2020–21 North Alabama Lions men's basketball team

The 2020–21 North Alabama Lions men's basketball team represented the University of North Alabama in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions, led by third-year head coach Tony Pujol, played their home games at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama, as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).

2020–21 North Alabama Lions men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Sun Conference
Record	13–11 (7–8 ASUN)
Head coach	Tony Pujol (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Ahmad Smith Willie Watson Tom Berryman
Home arena	Flowers Hall
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 ASUN men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Liberty †	11	–	2		.846			23	–	6		.793
Bellarmine *	10	–	3		.769			14	–	8		.636
Lipscomb	9	–	6		.600			15	–	12		.556
North Florida	6	–	6		.500			8	–	15		.348
North Alabama *	7	–	8		.467			13	–	11		.542
Florida Gulf Coast	4	–	5		.444			10	–	8		.556
Stetson	7	–	9		.438			12	–	15		.444
Jacksonville	5	–	9		.357			11	–	13		.458
Kennesaw State	2	–	13		.133			5	–	19		.208
* ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament due to transition period Jacksonville suspended their season on February 26, 2021
† 2021 ASUN Tournament winner

This season marked North Alabama's third of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Lions are not eligible for NCAA postseason play, but could participate in the ASUN tournament. They were also eligible to play in the CBI tournament, but not invited. They finished the season 13-11, 7-8 in ASUN Play to finish in 5th place. They defeated North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast to advance to the championship game of the ASUN tournament where they lost to Liberty.

Previous season

The Lions finished the 2019–20 season 13–17, 8–8 in ASUN play, to finish in fifth place in the conference. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Stetson.^[1]

Roster

2020–21 North Alabama Lions men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Will Soucie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Gill St. Bernard's School Califon, New Jersey G 1 Detalian Brown 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Combine Academy Prep Chicago, Illinois G 2 Jonathan Breeland, Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 193 lb (88 kg) So Neosho County CC Columbia, South Carolina G 3 Jamari Blackmon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Hoover High School Hoover, Alabama F 4 Isaac Chatman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Northeast Mississippi CC Cordova, Alabama F 5 Mervin James 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Pebblebrook High School St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands C 10 Sawyer Wright 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Deshler High School Tuscumbia, Alabama G 11 C.J. Brim 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Pearl River Community College Tupelo, Mississippi F 13 James Anderson, II 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Cuyahoga Community College Roswell, Georgia F 14 Payton Youngblood 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Snead State Community College Birmingham, Alabama G 15 Coleman Barranco 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Vestavia Hills High School Birmingham, Alabama F 21 Emanuel Littles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Lanett High School Lanett, Alabama G 22 Austin Meloche 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Calvary Christian High School Palm Harbor, Florida G 24 Aleksa Matic 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Sportksa Gimnazija Belgrade, Serbia F 34 Dallas Howell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Enterprise High School Coffee Springs, Alabama	Head coach Tony Pujol (Sterling (KS)) Assistant coach(es) Ahmad Smith (Appalachian State) Willie Watson (Alabama) Tom Barryman (Alabama) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 27, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 5:30 pm, ESPN+		Oakwood	W 98–74	1–0	Flowers Hall (187) Florence, AL
December 6, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Carver	W 107–40	2–0	Flowers Hall (194) Florence, AL
December 10, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Troy	L 57–62	2–1	Flowers Hall (312) Florence, AL
December 13, 2020* 11:00 am, BTN		at Indiana	L 52–87	2–2	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall  Bloomington, IN
December 17, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Crowley's Ridge	W 99–51	3–2	Flowers Hall (181) Florence, AL
December 20, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Freed–Hardeman	W 82–56	4–2	Flowers Hall  Florence, AL
Atlantic Sun Conference regular season
January 1, 2021 6:00 pm		at Florida Gulf Coast	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues		Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
January 2, 2021 6:00 pm		at Florida Gulf Coast	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues		Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
January 8, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Stetson	L 77–86	4–3 (0–1)	Flowers Hall (392) Florence, AL
January 9, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Stetson	W 73–66 ^OT	5–3 (1–1)	Flowers Hall (368) Florence, AL
January 15, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	W 66–43	6–3 (2–1)	KSU Convocation Center (387) Kennesaw, GA
January 16, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	W 66–64	7–3 (3–1)	KSU Convocation Center (348) Kennesaw, GA
January 22, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville	W 82–81 ^OT	8–3 (4–1)	Flowers Hall (351) Florence, AL
January 23, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville	W 76–54	9–3 (5–1)	Flowers Hall (385) Florence, AL
January 29, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Florida	W 82–78	10–3 (6–1)	UNF Arena (807) Jacksonville, FL
January 30, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Florida	L 72–82	10–4 (6–2)	UNF Arena (714) Jacksonville, FL
February 5, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Florida Gulf Coast	L 60–86	10–5 (6–3)	Alico Arena (821) Fort Myers, Florida
February 6, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Florida Gulf Coast	L 60–69	10–6 (6–4)	Alico Arena  Fort Myers, Florida
February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Bellarmine	L 64–66	10–7 (6–5)	Flowers Hall (283) Florence, AL
February 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Bellarmine	L 63–87	10–8 (6–6)	Flowers Hall (317) Florence, AL
February 22, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN+		at Liberty	L 54–74	10–9 (6–7)	Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA
February 23, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN+		at Liberty	L 54–74	10–10 (6–8)	Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA
February 26, 2021 6:00 pm		Lipscomb	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues		Flowers Hall  Florence, AL
February 27, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Lipscomb	W 73–66	11–10 (7–8)	Flowers Hall  Florence, AL
Atlantic Sun tournament
March 4, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (4) North Florida Quarterfinals	W 68–60	12–10	Swisher Gymnasium  Jacksonville, FL
March 4, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (6) Florida Gulf Coast Semifinals	W 96–81	13–10	UNF Arena  Jacksonville, FL
March 7, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN	(5)	vs. (1) Liberty Championship	L 75–79	13–11	UNF Arena  Jacksonville, FL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source^[2]

References

1. "LIONS COME UP SHORT IN ASUN QUARTERFINALS". University of North Alabama Athletics. March 3, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
2. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of North Alabama Athletics. Retrieved November 27, 2020.