2020–21 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

2020–21 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
2020–21 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	13–14 (7–11 SEC)
Head coach	Bruce Pearl (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Ira Bowman (3rd season); Wes Flanigan (3rd season); Steven Pearl (4th season);
Home arena	Auburn Arena
	Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	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.

The 2020–21 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach is Bruce Pearl in his seventh season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama.

On November 22, 2020, the team announced a self-imposed, one year postseason ban due to former assistant coach Chuck Person's involvement in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal.^[1]

Previous season

The 2019–20 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team finished the 2019–20 season 25–6, 12–6 in SEC play. The Tigers earned the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament, in which Auburn was expected to participate, was also cancelled.

Offseason

Departures

Auburn lost seniors Thomas Collier, Samir Doughty, Will Macoy, J'Von McCormick, Anfernee McLemore, Danjel Purifoy, and Austin Wiley to graduation. In addition, freshman Isaac Okoro declared for the NBA draft and sophomore Myles Parker transferred to Alabama A&M.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Thomas Collier	54	F	6'9"	215	Senior	Birmingham, AL	Graduated
Samir Doughty	10	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Philadelphia, PA	Graduated
Will Macoy	21	G	6'4"	200	Senior	Birmingham, AL	Graduated
J'Von McCormick	5	G	6'0"	185	Senior	New Orleans, LA	Graduated
Anfernee McLemore	24	F	6'7"	220	Senior	Warwick, GA	Graduated
Isaac Okoro	23	F	6'6"	225	Freshman	Powder Springs, GA	Declared for the NBA draft; selected 5th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Myles Parker	20	F	6'8"	200	Sophomore	Madison, AL	Transferred to Alabama A&M
Danjel Purifoy	3	F	6'7"	230	Senior	Centreville, AL	Graduated
Austin Wiley	50	C	6'11"	250	Senior	Hoover, AL	Graduated

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Justin Powell SG	Prospect, KY	North Oldham (KY)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jun 7, 2019
Justin Powell SG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83
Sharife Cooper PG	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern (GA)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sep 27, 2019
Sharife Cooper PG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 94
Chris Moore PF	West Memphis, AR	West Memphis (AR)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Nov 16, 2019
Chris Moore PF	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
JT Thor PF	Anchorage, AK	Norcross (GA)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 12, 2020
JT Thor PF	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Dylan Cardwell C	Augusta, GA	McEachern (GA)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	May 7, 2020
Dylan Cardwell C	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 6 247Sports: 9 ESPN: 6
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: "Auburn 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020. "2020 Auburn Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.

2021 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jabari Smith Jr. PF	Tyrone, GA	Sandy Creek (GA)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 9, 2020
Jabari Smith Jr. PF	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 40 247Sports: 71 ESPN: 9
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: "Auburn 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020. "2021 Auburn Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on November 12, 2020.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team
Media poll
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

Roster

2020–21 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Jamal Johnson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Memphis	Birmingham, AL
G	2	Sharife Cooper	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	McEachern	Powder Springs, GA
F	4	Javon Franklin	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Jr	Holmes CC	Little Rock, AR
F	5	Chris Moore	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Fr	West Memphis	West Memphis, AR
F	10	JT Thor	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Norcross	Anchorage, AK
G	12	Lior Berman (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Mountain Brook	Birmingham, AL
C	13	Babatunde Akingbola	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	So	McEachern	Ogun, Nigeria
G	14	Preston Cook (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Auburn	Auburn, AL
G	20	Carter Sobera (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Fr	Mountain Brook	Birmingham, AL
F	21	Ty Cressman (W)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	244 lb (111 kg)	Fr	Bishop McGuinness	Greensboro, NC
G	22	Allen Flanigan	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Parkview Magnet	Little Rock, AR
F	23	Jaylin Williams	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Brantley County	Nahunta, GA
G	24	Justin Powell	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	North Oldham	Prospect, KY
G	25	Chandler Leopard (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Athens	Athens, AL
G	33	Chase Maasdorp (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS So	The Out-of-Door Academy	Lakewood Ranch, FL
G	35	Devan Cambridge	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	So	Hillcrest Prep	Nashville, TN
C	44	Dylan Cardwell	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Fr	McEachern	Augusta, GA

Head coach

Bruce Pearl (Boston College)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 10, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 26, 2020* 3:30 pm, FS1	vs. Saint Joseph's Fort Myers Tip-Off	W 96–91 ^OT	1–0	18 – Williams	11 – Williams	3 – Tied	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (198) Fort Myers, FL
November 27, 2020* 10:00 am, FOX	vs. No. 1 Gonzaga Fort Myers Tip-Off	L 67–90	1–1	20 – Flanigan	6 – Powell	3 – Powell	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (288) Fort Myers, FL
November 30, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at UCF	L 55–63	1–2	18 – Johnson	8 – Williams	3 – Tied	Addition Financial Arena (1,944) Orlando, FL
December 4, 2020* 8:00 pm, SECN	South Alabama	W 90–81	2–2	26 – Powell	6 – Cardwell	9 – Powell	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
December 12, 2020* 4:30 pm, ESPNU	vs. Memphis Holiday Hoopsgiving	W 74–71	3–2	26 – Powell	8 – Powell	8 – Williams	State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA
December 15, 2020* 6:00 pm, SECN+	Texas Southern	W 80–63	4–2	18 – Flanigan	7 – Tied	6 – Powell	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
December 19, 2020* 11:00 am, SECN	Troy	W 77–41	5–2	14 – Flanigan	6 – Tied	8 – Powell	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
December 22, 2020* 2:00 pm, SECN	Appalachian State	W 67–53	6–2	15 – Williams	8 – Powell	6 – Flanigan	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2	Arkansas	L 85–97	6–3 (0–1)	21 – Johnson	10 – Flanigan	9 – Powell	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
January 2, 2021 2:30 pm, SECN	at Texas A&M	L 66–68	6–4 (0–2)	20 – Johnson	6 – Tied	7 – Williams	Reed Arena (907) College Station, TX
January 6, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN	at Ole Miss	L 61–72	6–5 (0–3)	24 – Williams	6 – Flanigan	5 – Flanigan	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (853) Oxford, MS
January 9, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN2	Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball	L 90–94	6–6 (0–4)	26 – Cooper	9 – Thor	9 – Cooper	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
January 13, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN	at Georgia	W 95–77	7–6 (1–4)	28 – Cooper	8 – Thor	12 – Cooper	Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA
January 16, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN	Kentucky	W 66–59	8–6 (2–4)	21 – Flanigan	9 – Flanigan	8 – Cooper	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
January 20, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN	at Arkansas	L 73–75	8–7 (2–5)	25 – Cooper	5 – Thor	4 – Cooper	Bud Walton Arena (4,400) Fayetteville, AR
January 23, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN2	at South Carolina	W 109–86	9–7 (3–5)	24 – Flanigan	7 – Tied	12 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (3,250) Columbia, SC
January 26, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12 Missouri	W 88–82	10–7 (4–5)	28 – Cooper	8 – Cooper	7 – Cooper	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
January 30, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN	at No. 2 Baylor Big 12/SEC Challenge	L 72–84	10–8	17 – Williams	8 – Tied	6 – Flanigan	Ferrell Center (2,350) Waco, TX
February 2, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN	Georgia	L 86–91	10–9 (4–6)	21 – Williams	6 – Johnson	9 – Cooper	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
February 6, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN2	Ole Miss	L 84–86 ^OT	10–10 (4–7)	16 – Tied	7 – Cambridge	14 – Cooper	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
February 9, 2021 7:30 pm, SECN	at Vanderbilt	W 73–67	11–10 (5–7)	19 – Tied	10 – Williams	7 – Cooper	Memorial Gymnasium (95) Nashville, TN
February 13, 2021 12:00 pm, CBS	at Kentucky	L 80–82	11–11 (5–8)	24 – Thor	9 – Thor	8 – Cooper	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
February 20, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN	at LSU	L 80–104	11–12 (5–9)	26 – Cooper	7 – Franklin	5 – Flanigan	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,384) Baton Rouge, LA
February 23, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN	Florida	L 57–74	11–13 (5–10)	14 – Cambridge	9 – Flanigan	4 – Flanigan	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
February 27, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN	No. 25 Tennessee	W 77–72	12–13 (6–10)	23 – Flanigan	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
March 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2	at No. 8 Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball	L 58–70	12–14 (6–11)	13 – Williams	9 – Flanigan	7 – Johnson	Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL
March 6, 2021^[a] 12:00 pm, SECN	Mississippi State	W 78–71	13–14 (7–11)	22 – Flanigan	9 – Thor	7 – Johnson	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

^[3]

^{^[a]}The game between Auburn and Mississippi State was postponed due to inclement weather. The game was originally scheduled for February 16.

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	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

^ "Auburn men's basketball program to forgo postseason for 2020-21 season". Auburn Athletics. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
^ "Media picks Vols to win 2021 SEC Men's Basketball Title". SEC Sports. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule".

[1] "Auburn men's basketball program to forgo postseason for 2020-21 season". Auburn Athletics. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.

[2] "Media picks Vols to win 2021 SEC Men's Basketball Title". SEC Sports. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.

[3] "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule".

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Auburn Tigers men's basketball
Venues	The Gymnasium (1906–1916) Alumni Gymnasium (1916–1946) Auburn Sports Arena (1946–1969) Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (1969–2010) Neville Arena (2010–present)
Rivalries	Alabama UAB
Culture & lore	Aubie The Jungle
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics