The 2020–21 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

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 ...

. Their head coach was Mike Rhoades, in his fourth year as VCU head coach. The team played their home games at the Siegel Center in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, as a member of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

. In a season limited due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, they finished the season 19–7, 10–4 in A-10 play to finish in second place. The Rams defeated

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

in the A-10 tournament before losing to St. Bonaventure in the championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region. Their game against

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the first round was ruled a no-contest due to positive COVID-19 tests in the VCU program, thus ending their season and making VCU the first team ever to forfeit a game in the NCAA tournament.

Previous season

The

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)2019–20 season 18–13, 8–10 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the A-10 tournament, they were to play

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

in the second round, but the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. VCU began the season with a 6–0 record for the first time in program history, and were ranked as high as 20th in the nation. The Rams finished the season with a 2–7 record in their final nine games.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2020 recruiting class

2021 Recruiting class

Preseason

Atlantic 10 media poll

The Atlantic 10 men's basketball media poll was released on November 9, 2020. VCU was picked to finish ninth.

Roster

Depth chart

Suspension of Jimmy Clark III

On February 3, 2021, in a post-game conference, head coach Mike Rhoades said that Jimmy Clark III was absent for the Rams' game against Rhode Island due to a "university suspension." Rhoades then said that he would "leave it at that" for the time being. On February 4, the university confirmed that Clark was no longer with the program, not giving more detail and indicating they were "not allowed to comment further on this matter."

Schedule and results

VCU originally had games scheduled against

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

that were canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests. Additionally, a game against

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

that was canceled due to NCAA scheduling limitations. , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - , - !colspan=12 style=, Atlantic 10 regular season , - , - !colspan=12 style=, Atlantic 10 tournament , - , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament , - , - ;Notes

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Statistics

References

External links

VCU Basketball
{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 VCU Rams men's basketball team VCU VCU Rams men's basketball seasons

VCU Rams men's basketball The VCU Rams men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball team that represents Virginia Commonwealth University. The Rams joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in the 2012–13 season after previously competing in the Colonial Athlet ...

VCU VCU Rams