# 2020–21 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team represented California State University, Northridge in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Matadors, led by third-year head coach Mark Gottfried, played their home games at the Matadome in Northridge, California as members of the Big West Conference.

## Previous season

The Matadors finished the 2019–20 season 15–17, 10–6 in Big West play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament, and face Cal State Fullerton, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | Westmont | W 97–79 | 1–0 | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| November 28, 2020* 1:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Air Force Vegas Bubble | L 61–66 | 1–1 | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| November 30, 2020* 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Seattle Vegas Bubble | W 76–65 | 2–1 | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| December 8, 2020* | | at Fresno State | Canceled | Canceled | Save Mart Center Fresno, CA |
| December 12, 2020* 6:00 pm, WCC Network | | at Pepperdine | W 89–84 | 3–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA |
| December 15, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stanford | L 71–82 | 3–2 | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| December 16, 2020* 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | Pacific | Postponed | Postponed | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| December 19, 2020* 2:00 pm, P12N | | at California | L 56–87 | 3–3 | Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA |
| December 27, 2020 Big West.TV | | at Cal State Fullerton | Canceled | Canceled | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| December 28, 2020 Big West.TV | | at Cal State Fullerton | Canceled | Canceled | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| December 28, 2020* 2:00 pm, Big West.TV | | New Mexico State | W 66–63 | 4–3 | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| January 1, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Irvine | Canceled | Canceled | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| January 2, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Irvine | Canceled | Canceled | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| January 8, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UC San Diego | Canceled | Canceled | RIMAC Arena La Jolla, CA |
| January 9, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UC San Diego | Canceled | Canceled | RIMAC Arena La Jolla, CA |
| January 15, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Long Beach State | Canceled | Canceled | Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA |
| January 16, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Long Beach State | Canceled | Canceled | Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA |
| January 16, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cal State Fullerton | W 86–85 | 5–3 (1–0) | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| January 17, 2021 7:00 pm, Big West.TV | | at Cal State Fullerton | L 77–85 | 5–4 (1–1) | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| January 22, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | UC Santa Barbara | L 58–105 | 5–5 (1–2) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | UC Santa Barbara | L 66–80 | 5–6 (1–3) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| January 29, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | at Cal Poly | L 70–76 | 5–7 (1–4) | Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | at Cal Poly | W 64–51 | 6–7 (2–4) | Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 5, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Davis | W 80–77 | 7–7 (3–4) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| February 6, 2021 2:00 pm, Big West.TV | | UC Davis | L 63–75 | 7–8 (3–5) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| February 12, 2021* 4:30 pm, GCU TV | | at Grand Canyon | Canceled | Canceled | GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ |
| February 19, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | Hawaii | L 74–75 | 7–9 (3–6) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Hawaii | W 88–80 $^{OT}$ | 8–9 (4–6) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| February 26, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cal State Bakersfield | L 58–84 | 8–10 (4–7) | Icardo Center Bakersfield, CA |
| February 27, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cal State Bakersfield | W 90–87 | 9–10 (5–7) | Icardo Center Bakersfield, CA |
| March 5, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | UC Riverside | L 68–72 | 9–11 (5–8) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| March 6, 2021 4:00 pm, Big West.TV | | UC Riverside | L 65–66 | 9–12 (5–9) | Matadome Northridge, CA |
| Big West tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | (8) | vs. (9) Long Beach State First Round | L 63–85 | 9–13 | Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific. ||||||
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