# 2020–21 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team represented Boston College during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, were led by seventh-year head coach Jim Christian, played their home games at the Conte Forum as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Christian was fired on February 15, 2021, after starting the season 3–13. Assistant Coach Scott Spinelli served as the interim head coach to finish the season. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles finished the season 4–16, 2–11 in ACC play to finish in last place. They lost to Duke in the first round of the ACC tournament.
On March 15, the school named College of Charleston head coach Earl Grant the new coach for the Eagles.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2019–20 season finished the season 13–19, 7–13 in ACC play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They lost to Notre Dame in the second round of the ACC tournament. The tournament and all other postseason tournaments were thereafter canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jarius Hamilton | 1 | F | 6'8" | 234 | Sophomore | Charlotte, NC | Transferred to Maryland |
| Julian Rishwain | 2 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Freshman | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to San Francisco |
| Jared Hamilton | 3 | G | 6'4" | 203 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Derryck Thornton | 11 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Graduate student | Los Angeles, CA | Graduated |
| Nik Popovic | 21 | F | 6'11" | 253 | Senior | Banja Luka | Graduated |
| Matt DiLuccio | 22 | G | 5'11" | 180 | Senior | Rockville Centre, NY | Graduated |
| Chris Herren Jr. | 24 | G | 6'3" | 174 | Sophomore | Portsmouth, RI | Transferred to San Diego |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Frederick Scott | 0 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Graduate student | Munster, IN | Transferred from Rider |
| Andre Adams | 12 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Graduate student | Avondale, AZ | Transferred from Southern Utah |
| Rich Kelly | 22 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Graduate student | Shelton, CT | Transferred from Quinnipiac |
| James Karnik | 33 | F/C | 6'9" | 230 | Senior | Surrey, British Columbia | Transferred from Lehigh |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Demarr Langford SF | Wolfeboro, NH | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 21, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Justin Vander Baan C | Whitinsville, MA | Whitinsville Christian High School | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Aug 28, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "Boston College Eagles". ESPN.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | vs. No. 3 Villanova 2K Empire Classic | L 67–76 | 0–1 | 16 – Heath | 11 – Mitchell | 3 – Ashton-Langford | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| November 26, 2020* 9:30 p.m., ESPN | | vs. Rhode Island 2K Empire Classic | W 69–64 | 1–1 | 16 – Tabbs | 10 – Tabbs | 2 – Tied | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| November 30, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. St. John's Bubbleville | L 93–97 | 1–2 | 23 – Tabbs | 8 – Mitchell | 4 – Ashton-Langford | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 3, 2020* 9:30 p.m., ESPN | | vs. Florida Legends Classic | L 70–90 | 1–3 | 13 – Kelly | 6 – Karnik | 3 – Heath | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 8, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Minnesota ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 80–85 $^{OT}$ | 1–4 | 24 – Tabbs | 11 – Felder | 6 – Ashton-Langford | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 12, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Syracuse | L 63–101 | 1–5 (0–1) | 20 – Karnik | 8 – Karnik | 6 – Kelly | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| December 22, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | Maine | W 78–62 | 2–5 (0–1) | 16 – Heath | 7 – Karnik | 6 – Kelly | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| December 30, 2020 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at NC State | L 76–79 | 2–6 (0–2) | 18 – Tabbs | 12 – Mitchell | 3 – Ashton-Langford | PNC Arena (0) Raleigh, NC |
| January 2, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Louisville | L 64–76 | 2–7 (0–3) | 20 – Heath | 7 – Felder | 2 – Heath | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 6, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 21 Duke | L 82–83 | 2–8 (0–4) | 24 – Felder | 8 – Langford | 4 – Tied | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| January 9, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 22 Virginia | L 49–61 | 2–9 (0–5) | 14 – Langford | 9 – Tied | 3 – Heath | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Miami (FL) | W 84–62 | 3–9 (1–5) | 27 – Kelly | 8 – Felder | 4 – Tied | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Notre Dame | L 70–80 | 3–10 (1–6) | 16 – Mitchell | 13 – Mitchell | 3 – Tied | Edmund P. Joyce Center (78) South Bend, IN |
| January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 16 Virginia Tech | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA |
| January 23, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Pittsburgh | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 27, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Clemson | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| January 30, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at No. 25 Louisville | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| February 2, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 20 Florida State | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | NC State | L 65–81 | 3–11 (1–7) | 20 – Heath | 7 – Mitchell | 2 – Kelly | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 10, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Wake Forest | L 65–69 | 3–12 (1–8) | 20 – Heath | 14 – Felder | 4 – Kelly | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 13, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | L 67–75 | 3–13 (1–9) | 14 – Kelly | 12 – Felder | 4 – Tied | Carrier Dome (0) Syracuse, NY |
| February 17, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | McCamish Pavilion Atlanta, GA |
| February 23, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | North Carolina | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 27, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | Notre Dame | W 94–90 | 4–13 (2–9) | 19 – Tied | 8 – Mitchell | 6 – Ashton-Langford | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| March 3, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 11 Florida State | L 64–93 | 4–14 (2–10) | 28 – Heath | 7 – Scott | 2 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| March 5, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Miami (FL) | L 76–80 | 4–15 (2–11) | 15 – Karnik | 8 – Scott | 8 – Ashton-Langford | Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2021 4:30 p.m., ACCN | (15) | vs. (10) Duke First round | L 51–86 | 4–16 | 9 – Ashton-Langford | 5 – 3 tied | 4 – Ashton-Langford | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: — = Not ranked :
| | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.