# 2020–21 Southern Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 Southern Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play begins in January 2021 and will conclude in March 2021.

## Preseason Awards

Preseason awards were announced by the league office on November 11, 2020.

### Preseason men's basketball coaches poll

(First place votes in parentheses)
* UNC Greensboro (4) 76
* Furman (5) 74
* East Tennessee State (1) 63
* Mercer 56
* Wofford 47
* Western Carolina 44
* Chattanooga 38
* Samford 23
* VMI 15
* The Citadel 14

### Preseason men's basketball media poll

(First place votes in parentheses)
* Furman (16) 278
* UNC Greensboro (9) 274
* East Tennessee State (4) 211
* Mercer (1) 190
* Wofford 184
* Western Carolina 175
* Chattanooga 150
* Samford 79
* VMI 61
* The Citadel 48
| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Isaiah Miller, UNC Greensboro |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Ledarrius Brewer, East Tennessee State |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Ty Brewer, East Tennessee State |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Mike Bothwell, Furman |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Noah Gurley, Furman |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Clay Mounce, Furman |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Ross Cummings, Mercer |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Jeff Gary, Mercer |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Isaiah Miller, UNC Greensboro |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | David Jean-Baptiste, Chattanooga |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Mason Faulkner, Western Carolina |
| Preseason All-Southern Conference Team | Storm Murphy, Wofford |

## Conference matrix

| | Chattanooga | East Tennessee State | Furman | Mercer | Samford | The Citadel | UNC Greensboro | VMI | Western Carolina | Wofford |
| vs. Chattanooga | – | 0−2 | 1−0 | 1−1 | 0−2 | 1−1 | 2−0 | 1−0 | 0−2 | 1–1 |
| vs. East Tennessee State | 2–0 | – | 1−1 | 1−1 | 0−0 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 0−1 | 0−2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Furman | 0−1 | 1−1 | – | 0−2 | 0−1 | 0−2 | 1−1 | 1−0 | 0−2 | 1–0 |
| vs. Mercer | 1–1 | 1−1 | 2−0 | – | 0−2 | 0−2 | 2−0 | 0−1 | 1−1 | 2−0 |
| vs. Samford | 2–0 | 0−0 | 1−0 | 2−0 | – | 0−0 | 2−0 | 1−1 | 0−1 | 1−0 |
| vs. The Citadel | 1−1 | 1−1 | 2−0 | 2−0 | 0−0 | – | 2−0 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 1−1 |
| vs. UNC Greensboro | 0−2 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 0−2 | 0−2 | 0−2 | – | 1−1 | 1−1 | 1–1 |
| vs. VMI | 0−1 | 1−0 | 0−1 | 1−0 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 1−1 | – | 1−1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Western Carolina | 2–0 | 2−0 | 2−0 | 1−1 | 1−0 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 1−1 | – | 2–0 |
| vs. Wofford | 1−1 | 1−1 | 0−1 | 0−2 | 0−1 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 1−1 | 0−2 | – |
| Total | 9−7 | 8−7 | 10−4 | 8−9 | 2−9 | 5−11 | 13−5 | 7−7 | 4−13 | 11−5 |

## All-Southern Conference awards
### Southern Conference men's basketball weekly awards

| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School |
| Dec 1 | Neftali Alvarez | Mercer |
| Dec 8 | Myron Gordon | Samford |
| Dec 15 | Myron Gordon (2) | Samford |
| Dec 22 | Malachi Smith | Chattanooga |
| Jan 5 | Mike Bothwell, Jr | Furman |
| Jan 12 | Hayden Brown | The Citadel |
| Jan 19 | Greg Parham | VMI |
| Jan 26 | Greg Parham (2) | VMI |
| Feb 2 | | |
| Feb 8 | | |
| Feb 15 | | |
| Feb 22 | | |
| Mar 1 | | |