2020–21 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team

The 2020–21 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team represented the University of South Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the 49th basketball season for USF, the eighth as a member of the American Athletic Conference, and the fourth season under head coach Brian Gregory. The Bulls play their home games at Yuengling Center on the university's Tampa, Florida campus. The season ended on March 12, 2021 with a 68–67 loss to regular season conference champion Wichita State in the second round of the AAC tournament.

2020–21 South Florida Bulls men's basketball
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	9–13 (4–10 AAC)
Head coach	Brian Gregory (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Tom Herrion Scott Wagers Larry Dixon
Home arena	Yuengling Center
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Wichita State	11	–	2		.846			16	–	6		.727
No. 6 Houston †	14	–	3		.824			28	–	4		.875
Memphis	11	–	4		.733			20	–	8		.714
SMU	7	–	4		.636			11	–	6		.647
Cincinnati	8	–	6		.571			12	–	11		.522
UCF	8	–	10		.444			11	–	12		.478
Tulsa	7	–	9		.438			11	–	12		.478
South Florida	4	–	10		.286			9	–	13		.409
Temple	4	–	10		.286			5	–	11		.313
Tulane	4	–	12		.250			10	–	13		.435
East Carolina	2	–	10		.167			8	–	11		.421
† 2021 AAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2019–20 season 14–17, 7–11 in AAC play to finish in ninth place. They entered as the No. 9 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Laquincy Rideau	3	G	6'1"	205	Senior	West Palm Beach, FL	Graduated
B.J. Mack	33	F	6'8"	261	Freshman	Charlotte, NC	Transferred to Wofford[1]
Antun Maricevic	34	F	6'10"	260	Senior	Zagreb, Croatia	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Luke Anderson	F	6'8"	215	RS Freshman	Lakeland, FL	Transferred from Iowa State during the 2019–20 season. Anderson will be eligible immediately. Anderson has four years of remaining eligibility.[2]
Prince Oduro	F	6'8"	250	RS Junior	Toronto, Canada	Transferred from Mississippi State. Oduro was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[3][4]
Russel Tchewa	C	7'0"	260	Sophomore	Douala, Cameroon	Transferred from Texas Tech. Tchewa was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[5][6]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Caleb Murphy SG	Loganville, GA	Grayson High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 1, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 80
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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Trey Moss PG	Windermere, FL	Windermere Prep	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jun 12, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards^[7]

Coaches Poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Houston	99 (2)
2	Memphis	90 (2)
3	SMU	80
4	Cincinnati	77
5	South Florida	61
6	Tulsa	50
7	Wichita State	44
8	UCF	37
9	East Carolina	34
10	Temple	18
11	Tulane	15

Preseason Awards

• All-AAC Second Team - Alexis Yetna

Roster

2020–21 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 David Collins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr First Love Christian Academy Youngstown, Ohio G 1 Xavier Castaneda 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Jr Whitney High School Chicago, Illinois G 2 Ezacuras Dawson III 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Oklahoma State Miami, Florida F 3 Prince Oduro 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Jr Mississippi State Toronto, Canada F 4 Michael Durr 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Victory Rock Prep Bradenton, Florida F 5 Rashun Williams 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Jr Calhoun County High School Edison, Georgia F 10 Alexis Yetna 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 234 lb (106 kg) RS Jr Putnam Science Academy Paris, France G 11 Mark Calleja (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Hudson High School Hudson, Florida G/F 13 Justin Brown 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr Hargrave Military Academy Birmingham, Alabama F 22 Madut Akec 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS So Victory Rock Prep Bradenton, Florida G 23 Caleb Murphy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Grayson High School Loganville, Georgia G 24 Jamir Chaplin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) So Meadowcreek High School Norcross, Georgia G/F 44 Luke Anderson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Iowa State Lakeland, Florida C 54 Russel Tchewa 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Putnam Science Academy Douala, Cameroon	Head coach Brian Gregory (Oakland) Assistant coach(es) Tom Herrion (Merrimack) Scott Wagers (Tennessee Wesleyan) Larry Dixon (Johnson C. Smith) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: June 25, 2020

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

Main article: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulls' schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.

• The game vs. Florida A&M scheduled for December 4 was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.
• USF was originally scheduled to play LSU instead of Wofford on December 12, but LSU pulled out of the Hoopsgiving event due to COVID-19.^[8]
• The game vs. Temple rescheduled for February 21 was moved to Philadelphia.^[9]
• The game vs. SMU scheduled for February 20 was moved to Dallas.^[10]
• The game @ Temple scheduled for February 24 was moved to Tampa.^[11]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 11:30 a.m., ESPN+		Florida College	W 94–84	1–0	17 – Collins	7 – Chaplin	7 – Murphy	Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
November 28, 2020* 5:30 p.m., ESPN3		vs. Rhode Island Hall of Fame Tip Off	L 68–84	1–1	16 – Collins	7 – Durr	4 – Collins	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
November 29, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Virginia Tech Hall of Fame Tip Off	L 58–76	1–2	11 – Murphy	7 – Durr	2 – Murphy	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
December 2, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Florida Gulf Coast	W 76–57	2–2	14 – Durr	9 – Durr	5 – Collins	Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
December 8, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Stetson	W 73–62	3–2	18 – Collins	9 – Collins	6 – Murphy	Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
December 12, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ESPNews		vs. Wofford Holiday Hoopsgiving	W 58–56	4–2	13 – Collins	11 – Collins	3 – Collins	State Farm Arena  Atlanta, GA
December 16, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Cincinnati	W 74–71	5–2 (1–0)	16 – Yetna	12 – Yetna	4 – Tied	Fifth Third Arena (300) Cincinnati, OH
December 22, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Wichita State	L 77–82 OT	5–3 (1–1)	17 – Collins	14 – Tied	6 – Murphy	Yuengling Center (519) Tampa, FL
December 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Memphis	L 57–58	5–4 (1–2)	20 – Murphy	10 – Durr	3 – Murphy	FedEx Forum (133) Memphis, TN
January 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UCF War on I-4	W 68–61	6–4 (2–2)	19 – Collins	11 – Durr	7 – Collins	Yuengling Center (1,016) Tampa, FL
January 6, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Tulsa	L 51–61	6–5 (2–3)	16 – Chaplin	11 – Durr	4 – Murphy	Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
January 9, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Carolina	W 69–63	7–5 (3–3)	16 – Collins	6 – Yetna	5 – Collins	Williams Arena (67) Greenville, NC
January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		East Carolina	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[12]					Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
January 30, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cincinnati	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[13]					Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
February 3, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Tulsa	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[14]					Reynolds Center  Tulsa, OK
February 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU		at SMU	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[15]					Moody Coliseum  University Park, TX
February 10, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		Houston Previously scheduled for Jan. 14	L 65–82	7–6 (3–4)	18 – Collins	7 – Durr	4 – Collins	Yuengling Center (629) Tampa, FL
February 14, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPNU		Tulane Previously scheduled for Feb. 13	L 59–62	7–7 (3–5)	16 – Brown	8 – Tied	6 – Castaneda	Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at UCF War on I-4	L 65–81	7–8 (3–6)	16 – Yetna	15 – Yetna	3 – Castaneda	Addition Financial Arena (1,764) Orlando, FL
February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU		at SMU	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[16]					Moody Coliseum  University Park, TX
February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Temple Previously scheduled for Jan. 27	W 83–76	8–8 (4–6)	18 – Castaneda	7 – Yetna	4 – Collins	Liacouras Center  Philadelphia, PA
February 24, 2021 7:00 p.m.		Temple	L 47–65	8–9 (4–7)	16 – Brown	6 – Tied	3 – Murphy	Yuengling Center (471) Tampa, FL
February 28, 2021 4:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Houston	L 52–98	8–10 (4–8)	11 – Castaneda	7 – Castaneda	5 – Collins	Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX
March 2, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		Memphis Previously scheduled for Mar. 3	L 52–73	8–11 (4–9)	17 – Castaneda	5 – Castaneda	4 – Castaneda	Yuengling Center (1,222) Tampa, FL
March 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Tulane	Cancelled due to scheduling changes[17]					Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
March 6, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wichita State Previously scheduled for Jan. 24	L 63–80	8–12 (4–10)	18 – Durr	9 – Durr	6 – Castaneda	Charles Koch Arena (2,625) Wichita, KS
AAC tournament
March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPNU	(8)	vs. (9) Temple First Round	W 73–71	9–12	23 – Collins	11 – Durr	4 – Murphy	Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN2	(8)	vs. (1) Wichita State Quarterfinals	L 67–68	9–13	13 – Durr	13 – Durr	3 – Tied	Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Awards and honors

AAC Player of the Week

• Week 3 – David Collins^[18]

AAC Freshman of the Week

• Week 5 – Caleb Murphy^[19]
• Week 6 – Caleb Murphy^[20]

AAC All-Freshman Team

• Caleb Murphy^[21]

See also

2020–21 South Florida Bulls women's basketball team

References

1. Shanesy, Todd (April 19, 2020). "Wofford basketball to add transfer from South Florida". goupstate.com. Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
2. "Bulls add Transfer Luke Anderson". gousfbulls.com. USF Athletics. December 20, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
3. Knight, Joey (April 4, 2020). "USF men's basketball lands Mississippi State transfer Prince Oduro". tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
4. @JonRothstein (July 13, 2020). "South Florida's Prince Oduro has received a waiver from the NCAA and will be immediately eligible for the 20-21 season, per his Twitter page. Transfer from Mississippi State" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
5. Knight, Joey (May 8, 2020). "USF men's hoops lands 7-foot Texas Tech transfer". tampabay.com. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
6. @GoodmanHoops (August 17, 2020). "Texas Tech transfer Russel Tchewa has received waiver to play at South Florida. Immediately eligible w/3 years, per source" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
7. "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
8. Simon, Nick. "LSU Men's Basketball Pulls Out of Hoopsgiving, USF to Face Wofford". The Daily Stampede. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
9. "Pair of American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Games Postponed". theamerican.org. January 20, 2021.
10. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. January 27, 2021.
11. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. February 18, 2021.
12. "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule". theamerican.org. January 14, 2021.
13. "The American Announces Pair of Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. January 22, 2021.
14. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. January 27, 2021.
15. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. January 27, 2021.
16. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. February 18, 2021.
17. "The American Announces Changes to Final Weekend of Regular Season". theamerican.org. March 2, 2021.
18. "USF's Collins, Memphis' Cisse Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
19. "Wichita State's Etienne, USF's Murphy Earn Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
20. "Tulsa's Rachal, USF's Murphy Earn Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". theamerican.org. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
21. "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.