# 2020–21 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big East Conference. Led by third-year head coach Travis Steele, they played their home games at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. They finished the season 13-8, 6-7 in Big East Play to finish in 7th place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to Butler.

## Previous season

The Musketeers finished the 2019–20 season 19–13, 8–10 in Big East play to finish tied for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big East tournament, Xavier was defeated by DePaul in the first round. The next day, the remainder of the Big East tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Dahmir Bishop | 2 | G | 6'5" | 178 | Freshman | Philadelphia, PA | Transferred to Saint Joseph's (mid-season) |
| Quentin Goodin | 3 | G | 6'4" | 194 | Senior | Campbellsville, KY | Graduated |
| Tyrique Jones | 4 | F | 6'9" | 239 | Senior | Bloomfield, CT | Graduated |
| Leighton Schrand | 10 | G | 6'2" | 166 | Senior | Villa Hills, KY | Graduated |
| Bryce Moore | 11 | G | 6'3" | 194 | Graduate Student | Indianapolis, IN | Completed college eligibility |
| Dontarius James | 12 | F | 6'7" | 228 | Sophomore | Kershaw, SC | Transferred to Jacksonville State |
| Naji Marshall | 13 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Atlantic City, NJ | Declared for NBA draft |
| Myles Hanson | 34 | G | 6'7" | 215 | RS Sophomore | Chaska, MN | Walk-on; transferred to Stonehill College |
* ↑ Moore was a graduate transfer in the 2019–20 season, having graduated from Western Michigan in 2019.

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Nate Johnson | G | 6'3" | 180 | Graduate Student | Miami, FL | Transferred from Gardner-Webb after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| Bryan Griffin | F | 6'8" | 230 | Graduate Student | Pomona, NY | Transferred from Mercy College after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| Adam Kunkel | G | 6'3" | 165 | Junior | Hebron, KY | Transferred from Belmont. Kunkel was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Ben Stanley | F | 6'6" | 225 | RS Junior | Baltimore, MD | Transferred from Hampton. Stanley was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on December 16. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dwon Odom PG | Alpharetta, GA | St. Francis HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 29, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| C. J. Wilcher SG | Roselle, NJ | Roselle Catholic HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 7, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Colby Jones SG | Birmingham, AL | Mountain Brook HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 14, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| 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: "Xavier 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020. "2020 Xavier Musketeers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020. "Xavier 2020 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020. ||||||

#### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Cesare Edwards PF | Hartsville, SC | Hartsville HS | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 26, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: |||||||
| Elijah Tucker PF | Canton, GA | Cherokee HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 14, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: |||||||
| 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: "Xavier 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020. "2021 Xavier Musketeers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020. "Xavier 2021 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 12:00 p.m., FS1 | | Oakland Xavier Invitational | W 101–49 | 1–0 | 21 – Freemantle | 12 – Freemantle | 8 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 26, 2020* 12:00 p.m., FS1 | | Bradley Xavier Invitational | W 51–50 | 2–0 | 19 – Freemantle | 11 – Carter | 7 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 27, 2020* 12:00 p.m., GoXavier.com | | Toledo Xavier Invitational | W 76–73 | 3–0 | 24 – Tandy | 13 – Carter | 7 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 30, 2020* 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 99–96 $^{OT}$ | 4–0 | 24 – Freemantle | 13 – Freemantle | 6 – Odom | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 2, 2020* 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | Tennessee Tech | W 79–48 | 5–0 | 14 – Johnson | 12 – Carter | 9 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 6, 2020* 3:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Cincinnati Crosstown Shootout | W 77–69 | 6–0 | 20 – Scruggs | 9 – Freemantle | 5 – Scruggs | Fifth Third Arena (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 9, 2020* 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Oklahoma Big East/Big 12 Battle | W 99–77 | 7–0 | 28 – Freemantle | 6 – Johnson | 8 – Scruggs | Cintas Center Cincinnati, OH |
| Big East regular season |||||||||
| December 12, 2020 6:30 p.m., FS2 | | at Providence | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Alumni Hall (–) Providence, RI |
| December 18, 2020 2:00 p.m., FS1 | | at DePaul | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Wintrust Arena (–) Chicago, IL |
| December 20, 2020 2:00 p.m., FS1 | | Marquette | W 91–88 | 8–0 (1–0) | 29 – Scruggs | 7 – Freemantle | 6 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 23, 2020 3:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 22 | at No. 13 Creighton | L 61–66 | 8–1 (1–1) | 12 – Johnson | 6 – Jones | 4 – Scruggs | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,673) Omaha, NE |
| December 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | Seton Hall | L 68–85 | 8–2 (1–2) | 20 – Freemantle | 9 – Freemantle | 8 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 4 Villanova | Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cintas Center (–) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 6, 2021 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | St. John's | W 69–60 | 9–2 (2–2) | 16 – Jones | 16 – Carter | 3 – Tied | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 10, 2021 11:00 a.m., FOX | | Providence | W 74–73 | 10–2 (3–2) | 17 – Freemantle | 8 – Freemantle | 5 – Kunkel | Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 13, 2021 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | Villanova | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Cintas Center (–) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 16, 2021 3:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Seton Hall | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Prudential Center (–) Newark, NJ |
| January 20, 2021 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at No. 23 Connecticut | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (–) Storrs, CT |
| January 26, 2021 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | Georgetown | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Cintas Center (–) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 29, 2021 6:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Butler | W 68–55 | 11–2 (4–2) | 24 – Scruggs | 10 – Freemantle | 3 – Scruggs | Hinkle Fieldhouse (2,084) Indianapolis, IN |
| February 3, 2021 5:00 p.m., FS1 | | at DePaul | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Wintrust Arena (–) Chicago, IL |
| February 7, 2021 2:30 p.m., FOX | | at No. 3 Villanova | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Finneran Pavilion (–) Villanova, PA |
| February 11, 2021 3:30 p.m., FS1 | | DePaul | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Cintas Center (–) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 p.m., FOX | | Connecticut | L 72–80 | 11–3 (4–3) | 30 – Freemantle | 15 – Freemantle | 12 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (922) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 16, 2021 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | at St. John's | L 84–93 | 11–4 (4–4) | 22 – Freemantle | 10 – Freemantle | 6 – Tied | Carnesecca Arena (0) Queens, NY |
| February 21, 2021 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | Butler | W 63–51 | 12–4 (5–4) | 17 – Freemantle | 11 – Jones | 6 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (922) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 24, 2021 9:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Providence | L 68–83 | 12–5 (5–5) | 24 – Freemantle | 12 – Freemantle | 3 – Tied | Alumni Hall (0) Providence, RI |
| February 27, 2021 5:00 p.m., FOX | | No. 13 Creighton | W 77–69 | 13–5 (6–5) | 23 – Scruggs | 11 – Freemantle | 5 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (922) Cincinnati, OH |
| March 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Georgetown | L 66–72 | 13–6 (6–6) | 14 – Tandy | 12 – Freemantle | 4 – Jones | Capital One Arena (0) Washington, D.C. |
| March 7, 2021 9:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Marquette | L 59–66 | 13–7 (6–7) | 18 – Scruggs | 6 – Tied | 3 – 3 Tied | Fiserv Forum (1,800) Milwaukee, WI |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2021 6:00 p.m, FS1 | (7) | vs. (10) Butler First round | L 69–70 | 13–8 | 14 – Tied | 9 – Jones | 4 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (–) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | 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 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | |
| Coaches | — | —^ | RV | RV | 22 | 20T | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.