2020–21 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky, for the 45th consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 20,545. The Wildcats were led by John Calipari in his 12th season as head coach and play in the Southeastern Conference.

2020–21 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	9–16 (8–9 SEC)
Head coach	John Calipari (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Jai Lucas (1st season) Joel Justus (5th season) Bruiser Flint (1st season)
Home arena	Rupp Arena
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Alabama†	16	–	2		.889			26	–	7		.788
No. 10 Arkansas	13	–	4		.765			25	–	7		.781
LSU	11	–	6		.647			19	–	10		.655
Tennessee	10	–	7		.588			18	–	9		.667
Florida	9	–	7		.563			15	–	10		.600
Ole Miss	10	–	8		.556			16	–	12		.571
Missouri	8	–	8		.500			16	–	10		.615
Kentucky	8	–	9		.471			9	–	16		.360
Mississippi State	8	–	10		.444			18	–	15		.545
Georgia	7	–	11		.389			14	–	12		.538
Auburn^*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	14		.481
South Carolina	4	–	12		.250			6	–	15		.286
Texas A&M	2	–	8		.200			8	–	10		.444
Vanderbilt	3	–	13		.188			9	–	16		.360
† 2021 SEC tournament winner ^* Ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed postseason ban.

The Wildcats season was marred by inconsistent stretches. The Wildcats got off to an ugly 1–6 start (the worst since 1911) and never recovered. They finished the season with a 9–16 overall record and 8–9 in conference for 8th place. It was Kentucky's first losing season since 1988–89 and its worst winning percentage since the 1926–27 season. Their season came to an end when they lost to Mississippi State 74–73, ending their year also not participating in the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2012–13 season.

The season also marked the worst season that John Calipari had coached since 1988–89, when he was in his first season as head coach of Massachusetts.

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the season 25–6, 15–3 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship. They were set to be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] Kentucky was announced as the league's champion following the cancellation of the tournament and, therefore, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.^[2] However, shortly thereafter, the NCAA Tournament was also canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[3]

Offseason

Coaching changes

Departures

Name	Position	Year at Kentucky	Alma mater (year)	Reason for departure
Kenny Payne	Associate head coach	11th	Louisville (1989)	Hired as assistant by the New York Knicks^[4]

Additions to staff

Name	Position	Year at Kentucky	Alma mater (year)	Previous Team
Bruiser Flint	Assistant coach	1st	Saint Joseph's (1987)	Indiana
Jai Lucas	Assistant coach/Recruiting Coordinator	1st	Texas (2011)	Texas

Player departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason left
Ashton Hagans	0	Guard	6'3"	198	Sophomore	Covington, Georgia	Declared for the 2020 NBA draft
Tyrese Maxey	3	Guard	6'3"	198	Freshman	Garland, Texas	Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 21st overall by the Philadelphia 76ers
Immanuel Quickley	5	Guard	6'3"	188	Sophomore	Havre de Grace, Maryland	Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 25th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Kahlil Whitney	2	Guard	6'6"	190	Freshman	Roselle, New Jersey	Left team at midseason and later declared for the 2020 NBA draft
Johnny Juzang	10	Guard	6'7"	214	Freshman	Los Angeles, California	Transferred to UCLA
Nate Sestina	1	Forward	6'9"	234	Graduate Student	Emporium, Pennsylvania	Completed athletic eligibility; graduated from Bucknell in 2019
E. J. Montgomery	23	Forward	6'10"	228	Sophomore	Marietta, Georgia	Declared for the 2020 NBA draft
Nick Richards	4	Forward	6'11"	247	Junior	Kingston, Jamaica	Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 42nd overall by the New Orleans Pelicans

2020 recruiting class

On July 27, 2019, Brandon Boston Jr. committed to play basketball for the University of Kentucky over offers from Florida and Duke. Boston was the first commitment to the 2020 recruiting class, and the #2 ranked shooting guard in the 2020 class by 247 sports.

Cam'Ron Fletcher, from St. Louis, Missouri, was the second commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on August 4, 2019, and chose Kentucky over Michigan State.^[5] He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #36 overall by 24/7 Sports.

Power forward Lance Ware, from Camden, New Jersey, was the third commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on September 12, 2019, and chose Kentucky over Ohio State. He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #32 overall by Rivals.

Two days later, on September 14, 2019, SF Terrence Clarke from Brewster Academy pledged to Kentucky. Clarke is one of the most highly regarded prospects in the 2020 class, with most services ranking him among the top five players overall.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Brandon Boston Jr. SG	Norcross, GA	Sierra Canyon (CA)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jul 27, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 96
Cam'Ron Fletcher SF	St. Louis, MO	Vashon (MO)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 4, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 83
Lance Ware PF	Camden, NJ	Camden (NJ)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 12, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 87
Terrence Clarke SG	Boston, MA	Brewster Academy (NH)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sep 14, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 95
Devin Askew PG	Sacramento, CA	Mater Dei (CA)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Oct 17, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 91
Isaiah Jackson PF	Pontiac, MI	Waterford Mott (MI)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 16, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 89
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 1st  247Sports: 1st  ESPN: 1st
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: "Kentucky 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Incoming transfers

Preseason

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Jacob Toppin	0	F	6'9"	194	Sophomore	Brooklyn, NY	Rhode Island
Davion Mintz	10	G	6'3"	196	Graduate Student	Charlotte, NC	Creighton
Olivier Sarr	30	C	7'0"	237	Senior	Toulouse, France	Wake Forest

In-season

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School	Years Eligible	Date Eligible
Oscar Tshiebwe	34	C	6'9"	260	Sophomore	Lubumbashi, DR Congo	West Virginia	3^[a]	October 1, 2021

1. Due to a special NCAA ruling, the 2020–21 season does not count against the eligibility of players in all NCAA winter sports, including basketball.

Roster

2020–21 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Jacob Toppin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Rhode Island Brooklyn, NY G 2 Devin Askew 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr Mater Dei Sacramento, CA G 3 Brandon Boston Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Sierra Canyon Norcross, GA G 5 Terrence Clarke 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Boston, MA G 10 Davion Mintz 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) GS Creighton Charlotte, NC G 11 Dontaie Allen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) RS Fr Pendleton County Falmouth, KY F 12 Keion Brooks Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So La Lumiere School Fort Wayne, IN G 13 Riley Welch (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr UC Irvine Littleton, CO F 14 Brennan Canada (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) So George Rogers Clark Mount Sterling, KY G/F 20 Zan Payne (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Lexington Catholic Lexington, KY F 21 Cam'Ron Fletcher 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Vashon St. Louis, MO F 23 Isaiah Jackson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Waterford Mott Pontiac, MI G 25 Kareem Watkins (W) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Fr Kingsway Regional Camden, NJ C 30 Olivier Sarr 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 237 lb (108 kg) Sr Wake Forest Toulouse, FRA F 55 Lance Ware 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Fr Camden Camden, NJ	Head coach John Calipari (Clarion) Assistant coach(es) Tony Barbee (UMass) Joel Justus (UNC Wilmington) John Robic (Denison) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 21, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 6:00 p.m., SECN	No. 10	Morehead State	W 81–45	1–0	15 – Boston Jr.	7 – Boston Jr.	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
November 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 10	Richmond	L 64–76	1–1	20 – Boston Jr.	11 – Sarr	2 – Tied	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
December 1, 2020* 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 20	vs. No. 7 Kansas Champions Classic	L 62–65	1–2	12 – Boston Jr.	12 – Jackson	2 – Tied	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0) Indianapolis, IN
December 6, 2020* 5:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 20	vs. Georgia Tech	L 62–79	1–3	22 – Clarke	12 – Jackson	6 – Mintz	State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA
December 12, 2020* 12:00 p.m., CBS		Notre Dame	L 63–64	1–4	22 – Sarr	7 – Sarr	4 – Mintz	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
December 19, 2020* 2:00 p.m., CBS		vs. No. 22 North Carolina CBS Sports Classic	L 63–75	1–5	17 – Mintz	8 – Mintz	3 – Askew	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH
December 26, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN		at Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass	L 59–62	1–6	19 – Mintz	7 – Tied	3 – Askew	KFC Yum! Center (3,281) Louisville, KY
SEC regular season
December 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		South Carolina	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues					Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
January 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., SECN		at Mississippi State	W 78–73 ^2OT	2–6 (1–0)	23 – Allen	12 – Ware	6 – Askew	Humphrey Coliseum (1,000) Starkville, MS
January 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., SECN		Vanderbilt	W 77–74	3–6 (2–0)	24 – Sarr	7 – Sarr	3 – Askew	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
January 9, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN		at Florida	W 76–58	4–6 (3–0)	13 – Tied	6 – Tied	4 – Brooks	O'Connell Center (2,324) Gainesville, FL
January 12, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN		Alabama	L 65–85	4–7 (3–1)	14 – Jackson	6 – Tied	2 – Tied	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN		at Auburn	L 59–66	4–8 (3–2)	11 – Mintz	6 – Tied	3 – Askew	Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL
January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Georgia	L 62–63	4–9 (3–3)	18 – Boston Jr.	13 – Sarr	4 – Askew	Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA
January 23, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN		LSU	W 82–69	5–9 (4–3)	18 – Boston Jr.	15 – Jackson	4 – Askew	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
January 26, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN		at No. 9 Alabama	L 59–70	5–10 (4–4)	12 – Tied	5 – Tied	4 – Mintz	Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL
January 30, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 5 Texas Big 12/SEC Challenge	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at No. 18 Missouri Rescheduled from Feb. 2 due to COVID-19 issues	L 70–75	5–11 (4–5)	18 – Mintz	10 – Tied	4 – Askew	Mizzou Arena (3,033) Columbia, MO
February 6, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 11 Tennessee	L 71–82	5–12 (4–6)	23 – Brooks Jr.	11 – Brooks Jr.	4 – Askew	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
February 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN		Arkansas	L 80–81	5–13 (4–7)	17 – Boston Jr.	10 – Sarr	6 – Askew	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
February 13, 2021 1:00 p.m., CBS		Auburn	W 82–80	6–13 (5–7)	18 – Jackson	11 – Jackson	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Vanderbilt	W 82–78	7–13 (6–7)	18 – Mintz	9 – Tied	5 – Brooks Jr.	Memorial Gymnasium (164) Nashville, TN
February 20, 2021 1:00 p.m., CBS		at No. 19 Tennessee	W 70–55	8–13 (7–7)	16 – Jackson	14 – Brooks Jr.	4 – Askew	Thompson-Boling Arena (4,191) Knoxville, TN
February 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Texas A&M	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
February 27, 2021 4:00 p.m., CBS		Florida	L 67–71	8–14 (7–8)	21 – Mintz	5 – Jackson	3 – Askew	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
March 2, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN		at Ole Miss	L 62–70	8–15 (7–9)	16 – Brooks Jr.	8 – Brooks Jr.	8 – Mintz	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS
March 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN		South Carolina Makeup from Dec. 29 postponement	W 92–64	9–15 (8–9)	21 – Boston Jr.	10 – Jackson	7 – Mintz	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
SEC Tournament
March 11, 2021 12:00 p.m., SECN	(8)	vs. (9) Mississippi State Second round	L 73–74	9–16	23 – Allen	5 – Tied	8 – Mintz	Bridgestone Arena (1,733) Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

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

On January 18, 2021, Duke fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since February 8, 2016. This broke a 59-year streak and marked the first time since December 25, 1961 that the powerhouse trio of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina were all out of the Top 25 ranking.^[6]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	10	20	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
Coaches	9	9^	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

1. "2020 SEC Tournament canceled Thursday amid coronavirus pandemic concerns". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
2. "SEC announces league champion after canceling 2020 SEC Tournament". Saturday Down South. March 12, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
3. "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
4. "Payne Accepts Assistant Coach Position with New York Knicks" (Press release). Kentucky Wildcats. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
5. Wheatley, Nick (August 4, 2019). "Cam'Ron Fletcher commits to Kentucky". A Sea of Blue. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
6. Cassandra Negley (January 18, 2021). "Duke, UNC, Kentucky all outside of men's AP Top 25 for first time since 1961". Retrieved January 20, 2021.