2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Will Wade, in his fourth season at LSU. They played their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 19-10, 11-6 in SEC Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated Ole Miss and Arkansas to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Alabama. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated St. Bonaventure in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Michigan.

2020–21 LSU Tigers basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	19–10 (11–6 SEC)
Head coach	Will Wade (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Kevin Nickelberry Bill Armstrong Tasmin Mitchell
Home arena	Pete Maravich Assembly Center

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.

Previous season

The Tigers finished the season 21–10, 12–6 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Skylar Mays	4	G	6'4"	205	Senior	Baton Rouge, LA	Graduated; selected 50th overall by the Atlanta Hawks
Emmitt Williams	5	F	6'6"	230	Sophomore	Fort Myers, FL	Declared for the 2020 NBA draft
James Bishop	10	G	6'2"	190	Freshman	Baltimore, MD	Transferred to George Washington
Marshall Graves	12	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Ponchatoula, LA	Graduated
Marlon Taylor	14	G	6'6"	210	Senior	Mount Vernon, New York	Graduated
Caleb Starks	20	G	6'3"	205	Junior	Lafayette, LA	Walk-on; Transferred to Tarleton State
Courtese Cooper	21	F	6'9"	220	Sophomore	Elgin, IL	Transferred to Southern Utah

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Josh LeBlanc Sr.	11	F	6'7"	230	Junior	Baton Rouge, LA	Georgetown
Bryan Penn-Johnson	22	C	7'0"	260	Sophomore	Long Beach, CA	Washington
Shareef O'Neal	32	F	6'10"	225	Sophomore	Los Angeles, CA	UCLA

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Cameron Thomas SG	Chesapeake, VA	Oscar Smith High/Oak Hill Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 18, 2019
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Mwani Wilkinson PF	Las Vegas, NV	Bishop Gorman High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Feb 8, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jalen Cook PG	Walker, LA	Walker High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 18, 2019
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Eric Gaines CG	Walker, LA	Lithonia High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Mar 1, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Josh Gray C	Brooklyn, NY	Putnam Science Academy	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Apr 18, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
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: "LSU 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "2020 LSU Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on November 13, 2020.

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team
1	Tennessee
2	Kentucky
3	LSU
4	Florida
5	Alabama
6	Arkansas
7	Auburn
8	South Carolina
9	Ole Miss
10	Missouri
11	Texas A&M
12	Mississippi State
13	Georgia
14	Vanderbilt

Preseason All-SEC teams

The Tigers had two players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

First Team

Trendon Watford

Second Team

Javonte Smart

Roster

2020–21 LSU Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Mwani Wilkinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Bishop Gorman High School Las Vegas, NV G 1 Javonte Smart 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Scotlandville Magnet HS Baton Rouge, LA F 2 Trendon Watford 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Mountain Brook HS Birmingham, AL G 3 Jalen Cook 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Walker High School Walker, LA F 4 Darius Days 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr IMG Academy Raleigh, FL G 5 Parker Edwards (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Southeastern Louisiana Mandeville, LA G 10 Brandon Egemo (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr University HS Los Angeles, CA G 11 Josh LeBlanc Sr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Georgetown Baton Rouge, LA F 15 Aundre Hyatt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Miller School The Bronx, NY G 21 Charles Manning Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Florida SouthWestern State College Riverhead, NY C 22 Bryan Penn-Johnson 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Washington Long Beach, CA G 24 Cam Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Oak Hill Academy Chesapeake, VA G 25 Eric Gaines 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Lithonia High School Lithonia, GA F 32 Shareef O'Neal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So UCLA Los Angeles, CA C 34 Josh Gray 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Putnam Science Academy Brooklyn, NY	Head coach Will Wade (Clemson) Assistant coach(es) Kevin Nickelberry (Virginia Wesleyan University) Bill Armstrong (UAB) Tasmin Mitchell (LSU) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 4, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 26, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. SIU Edwardsville Billiken Classic	W 94–81	1–0	27 – Thomas	7 – Watford	9 – Watford	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
November 28, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Louis Billiken Classic	L 81–85	1–1	25 – Thomas	11 – Days	6 – Watford	Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO
November 30, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 96–43	2–1	21 – Thomas	9 – Tied	5 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,008) Baton Rouge, LA
December 6, 2020* 5:00 pm, SECN		Louisiana Tech	W 86–55	3–1	18 – Watford	8 – Days	2 – Tied	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,505) Baton Rouge, LA
December 14, 2020* 11:00 am, SECN		Sam Houston State	W 88–66	4–1	25 – Smart	10 – Days	5 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (55) Baton Rouge, LA
December 26, 2020* 1:00 pm, SECN		Nicholls	W 86–80	5–1	29 – Thomas	9 – Watford	6 – Watford	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,198) Baton Rouge, LA
December 29, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN		Texas A&M	W 77–54	6–1 (1–0)	32 – Thomas	10 – Days	6 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,212) Baton Rouge, LA
January 2, 2021 1:00 pm, CBS		at Florida	L 79–83	6–2 (1–1)	28 – Thomas	8 – Watford	3 – Watford	O'Connell Center (2,211) Gainesville, FL
January 6, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN		Georgia	W 94–92 OT	7–2 (2–1)	26 – Thomas	11 – Days	4 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,635) Baton Rouge, LA
January 9, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN		at Ole Miss	W 75–61	8–2 (3–1)	21 – Watford	7 – Days	6 – Smart	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS
January 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2		Arkansas	W 92–76	9–2 (4–1)	23 – Watford	13 – Days	5 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,540) Baton Rouge, LA
January 16, 2021 7:30 pm, SECN		South Carolina	W 85–80	10–2 (5–1)	25 – Thomas	9 – Days	5 – Watford	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,143) Baton Rouge, LA
January 19, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 18 Alabama	L 75–105	10–3 (5–2)	21 – Thomas	8 – Watford	4 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,295) Baton Rouge, LA
January 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN		at Kentucky	L 69–82	10–4 (5–3)	26 – Watford	10 – Watford	3 – Smart	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
January 26, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN		at Texas A&M	W 78–66	11–4 (6–3)	28 – Thomas	8 – Watford	9 – Smart	Reed Arena (1,485) College Station, TX
January 30, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 10 Texas Tech Big 12/SEC Challenge	L 71–76	11–5	29 – Smart	9 – Days	2 – Tied	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,808) Baton Rouge, LA
February 3, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at No. 10 Alabama	L 60–78	11–6 (6–4)	22 – Thomas	9 – Watford	3 – Tied	Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL
February 6, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN		No. 22 Florida	Postponed					Pete Maravich Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, LA
February 10, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Mississippi State	W 94–80	12–6 (7–4)	25 – Thomas	11 – Days	11 – Smart	Humphrey Coliseum (1,000) Starkville, MS
February 13, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN		No. 16 Tennessee	W 78–65	13–6 (8–4)	25 – Thomas	8 – Hyatt	4 – Thomas	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,224) Baton Rouge, LA
February 18, 2021 4:00 pm, SECN		at Ole Miss	Postponed due to weather concerns.					The Pavilion at Ole Miss  Oxford, MS
February 20, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN		Auburn	W 104–80	14–6 (9–4)	27 – Thomas	11 – Watford	5 – Smart	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,384) Baton Rouge, LA
February 23, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN		at Georgia	L 78–91	14–7 (9–5)	21 – Thomas	10 – Watford	3 – Tied	Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA
February 27, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 20 Arkansas	L 75–83	14–8 (9–6)	25 – Thomas	10 – LeBlanc Sr.	4 – Smart	Bud Walton Arena (4,400) Fayetteville, AR
March 2, 2021 7:30 pm, SECN		Vanderbilt	W 83–68	15–8 (10–6)	23 – Thomas	13 – Watford	4 – Tied	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,426) Baton Rouge, LA
March 6, 2021 2:00 pm, SECN		at Missouri	W 86–80	16–8 (11–6)	29 – Thomas	9 – Days	4 – Watford	Mizzou Arena (3,112) Columbia, MO
SEC Tournament
March 12, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN	(3)	vs. (6) Ole Miss Quarterfinals	W 76–73	17–8	24 – Watford	12 – Days	5 – Smart	Bridgestone Arena (2,155) Nashville, TN
March 13, 2021 2:30 pm, ESPN	(3)	vs. (2) No. 8 Arkansas Semifinals	W 78–71	18–8	21 – Thomas	8 – Tied	4 – Smart	Bridgestone Arena (3,164) Nashville, TN
March 14, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN	(3)	vs. (1) No. 6 Alabama Championship	L 79–80	18–9	30 – Watford	12 – Days	5 – Smart	Bridgestone Arena (2,586) Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021 12:45 pm, TNT	(8 E)	vs. (9 E) St. Bonaventure First Round	W 76–61	19–9	27 – Thomas	11 – Tied	3 – Tied	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall  Bloomington, IN
March 22, 2021 6:10 pm, CBS	(8 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 4 Michigan Second Round	L 78–86	19–10	30 – Thomas	9 – Smart	5 – Smart	Lucas Oil Stadium  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Schedule Source

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

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	RV	RV	—	—	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	Not released
Coaches	RV	RV^	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	RV	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll