2020–21 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team represented Saint Louis University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Travis Ford in his fifth season at Saint Louis. The team played their home games at Chaifetz Arena as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 14-7, 6-4 to finish a tie for 4th place. They defeated UMass in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament before losing in the semifinals to St. Bonaventure. They received an invitation to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Mississippi State.

2020–21 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball
NIT, First Round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	14–7 (6–4 A-10)
Head coach	Travis Ford (5th season)
Associate head coach	Corey Tate
Assistant coaches	Ray Giacoletti Ford Stuen
Home arena	Chaifetz Arena

2020–21 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
St. Bonaventure†	11	–	4		.733			16	–	5		.762
VCU	10	–	4		.714			19	–	7		.731
Davidson	7	–	4		.636			13	–	9		.591
Saint Louis	6	–	4		.600			14	–	7		.667
UMass	6	–	4		.600			8	–	7		.533
George Mason	8	–	6		.571			13	–	9		.591
Dayton	9	–	7		.563			14	–	10		.583
Richmond	6	–	5		.545			14	–	9		.609
Duquesne	7	–	7		.500			9	–	9		.500
Rhode Island	7	–	10		.412			10	–	15		.400
George Washington	3	–	5		.375			5	–	12		.294
La Salle	6	–	11		.353			9	–	16		.360
Saint Joseph's	3	–	9		.250			5	–	15		.250
Fordham	2	–	11		.154			2	–	12		.143
† 2021 A10 Tournament winner

Previous season

The Billikens finished the 2019-20 season 23–8, 12-6 in A-10 play in fourth place. Their season ended when the A-10 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
Tay Weaver	2	G	5'10"	170	Senior	Louisville, KY	Graduated
Madani Diarra	21	C	6'10"	240	Freshman	Bamako, Mail	Transferred to Eastern Illinois
KC Hankton	23	F	6'4"	195	Sophomore	Charlotte, NC	Transferred to Chattanooga
Jack Raboin	31	G	6'6"	205	Senior	Mattoon, IL	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Marten Linssen	12	F	6'8"	255	Junior	Dusseldorf, Germany	Transferred from UNC Wilmington. Graduate Transfer, eligible immediately
Francis Okoro	5	F	6'9"	235	Junior	Imo, Nigeria	Transferred from Oregon. Under NCAA transfer rules, Okoro will have to sit out for the 2020–21 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Markhi Strickland G/F	Miami, FL	Victory Rock Prep	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sep 30, 2019
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Phillip Russell PG	St. Louis, MO	Vashon(MO)	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Aug 11, 2020
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Andre Lorentsson F	Gothenburg, Sweden	RIG Mark Kinna	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Feb 26, 2020
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
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:

Roster

2020–21 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jordan Goodwin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Althoff Catholic Centreville, Il G 1 Yuri Collins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So St. Mary’s St. Louis, MO G/F 2 Markhi Strickland 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Victory Rock Prep Miami, FL G/F 3 Javonte Perkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Miller Career Academy Southwestern Illinois College St. Louis, MO G 4 Phillip Russell (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Vashon St. Louis, MO F 5 Francis Okoro  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Normal West Oregon Imo, Nigeria G 10 Joshua Hightower (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Glenelg Country ASA College Cooksville, MD F 11 Hasahn French 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Commonwealth Academy Middletown, NY F 12 Marten Linssen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr Schloss-Gymnasium Benrath Valparaiso UNC Wilmington Dusseldorf, Germany F 13 Andre Lorentsson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr RIG Mark Kinna Gothenburg, Sweden G 15 Demarius Jacobs 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Uplift Chicago, IL G 20 Fred Thatch Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Sikeston Sikeston, MO F 22 Terrence Hargrove Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So East St. Louis East St. Louis, IL G 24 Gibson Jimerson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Montverde Academy Richmond, VA G 30 Brandon Courtney (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Wesclin Trenton, IL F 32 Jimmy Bell Jr. 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) So Bella Vista Prep Saginaw, MI	Head coach Travis Ford (Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Corey Tate (Missouri) Ray Giacoletti (Minot State University) Ford Stuen (Oklahoma State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Source

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		SIU Edwardsville Billiken Classic	W 89–52	1–0	22 – Perkins	11 – Goodwin	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
November 26, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		LSU Billiken Classic	W 85–81	2–0	32 – Perkins	11 – Goodwin	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
December 5, 2020* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 107–54	3–0	15 – Goodwin	7 – Goodwin	8 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
December 8, 2020* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Central Arkansas	W 88–65	4–0	21 – Gibson	11 – Goodwin	9 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Indiana State	W 78–59	5–0	22 – Goodwin	11 – Goodwin	10 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
December 17, 2020* 7:00 pm, FSMW		NC State	W 80–69	6–0	20 – Perkins	15 – Goodwin	5 – Tied	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
December 20, 2020* 7:30 pm, FS1		at Minnesota	L 82–90	6–1	21 – Goodwin	10 – Goodwin	7 – Tied	Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN
December 23, 2020* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Kansas City	W 62–46	7–1	23 – Goodwin	13 – Goodwin	7 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
Atlantic 10 regular season
December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, FSMW		Duquesne Postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests						Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
January 9, 2021 5:00 pm, NBCSN	No. 23	at Saint Joseph's Postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests						Hagan Arena  Philadelphia, PA
January 15, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 24	Davidson Postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests						Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
January 20, 2021 5:00 pm, FSMW	No. 25	at UMass Postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests						Mullins Center  Amherst, MA
January 26, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 22	Dayton	L 71–76	7–2 (0–1)	20 – Perkins	11 – Goodwin	11 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
January 29, 2021 5:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 22	at Richmond Postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests.						Robins Center  Richmond, VA
February 3, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at La Salle	L 75–82	7–3 (0–2)	13 – Perkins	9 – Thatch Jr.	4 – Thatch Jr.	Tom Gola Arena (0) Philadelphia, PA
February 6, 2021 1:00 pm, CBSSN		St. Bonaventure	W 70–59	8–3 (1–2)	21 – Perkins	7 – French	4 – Tied	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
February 10, 2021 8:00 pm, CBSSN		Rhode Island	W 67–60	9–3 (2–2)	17 – Goodwin	13 – French	6 – Goodwin	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
February 13, 2021 2:30 pm, CBSSN		at Fordham	W 68–40	10–3 (3–2)	19 – Perkins	11 – French	5 – Goodwin	Rose Hill Gymnasium (0) Bronx, NY
February 16, 2021 8:00 pm, CBSSN		La Salle	W 78–57	11–3 (4–2)	19 – Perkins	15 – Goodwin	8 – Goodwin	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
February 19, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2		at Dayton	L 53–76	11–4 (4–3)	8 – Hargrove	8 – Goodwin	4 – Collins	UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH
February 23, 2021 5:00 pm, CBSSN		at VCU	L 65–67	11–5 (4–4)	21 – French	12 – Goodwin	3 – Tied	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 26, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2		Richmond	W 72–67	12–5 (5–4)	15 – Tied	9 – French	9 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
March 1, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN		UMass	W 78–57	13–5 (6–4)	16 – Perkins	11 – Goodwin	8 – Goodwin	Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
A-10 tournament
March 5, 2021 12:00 pm, NBCSN	(4)	vs. (5) UMass Quarterfinals	W 86–72	14–5	25 – Perkins	14 – Goodwin	5 – Collins	Robins Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 6, 2021 5:00 pm, CBSSN	(4)	vs. (1) St. Bonaventure Semifinals	L 53–71	14–6	11 – Goodwin	7 – Goodwin	9 – Collins	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
NIT
March 20, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN	(1)	vs. (4) Mississippi State First Round – Saint Louis bracket	L 68–74	14–7	21 – Perkins	10 – French	6 – Goodwin	Comerica Center (751) Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23т	24	25	22	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	—		RV	RV	RV	RV	23	24т	RV	24	RV	RV	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings