The 2020–21 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

during the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020, and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

. The Cougars were led by seventh-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. It was the third season that the team played its home games at the Fertitta Center. They won their first ever AAC tournament to clinch an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were selected as a #2 seed in the Midwest Region. The team advanced to the Final Four for the first time since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. They eventually lost to Baylor in the Final Four who went on to become the national champions that season.

Previous season

Houston finished the 2019–20 regular season 23–8, 13–5 in AAC play, finishing tied for first place and winning a share of the regular season title. They entered as the No. 2 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Offseason

Departures

Incoming Transfers

2020 recruiting class

Houston also added preferred walk-on Ryan Elvin, a 6'0" point guard from Cedar Ridge High School in

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 census. The city straddles the Balcones Escarpment, Texas State Histor ...

2021 Recruiting class

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards

Preseason Awards

* AAC Preseason Player of the Year - Caleb Mills * All-AAC First Team - Caleb Mills

Roster

*May 27, 2020 – Fabian White Jr. suffered a torn ACL, leading him to sit out before returning for the February 18th game. *January 5, 2021 – Caleb Mills entered the transfer portal. Mills would eventually transfer to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing

, the Cougars' schedule was 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 Cougars began a home-and-home series with LSU and Alabama beginning in the 2020–2021. Both were eventually postponed due to the pandemic. *Houston added a game vs. Our Lady of the Lake on February 6. *The game @

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

originally scheduled for February 21 was moved to Houston. *Houston added a game vs. Western Kentucky on February 25. *The game @ Memphis originally scheduled for March 7 was moved to Houston, after COVID-related issues with Memphis forced the first scheduled matchup between the teams scheduled for February 14 to be postponed.

Schedule

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Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll

Awards and honors

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

*Quentin Grimes – AP (3rd), USBWA (3rd), NABC (3rd), ''SN'' (3rd)

John McLendon Award

*Kelvin Sampson

American Athletic Conference honors

All-AAC Awards

* Player of the Year: Quentin Grimes *Defensive Player of the Year: DeJon Jarreau *Most Improved Player: Justin Gorham

All-AAC First Team

*Quentin Grimes

All-AAC Second Team

*DeJon Jarreau *Justin Gorham *Marcus Sasser Source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Houston Cougars men's basketball seasons

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons