4 | L 65–81 | 7–8 (3–6) | 16 – Yetna | 15 – Yetna | 3 – Castaneda | Addition Financial Arena (1,764) Orlando, FL |
| February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at SMU | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Moody Coliseum University Park, TX |
| February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple Previously scheduled for Jan. 27 | W 83–76 | 8–8 (4–6) | 18 – Castaneda | 7 – Yetna | 4 – Collins | Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA |
| February 24, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | Temple | L 47–65 | 8–9 (4–7) | 16 – Brown | 6 – Tied | 3 – Murphy | Yuengling Center (471) Tampa, FL |
| February 28, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Houston | L 52–98 | 8–10 (4–8) | 11 – Castaneda | 7 – Castaneda | 5 – Collins | Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX |
| March 2, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Memphis Previously scheduled for Mar. 3 | L 52–73 | 8–11 (4–9) | 17 – Castaneda | 5 – Castaneda | 4 – Castaneda | Yuengling Center (1,222) Tampa, FL |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Tulane | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Cancelled due to scheduling changes | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| March 6, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State Previously scheduled for Jan. 24 | L 63–80 | 8–12 (4–10) | 18 – Durr | 9 – Durr | 6 – Castaneda | Charles Koch Arena (2,625) Wichita, KS |
| AAC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPNU | (8) | vs. (9) Temple First Round | W 73–71 | 9–12 | 23 – Collins | 11 – Durr | 4 – Murphy | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (8) | vs. (1) Wichita State Quarterfinals | L 67–68 | 9–13 | 13 – Durr | 13 – Durr | 3 – Tied | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Awards and honors
### AAC Player of the Week

* Week 3 – David Collins

### AAC Freshman of the Week

* Week 5 – Caleb Murphy
* Week 6 – Caleb Murphy

### AAC All-Freshman Team

* Caleb Murphy