2020–21 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 123rd basketball season. The Jayhawks, members of the Big 12 Conference, played their home games at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. They were led by 18th year Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self. The Jayhawks finished the regular season 20–8 overall and 2nd in the Big 12. They were selected to the 2021 NCAA tournament as a 3 seed. They would be eliminated in the second round.

2020–21 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 12
Record	21–9 (12–6 Big 12)
Head coach	Bill Self (18th season)
Assistant coaches	Jerrance Howard (8th season) Norm Roberts (10th season) Kurtis Townsend (17th season)
Home arena	Allen Fieldhouse
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Baylor	13	–	1		.929			28	–	2		.933
No. 16 Kansas	12	–	6		.667			21	–	9		.700
No. 21 Texas †	11	–	6		.647			19	–	8		.704
No. 18 West Virginia	11	–	6		.647			19	–	10		.655
No. 19 Oklahoma State	11	–	7		.611			21	–	9		.700
No. 22 Texas Tech	9	–	8		.529			18	–	11		.621
Oklahoma	9	–	8		.529			16	–	11		.593
TCU	5	–	11		.313			12	–	14		.462
Kansas State	4	–	14		.222			9	–	20		.310
Iowa State	0	–	18		.000			2	–	22		.083
† 2021 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Season notes

On November 30, 2020, the Jayhawks were ranked in the AP poll for the 223rd consecutive week, breaking UCLA's record of 222 from 1966 to 1980. They had been ranked in every weekly AP poll since February 3, 2009.^[1] The Jayhawks went on an eight-game winning streak after losing their season opener. Following road losses to Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Oklahoma, the Jayhawks lost 3 straight games for the first time since the 2012–13 season and only the third time under Self. The streak is only the 9th losing streak of any length under Self. In total they lost five of seven games, which lead to them unranked being in the AP poll released on February 8, 2021, ending their ranked streak at 231.^[2] After going 3–0 in games that week, they would re-enter the rankings at 23 on February 15, 2021. The Jayhawks were swept by Texas, which was only the 2nd time under Self they were swept in the regular season. They finished 12–6 in Big 12 play, which gave them a 2nd-place finish in the conference. It is the 21st consecutive season the Jayhawks finished in the top three of the Big 12. Additionally, each year of the Big 12's 25 years of existence, Kansas has finished in the top five of the conference. They were selected to the NCAA tournament, their NCAA record extending 31st consecutive tournament, as a 3 seed. The Jayhawks would lose in the second round to USC 51–85, their worst defeat in the NCAA Tournament and their 3rd worst defeat overall in program history. The loss was also the Jayhawks lowest points scored in the NCAA Tournament since the shot clock was introduced in the 1985–86 season. The Jayhawks also ended their streak of 15 consecutive seasons with 25 or more wins, additionally, their 21 wins was the team's lowest win total since the 1988-89 season. However, both win totals were due in part to the Jayhawks playing fewer non-conference games than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roster changes

Graduation

Below are players from the previous season who ran out of college eligibility.

Name	Position
Udoka Azubuike	C
Isaiah Moss	G

Early draft entrants

See also: 2020 NBA draft

Name	Position	Class
Devon Dotson[3]	Guard	Sophomore

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Tyon Grant-Foster G	Kansas City, KS	Indian Hills CC	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Oct 14, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Gethro Muscadin C	Gonaïves, Haiti	Aspire Academy (KY)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oct 17, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Bryce Thompson SG	Tulsa, OK	Booker T. Washington	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nov 12, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 90
Latrell Josell PG	Chicago, IL	Central	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Nov 14, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings:     247 Sports: 23     Rivals: 12      ESPN: 20

Transfers

Incoming

Name	Position	Class	Old School
Tyon Grant-Foster	G	JR	Indian Hills CC

Outgoing

Name	Position	Class	New School
Elijah Elliott[4]	G	RS-SO	Stephen F. Austin

COVID-19 Opt-outs

Name	Position	Class
Silvio De Sousa	F	Sr

Roster

2020–21 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Marcus Garrett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Dallas, TX G 1 Tyon Grant-Foster 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Kansas City, KS G 2 Christian Braun 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Burlington, KS G 3 Dajuan Harris Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr Columbia, MO G 4 Latrell Jossel  5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Chicago, IL F 10 Jalen Wilson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Denton, TX G 12 Chris Teahan (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Leawood, KS G/F 13 Tristan Enaruna (COVID) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Almere, Netherlands G 20 Michael Jankovich (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Dallas, TX G 24 Bryce Thompson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Tulsa, OK G 30 Ochai Agbaji 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Kansas City, MO C 33 David McCormack 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Norfolk, VA C 35 Gethro Muscadin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Gonaïves, Haiti F 44 Mitch Lightfoot 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Gilbert, AZ	Head coach Bill Self (Oklahoma State) Assistant coach(es) Norm Roberts (Queens (NY)) Kurtis Townsend (Western Kentucky) Jerrance Howard (Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 22, 2021

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

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

Due to COVID-19, KU's annual Late Night in the Phog, the Jayhawks name for their Midnight Madness event, was done virtually. On October 13, Kansas and Missouri announced their scheduled renewal of their rivalry would be postponed a year and will begin play in 2021.^[5] On October 26, the University of Kansas announced that about 1,500 fans would be allowed, about 10% capacity.^[6] Despite the announcement saying that 1,500 fans would be allowed, the school has consistently reported attendance numbers of 2,500 for home games.

In total, nine games and the Wooden Classic, which the Jayhawks were scheduled to play in, were cancelled, and one game was postponed.

The Jayhawks finished the regular season without any known positive COVID-19 tests from players, coaches, or support staff. They would, however, have an unnamed player test positive prior to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. When Bill Self announced the positive test, he also confirmed that two other players had tested positive making a total of three positive tests. While it was not confirmed that they had tested positive, earlier that week Tristin Enaruna and David McCormack and been put in the COVID protocol after being exposed to it.

Schedule

All games listed below had limited or no attendance due to the pandemic.

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 26, 2020* 12:30 pm, FOX	No. 6	vs. No. 1 Gonzaga Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off	L 90–102	0–1	22 – Garrett	6 – McCormack	4 – Agbaji	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (175) Fort Myers, FL
November 27, 2020* 1:00 pm, FS1	No. 6	vs. Saint Joseph's Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off	W 94–72	1–1	30 – Braun	9 – Braun	5 – Harris	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (310) Fort Myers, FL
December 1, 2020* 8:30 pm, ESPN	No. 7	vs. No. 20 Kentucky Champions Classic	W 65–62	2–1	23 – Wilson	12 – Braun	5 – Harris	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0) Indianapolis, IN
December 3, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	No. 7	Washburn	W 89–54	3–1	17 – McCormack	6 – Tied	5 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (0) Lawrence, KS
December 5, 2020* 3:00 pm, ESPN+	No. 7	North Dakota State	W 65–61	4–1	14 – Wilson	14 – Wilson	4 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (0) Lawrence, KS
December 8, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN	No. 5	No. 8 Creighton Big East–Big 12 Alliance	W 73–72	5–1	23 – Wilson	10 – Wilson	6 – Braun	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
December 11, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 5	Omaha	W 95–50	6–1	18 – Agbaji	11 – McCormack	8 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
December 13, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	No. 5	Tarleton State	Cancelled due to a Tarleton State player testing positive for COVID-19					Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
December 17, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 5	at No. 14 Texas Tech	W 58–57	7–1 (1–0)	23 – Agbaji	10 – Tied	4 – Garrett	United Supermarkets Arena (4,250) Lubbock, TX
December 22, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 3	No. 7 West Virginia	W 79–65	8–1 (2–0)	22 – Braun	10 – McCormack	7 – Braun	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
January 2, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN2	No. 3	No. 8 Texas	L 59–84	8–2 (2–1)	10 – Wilson	7 – Wilson	6 – Braun	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
January 5, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 6	at TCU	W 93–64	9–2 (3–1)	20 – McCormack	8 – Tied	7 – Harris	Schollmaier Arena (1,894) Fort Worth, TX
January 9, 2021 3:30 p.m., CBS	No. 6	Oklahoma	W 63–59	10–2 (4–1)	15 – McCormack	11 – Wilson	4 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
January 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 6	at Oklahoma State	L 70–75	10–3 (4–2)	24 – McCormack	12 – McCormack	3 – Wilson	Gallagher-Iba Arena (3,350) Stillwater, OK
January 16, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 6	Iowa State	Postponed to February 11 due to COVID-19 issues at Iowa State					Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
January 18, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 9	at No. 2 Baylor	L 69–77	10–4 (4–3)	17 – Braun	5 – Wilson	8 – Garrett	Ferrell Center (2,350) Waco, TX
January 23, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN	No. 9	at Oklahoma	L 68–75	10–5 (4–4)	21 – Garrett	12 – Garrett	4 – Tied	Lloyd Noble Center (2,350) Norman, OK
January 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 15	TCU	W 59–51	11–5 (5–4)	15 – McCormack	7 – Garrett	4 – Agbaji	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
January 30, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 15	at No. 18 Tennessee Big 12/SEC Challenge	L 61–80	11–6	17 – McCormack	9 – Wilson	5 – Wilson	Thompson–Boling Arena (4,191) Knoxville, TN
February 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 23	Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 74–51	12–6 (6–4)	18 – Tied	10 – McCormack	5 – Tied	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
February 6, 2021 1:00 p.m., CBS	No. 23	at No. 17 West Virginia	L 79–91	12–7 (6–5)	18 – Garrett	14 – Wilson	4 – Wilson	WVU Coliseum (1,500) Morgantown, WV
February 8, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 23 Oklahoma State	W 78–66	13–7 (7–5)	23 – McCormack	11 – Wilson	4 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
February 11, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN		Iowa State	W 97–64	14–7 (8–5)	19 – Agbaji	11 – Wilson	6 – Braun	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
February 13, 2021 2:00 p.m., ABC		at Iowa State	W 64–50	15–7 (9–5)	22 – Wilson	10 – Wilson	5 – Garrett	Hilton Coliseum (1,320) Ames, IA
February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 23	at Kansas State Sunflower Showdown	W 59–41	16–7 (10–5)	14 – Garrett	9 – Wilson	2 – Tied	Bramlage Coliseum (1,248) Manhattan, KS
February 20, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 23	No. 15 Texas Tech	W 67–61	17–7 (11–5)	17 – McCormack	11 – Wilson	5 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS
February 23, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 17	at No. 14 Texas	L 72–75 OT	17–8 (11–6)	17 – Agbaji	12 – Wilson	3 – Tied	Frank Erwin Center (2,482) Austin, TX
February 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 17	No. 2 Baylor	W 71–58	18–8 (12–6)	20 – McCormack	13 – Wilson	4 – Agbaji	Allen Fieldhouse (2,600) Lawrence, KS
March 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 13	UTEP	W 67–62	19–8	19 – Agbaji	10 – McCormack	5 – Garrett	Allen Fieldhouse (2,600) Lawrence, KS
Big 12 Tournament
March 11, 2021 5:30 pm, ESPN	(2) No. 11	vs. (7) No. 25 Oklahoma Quarterfinals	W 69–62	20–8	26 – Agbaji	9 – Wilson	4 – Garrett	T-Mobile Center (3,510) Kansas City, MO
March 12, 2021 8:30 pm, ESPN2	(2) No. 11	vs. (3) No. 13 Texas Semifinals	Cancelled because Kansas withdrew from tournament due to a player who tested positive for COVID-19[7]					T-Mobile Center  Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021* 12:15 pm, TBS	(3 W) No. 12	vs. (14 W) Eastern Washington First Round	W 93–84	21–8	23 – Garrett	9 – McCormack	4 – Harris	Indiana Farmers Coliseum (961) Indianapolis, IN
March 22, 2021* 8:40 pm, CBS	(3 W) No. 12	vs. (6 W) No. 23 USC Second Round	L 51–85	21–9	15 – Garrett	6 – Garrett	4 – Tied	Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,927) Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time.

†Attendance not announced

Rankings

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

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	6	7	5	5	3	3	6	6	9	15	23	RV	23	17	13	11	12	Not released
Coaches	5	5*	5	5	4	4	6	7	9	18	22	RV	24	19	14	12	11	16

*No rankings released

References

1. "Kansas Sets Record for Consecutive Rankings in the Associated Press Poll". KUAthletics.com. November 30, 2020.
2. "Kansas Jayhawks drop out of AP Top 25 for first time in 12 years". ESPN.com. February 8, 2021.
3. "Kansas G Devon Dotson Declares for NBA Draft". SI.com.
4. "KU walk-on Elijah Elliott has entered name into transfer portal". KUSports.com.
5. "Kansas Athletics Announces Border Showdown Rivalry Postponed to 2021-22 Season". KUAthletics.com. October 13, 2020.
6. "KU announces 2020-21 schedule; will allow fans at Allen Fieldhouse". KSHB.com. October 26, 2020.
7. "Kansas vs. Texas Big 12 Championship Semifinal Game Has Been Canceled". big12sports.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.