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 headlines

* November 11 – The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

preseason

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 ...

team was released.

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

center Luka Garza was the lone unanimous selection (64 votes). Joining him on the team were Baylor guard Jared Butler,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

guard Ayo Dosunmu,

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

guard Cade Cunningham, Gonzaga guard Corey Kispert (26), and Arizona State guard Remy Martin (26). * November 15 – The UT Martin Skyhawks announced that head coach Anthony Stewart, who had been set to start his fifth season with the Skyhawks, had died earlier that day. No cause of death was given at the time. * January 18 – When the AP poll's Week 9 top 25 rankings were released, it was the first time since December 18, 1961, that neither

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, nor

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

were included on the list. In 1961, the poll was only composed of the top 10 teams. * February 7 – The UTRGV Vaqueros announce the death of fifth-year head coach Lew Hill from coronavirus. Longtime assistant Jai Steadman was named interim head coach four days later. * February 9 – For the first time since an 0–2 start to the 1999–2000 season, the

men's basketball team fell below .500 after an 89–93 loss to Notre Dame. * March 23 – Just three days after playing in the NCAA tournament,

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

senior Oscar Frayer died in a car crash, along with his sister and one other person.

COVID-19 pandemic-related

* October 14 – The NCAA announced that all student-athletes in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year, including men's and women's basketball, would receive an extra year of athletic eligibility, whether or not they or their teams play during that school year. * October 27 – Bethune–Cookman, which had previously canceled its 2020 fall sports due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

concerns, announced that none of its other teams, including men's and women's basketball, would play in the 2020–21 school year. * November 12 – The

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

became the first conference to cancel all winter sports for the 2020–21 season, including men's and women's basketball, due to COVID-19 concerns. * November 19 – Maryland Eastern Shore became the second MEAC program to opt out of the 2020–21 men's and women's basketball seasons due to

concerns. * December 23 – Chicago State ended its 2020–21 season after an 0–9 start marked by many

-related issues. Head coach Lance Irvin opted out before the season started due to concerns over the disease; the Cougars played one game with only six available players and another with only seven; the team's final game before suspending its season was canceled due to a lack of players. * February 9 –

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

ended its 2020–21 season after a 1–4 start of an abundance of caution due to the health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. * February 11 – Organizers of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament announced that the 2021 edition had been canceled. * February 13 –

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

decided to conclude their 2020–21 season due to challenges related to COVID-19 after not being cleared to practice or play a game since January 17. * February 23 – Charleston Southern ended its 2020–21 season after a 3–18 start, citing player concerns over COVID-19. * February 26 –

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

ended its 2020–21 season after an 11–13 start, citing player concerns over COVID-19. * March 2 – Holy Cross ended its 2020–21 season after a 5–11 start, citing player concerns over COVID-19.

Milestones and records

*During the season, the following players reached the 2,000-career-point milestone – Austin Peay swingman Terry Taylor, Pepperdine guard Colbey Ross,

center Luka Garza,

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

guard Justin Turner, Detroit Mercy guard Antoine Davis, UTSA guard Keaton Wallace, and Davidson guard

Kellan Grady Kellan Grady (born September 11, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Zastal Zielona Góra in the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball, Kentucky Wildcats and th ...

. * November 30 –

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

took sole possession of the record for most consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll. The Jayhawks' 222nd straight appearance surpassed

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

's 221 from

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. The Jayhawks' streak ended at 231 when they dropped out of the poll released on February 8. * December 1 – UC Riverside head coach Mike Magpayo became the first head coach of Asian or Filipino descent to coach and won a Division I game in their 57–42 victory over Washington. Magpayo had missed the Highlanders' season opener on November 25 against

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

due to his child's birth. * February 21 –

center Luka Garza scored 23 points in a win against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

to become the school's all-time leading scorer, breaking a 32-year-old record previously held by Roy Marble (2,116 points).

Conference membership changes

Ten schools joined a new conference for the 2020–21 season with four schools leaving Division II for Division I.

Arenas

New arenas

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

opened the new Atlantic Union Bank Center on November 25, 2020, defeating Division II

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

89–55. *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

played its first game at Liberty Arena, winning 78–62 over Saint Francis (PA) on December 3, 2020. The first event at the arena, which had officially opened on November 23, was a women's game on December 1.

Arenas of new D-I teams

Three of the four new D-I members for this season are using existing on-campus facilities: * Dixie State plays in Burns Arena. * Tarleton State plays in Wisdom Gym. *

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...

plays in RIMAC Arena. The other D-I newcomer, Bellarmine, announced a multi-year deal with the Kentucky State Fair Board on November 2, 2020, to play home games at Freedom Hall, located at the

Kentucky Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The arena had been home to

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

for more than 50 years before that team moved to the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

KFC Yum! Center in 2010. Due to

restrictions, Bellarmine could only seat 300 at its on-campus facility, Knights Hall. With Freedom Hall's basketball capacity of 18,252, the Knights were able to seat 2,700.

Arenas closing

* High Point had originally planned to open Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center for the 2020–21 season. However, construction delays brought on by

led to the university delaying the new arena's opening until 2021–22, meaning that the Millis Center was in use for one more season. * This was intended to be

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

's final season at the Kibbie Dome, a facility also home to Idaho football, with its basketball configuration known as Cowan Spectrum. When Idaho moved its 2020 football season to spring 2021, it displaced the men's and women's basketball teams, forcing them to use Memorial Gymnasium. The latter facility had been home to both basketball teams before the Kibbie Dome opened in 1976, and remained a part-time home for both. The school plans to open the new Idaho Central Credit Union Arena for the 2021–22 season. The Dome will remain in use for football and several other sports.

Temporary arenas

* Due to

restrictions in

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

, Santa Clara and Stanford played the majority of their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena in neighboring Santa Cruz County.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches polls

Regular season top-10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25. *November 26 **No. 1 Gonzaga defeated No. 6

, 102–90 (Fort Myers Tip-Off, Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Fort Myers, FL) *December 1 **No. 8 Michigan State defeated No. 6

, 75–69 ( Champions Classic,

Cameron Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke Duke Blue ...

, Durham, NC) *December 2 **No. 2 Baylor defeated No. 5

, 82–69 ( Jimmy V Classic,

Bankers Life Fieldhouse Gainbridge Fieldhouse is an indoor arena located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It opened in November 1999 to replace Market Square Arena. The arena is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

, Indianapolis, IN) *December 8 **No. 5 Kansas defeated No. 8 Creighton, 73–72 ( Big East–Big 12 Battle,

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas (KU) campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for th ...

, Lawrence, KS) **No. 6 Illinois defeated No. 10 Duke, 83–68 ( ACC–Big Ten Challenge, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC) *December 19 **No. 1 Gonzaga defeated No. 3

, 99–88 (

Sanford Pentagon The Sanford Pentagon (colloquially known as The Pentagon) is an indoor arena located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Pentagon opened in September 2013 and has a seating capacity of 3,250 spectators. It hosts the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA ...

, Sioux Falls, SD) *December 22 **No. 3 Kansas defeated No. 7

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, 79–65 (Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS) *January 2 **No. 8

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

defeated No. 3 Kansas, 84–59 (Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS) *January 12 **No. 7

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

defeated No. 9

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, 77–54 ( Crisler Arena,

Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the fifth-most populous city in Michigan. Located on the Huron River, Ann Arbor is the ...

) *January 18 **No. 2 Baylor defeated No. 9 Kansas, 77–69 ( Ferrell Center, Waco, TX) *February 2 **No. 2 Baylor defeated No. 6 Texas, 83–69 (

Frank Erwin Center The Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center (originally Special Events Center) was a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. It was also sometimes referred to as "The Drum" or "The Superdrum", owing to ...

Austin, TX Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

) *February 4 **No. 7 Ohio State defeated No. 8 Iowa, 89–85 ( Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA) *February 21 **No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 4 Ohio State, 92–87 ( Value City Arena,

Columbus, OH Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

) *February 25 **No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 9 Iowa, 79–57 (Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI) *February 28 **No. 9 Iowa defeated No. 4 Ohio State, 73–57 (Value City Arena, Columbus, OH) *March 2 **No. 3 Baylor defeated No. 6 West Virginia, 94–89 ^OT ( WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV) **No. 4 Illinois defeated No. 2 Michigan, 76–53 (Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI) *March 6 **No. 4 Illinois defeated No. 7 Ohio State, 73–68 (Value City Arena, Columbus, OH) *March 13 **No. 3 Illinois defeated No. 5 Iowa, 82–71 ( 2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament,

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...

, Indianapolis, IN) **No. 9 Ohio State defeated No. 4 Michigan, 68–67 (2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis) *March 14 **No. 3 Illinois defeated No. 9 Ohio State, 91–88 ^OT (2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)

Regular season

Early season tournaments

The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

was cancelled due to logistical issues associated with COVID-19. A new tournament known as the Crossover Classic is scheduled to be held at the

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, and had invited almost all of the teams that had originally planned to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament (although five teams would later drop out). On October 26, 2020, ESPN Events cancelled 10 early-season tournaments that it organizes. It had planned to hold them at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando within a protected "bubble" (the same site had recently hosted the remainder of the

2019–20 NBA season The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, ...

under similar circumstances), but ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' reported that there had been disagreements over health and

COVID-19 testing COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cases COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the viru ...

protocols that had been mandated by ESPN Events (in accordance with recommendations by the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

), which were stricter than those being adopted by conferences.

Upsets

Teams listed in bold type won "true road games", defined as games held at an opponent's regular home court (including regularly used alternate homes). In addition to the above listed upsets in which an unranked team defeated a ranked team, there were eleven non-Division I teams to defeat a Division I team this season. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes).

Conference winners and tournaments

Each of the 31 Division I

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

s that played in 2020–21 ended its

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

with a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

. The team with the best regular-season record in each conference was given the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. The winners of these tournaments received automatic invitations to the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Statistical leaders

Source for additional stats categories

Postseason

NCAA tournament

Tournament upsets

For this list, an "upset" is defined as a win by a team seeded 7 or more spots below its defeated opponent. This is more restrictive than the NCAA's official definition, in which a difference of 5 seed lines is sufficient to declare an "upset".

Teams eliminated from postseason participation due to COVID-19

* March 5 – Northern Iowa * March 9 – FIU * March 11 –

* March 12 – North Carolina A&T

Conference standings

Award winners

2021 Consensus All-America team

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award: Luka Garza,

* Naismith Award: Luka Garza, Iowa * Associated Press Player of the Year: Luka Garza, Iowa *

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball across the three largest college athletic associations in the United States. Th ...

: Luka Garza, Iowa * Oscar Robertson Trophy ( USBWA): Luka Garza, Iowa * ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Luka Garza, Iowa

Major freshman of the year awards

* Wayman Tisdale Award ( USBWA): Cade Cunningham,

NABC Freshman of the Year The NABC Freshman of the Year is an annual college basketball award presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and sponsored by Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel ...

: Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State *

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

Freshman of the Year: Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Juwan Howard,

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

( USBWA): Juwan Howard, Michigan *

NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

: Mark Few, Gonzaga * Naismith College Coach of the Year: Mark Few, Gonzaga * ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Juwan Howard, Michigan

Other major awards

* Naismith Starting Five: **

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Assoc ...

(best point guard): Ayo Dosunmu,

** Jerry West Award (best shooting guard): Chris Duarte,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

** Julius Erving Award (best small forward): Corey Kispert, Gonzaga ** Karl Malone Award (best power forward): Drew Timme, Gonzaga ** Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (best center): Luka Garza, Iowa *

Pete Newell Big Man Award The Pete Newell Big Man Award has been awarded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) since 2000. It is presented to the best low-post player each season. The award is named after Pete Newell, the coach who ran the Pete Newell ...

(best big man): Luka Garza, Iowa *

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is a college basketball award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top men's defensive player in NCAA Division I competition. It has been given since 1987 a ...

: Davion Mitchell, Baylor * Naismith Defensive Player of the Year: Davion Mitchell, Baylor * Senior CLASS Award (top senior on and off the court): Luka Garza, Iowa * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (top player in Philadelphia Big 5):

Collin Gillespie Collin Gillespie (born June 25, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Valley Suns of the NBA G League. He played college basketball fo ...

, Villanova *

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the top men's college basketball player from an NCAA Division I school in the New York metropolitan area. The Haggerty Award is presented by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MB ...

(top player in NYC metro area):

Sandro Mamukelashvili Alexander "Sandro" Mamukelashvili ( ka, ალექსანდრე "სანდრო" მამუკელაშვილი; born 23 May 1999) is a Georgian-American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the Nation ...

, Seton Hall * Ben Jobe Award (top minority coach):

Leonard Hamilton James Leonard Hamilton (born August 4, 1948) is an American former basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with ...

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 ...

* Hugh Durham Award (top mid-major coach): Byron Smith, Prairie View A&M * Jim Phelan Award (top head coach): Todd Simon, Southern Utah * Lefty Driesell Award (top defensive player): Davion Mitchell, Baylor * Lou Henson Award (top mid-major player): Max Abmas,

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...

* Lute Olson Award (top non-freshman or transfer player): Luka Garza, Iowa * Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award (coach with moral character): Lew Hill, UTRGV * Academic All-American of the Year (top scholar-athlete): Corey Kispert, Gonzaga * Elite 90 Award (top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four): Russell Stong,

* Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award: This award was not presented to a Division I basketball figure. The award went to the men's basketball team of NAIA Bluefield College, which decided to kneel during the pregame playing of the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

on February 8, 2021, in defiance of orders from the college's president.

Coaching changes

Fifty-six teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. Two schools changed coaches between their first practice and first game of the season. One coach resigned and one died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball season NCAA Division I Men