2020–21 Florida Gators men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Mike White, and played their home games at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 15-10, 9-7 in SEC Play to finish in 5th place. They defeated Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Tennessee. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Virginia Tech in the first round before getting upset in the second round by Oral Roberts.

2020–21 Florida Gators men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record15–10 (9–7 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaO'Connell Center
Seasons
2020–21 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Alabama 16 2   .889 26 7   .788
No. 10 Arkansas 13 4   .765 25 7   .781
LSU 11 6   .647 19 10   .655
Tennessee 10 7   .588 18 9   .667
Florida 9 7   .563 15 10   .600
Ole Miss 10 8   .556 16 12   .571
Missouri 8 8   .500 16 10   .615
Kentucky 8 9   .471 9 16   .360
Mississippi State 8 10   .444 18 15   .545
Georgia 7 11   .389 14 12   .538
Auburn* 7 11   .389 13 14   .481
South Carolina 4 12   .250 6 15   .286
Texas A&M 2 8   .200 8 10   .444
Vanderbilt 3 13   .188 9 16   .360
2021 SEC tournament winner
* Ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed postseason ban.

Roster

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2020–21 Florida Gators men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ques Glover 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 182 lb (83 kg) So Bearden High School Knoxville, Tennessee
G 1 Tre Mann 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So The Villages Charter Schools Gainesville, Florida
F 2 Samson Ruzhentsev 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Moscow, Russia
G 3 Alex Klatsky 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Ranney School Colts Neck, New Jersey
F 4 Anthony Duruji 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Louisiana Tech Germantown, Maryland
F 5 Omar Payne 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Montverde Academy Kissimmee, Florida
G 10 Noah Locke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Jr McDonogh School Baltimore, Maryland
F 11 Keyontae Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Jr Oak Hill Academy Norfolk, Virginia
F 12 Colin Castleton 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 231 lb (105 kg) RS Jr Michigan DeLand, Florida
F 15 Osayi Osifo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Eastern Florida State College Bedworth Park, South Africa
G 20 Jack May 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Saint Andrew's School Boca Raton, Florida
G 22 Tyree Appleby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Cleveland State Jacksonville, Arkansas
G 23 Scottie Lewis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) So Ranney School Hazlet, New Jersey
C 33 Jason Jitoboh 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 285 lb (129 kg) So Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Abuja, Nigeria
G 44 Niels Lane 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Roselle Catholic High School Freehold, New Jersey
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: March 16, 2021

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference Regular season
November 25, 2020*
4:30 pm
vs. UMass Lowell
Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville
Canceled[a] Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
November 27, 2020*
11:30 am, ESPN
vs. No. 4 Virginia
Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville
Canceled[a] Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
December 2, 2020*
5:00 pm, ESPN2
at Oklahoma Canceled[a] Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
December 2, 2020*
2:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. Army
Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville
W 76–69  1–0
 19  Mann   8  Castleton   4  Mann  Mohegan Sun Arena (0)
Uncasville, CT
December 3, 2020*
9:30 pm, ESPN
vs. Boston College
Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville
W 90–70  2–0
 24  Johnson   12  Johnson   6  Mann  Mohegan Sun Arena (0)
Uncasville, CT
December 6, 2020*
2:00 pm, SECN
Stetson W 86–40  3–0
 19  Johnson   10  Lewis   6  Lewis  O'Connell Center (2,193)
Gainesville, FL
December 12, 2020*
11:00 am, ESPNU
at No. 20 Florida State
Sunshine Showdown
L 71–83  3–1
 19  Lewis   8  Mann   7  Mann  Donald L. Tucker Center (2,761)
Tallahassee, FL
December 16, 2020*
7:00 pm, SECN
North Florida Postponed[b] O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
December 19, 2020*
12:00 pm
Florida Atlantic Postponed[b] O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
December 20, 2020*
Florida A&M Postponed[b] O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
December 22, 2020*
7:00 pm, SECN
James Madison Postponed[b] O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
SEC Regular season
December 30, 2020
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at Vanderbilt W 91–72  4–1
(1–0)
 23  Castleton   10  Mann   4  2 tied  Memorial Gymnasium (94)
Nashville, TN
January 2, 2021
2:00 pm, CBS
LSU W 83–79  5–1
(2–0)
 21  Castleton   7  Duruji   5  Appleby  O'Connell Center (2,211)
Gainesville, FL
January 5, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN2
at Alabama L 71–86  5–2
(2–1)
 13  Castleton   8  Castleton   6  Mann  Coleman Coliseum (2,055)
Tuscaloosa, AL
January 9, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN
Kentucky
Rivalry
L 58–76  5–3
(2–2)
 15  Duruji   6  Tied   3  Mann  O'Connell Center (2,324)
Gainesville, FL
January 12, 2021
7:00 pm, SECN
Ole Miss W 72–63  6–3
(3–2)
 21  Castleton   10  Castleton   3  Tied  O'Connell Center (2,254)
Gainesville, FL
January 16, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN2
at Mississippi State L 69–72  6–4
(3–3)
 20  Appleby   7  Castleton   6  Mann  Humphrey Coliseum (1,000)
Starkville, MS
January 19, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 6 Tennessee W 75–49  7–4
(4–3)
 14  Locke   9  Payne   7  Appleby  O'Connell Center (2,280)
Gainesville, FL
January 23, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN2
at Georgia W 92–84  8–4
(5–3)
 24  Mann   9  Payne   4  Mann  Stegeman Coliseum (1,638)
Athens, GA
January 27, 2021
6:30 pm, SECN
Vanderbilt W 78–71  9–4
(6–3)
 15  Mann   5  Tied   6  Appleby  O'Connell Center (2,404)
Gainesville, FL
January 30, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 11 West Virginia
Big 12/SEC Challenge
W 85–80  10–4
 21  Castleton   7  Castleton   7  Appleby  WVU Coliseum (1,000)
Morgantown, WV
February 3, 2021
6:30 pm, SECN
No. 22 South Carolina L 66–72  10–5
(6–4)
 17  Mann   8  Mann   4  Appleby  O'Connell Center (2,282)
Gainesville, FL
February 6, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN
No. 22 at LSU Postponed Pete Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
February 13, 2021
8:30 pm, SECN
Texas A&M Postponed O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
February 16, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 24 Arkansas L 64–75  10–6
(6–5)
 16  Appleby   8  Mann   2  Appleby  Bud Walton Arena (4,400)
Fayetteville, AR
February 20, 2021
3:30 pm, SECN
Georgia W 70–63  11–6
(7–5)
 14  Castleton   9  Duruji   3  Mann  O'Connell Center (2,345)
Gainesville, FL
February 23, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN
at Auburn W 74–57  12–6
(8–5)
 19  Mann   13  Mann   3  Mann  Auburn Arena (1,824)
Auburn, AL
February 27, 2021
4:00 pm, CBS
at Kentucky
Rivalry
W 71–67  13–6
(9–5)
 21  Mann   8  Mann   5  Appleby  Rupp Arena (3,075)
Lexington, KY
March 3, 2021
6:30 pm, SECN
Missouri L 70–72  13–7
(9–6)
 21  Mann   11  Duruji   5  Appleby  O'Connell Center (2,306)
Gainesville, FL
March 7, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPNU
at Tennessee L 54–65  13–8
(9–7)
 18  Appleby   6  Castleton   3  Appleby  Thompson–Boling Arena (4,191)
Knoxville, TN
SEC tournament
March 11, 2021
2:30 pm, SECN
(5) vs. (12) Vanderbilt
Second Round
W 69–63  14–8
 22  Mann   8  Castleton   6  Mann  Bridgestone Arena (1,733)
Nashville, TN
March 12, 2021
2:30 pm, ESPN
(5) vs. (4) Tennessee
Quarterfinals
L 66–78  14–9
 30  Mann   7  Castleton   2  Tied  Bridgestone Arena (2,186)
Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021
12:15 pm, CBS
(7 S) vs. (10 S) No. 25 Virginia Tech
First Round
W 75–70 OT 15–9
 19  Castleton   13  Castleton   4  Mann  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 21, 2021
7:45 pm, truTV
(7 S) vs. (15 S) Oral Roberts
Second Round
L 78–81  15–10
 19  Mann   10  Castleton   5  Appleby  Indiana Farmers Coliseum (979)
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[1]

^[a] The games against UMass Lowell and Virginia were canceled due to Florida pausing team activities for one week due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing protocols.[2] The Oklahoma game was canceled later in the week, moving the home-and-home series back one year.[3]
^[b] The games against North Florida, Florida Atlanta, Florida A&M, and James Madison were postponed following the hospitalization of Keyontae Johnson after collapsing mid-game during the first half of the Florida State game.[4][5]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
APRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV22RVRVRVNot released
CoachesRVRV^25RVRVRVRVRVRV23RVRVRVRVRV

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

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  1. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Florida Gators. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Parler, Denver (November 22, 2020). "Men's Basketball Pauses Team Activities". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Parler, Denver (November 29, 2020). "Florida-Oklahoma Canceled". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Harry, Chris (December 15, 2020). "UF-UNF Game Postponed". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Harry, Chris (December 17, 2020). "Johnson's Progress Continues, More Games Postponed". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved December 22, 2020.