2020–21 ASUN Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 ASUN Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2021 and concluded in March 2021.[1] It was the 43rd season of ASUN Conference basketball. This season was also the first ASUN season for Bellarmine, which started a transition from NCAA Division II when it joined the ASUN on July 1, 2020.[2]

2020–21 ASUN Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams9
Regular season
ChampionsLiberty
Season MVPDarius McGhee, Liberty
Tournament
ChampionsLiberty
  Runners-upNorth Alabama
Finals MVPDarius McGhee, Liberty
Atlantic Sun men's basketball seasons
2020–21 ASUN men's basketball standings
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

Preseason awards

edit

Preseason awards were announced by the league office on November 5, 2020.[3]

Preseason men's basketball coaches poll

edit

(First place votes in parentheses)

  1. Lipscomb (5) 74
  2. Liberty (2) 66
  3. Stetson (1) 64
  4. North Florida (1) 56
  5. FGCU 45
  6. North Alabama 40
  7. Jacksonville 29
  8. Bellarmine 18
  9. Kennesaw State 13

Preseason men's basketball media poll

edit

(First place votes in parentheses)

  1. Lipscomb (16) 256
  2. Liberty (10) 245
  3. Stetson (4) 202
  4. North Florida (2) 192
  5. FGCU 156
  6. North Alabama 146
  7. Jacksonville 108
  8. Kennesaw State 68
  9. Bellarmine 62

Honors

edit
  • Preseason Player of the Year: Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb
  • Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Elijah Cuffee, Liberty
  • Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year: Caleb Catto, FGCU
  • Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Peterson, Kennesaw State

Conference matrix

edit
  Bellarmine Florida Gulf Coast Jacksonville Kennesaw State Liberty Lipscomb North Alabama North Florida Stetson
vs. Bellarmine 0−2 0−2 0−2 1−0 2−0 0−2 0−0 0−2
vs. Florida Gulf Coast 2−0 0−0 1−0 0−0 1−1 0−2 0−0 1−1
vs. Jacksonville 2−0 0−0 0−2 2−0 1−1 2−0 1−1 1−1
vs. Kennesaw State 2−0 0−1 2−0 2−0 2−0 2−0 2−0 1−1
vs. Liberty 0−1 0−0 0−2 0−2 1−1 0−2 0–2 1–1
vs. Lipscomb 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 –0 1–1 1–1
vs. North Alabama 2–0 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1
vs. North Florida 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1
vs. Stetson 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1
Total 10−3 4−5 5−9 2−13 11−2 9−6 7−8 6−6 7−9

All-ASUN awards

edit

ASUN weekly awards

edit
Week Player(s) of the Week School Newcomer of the Week School
Nov 30 Darius McGhee Liberty Romeao Ferguson Lipscomb
Dec 7 Keegan McDowell Liberty Dontarius James Jacksonville
Dec 14 Caleb Catto FGCU Dontarius James Jacksonville
Dec 21 Emmanuel Littles & Rob Perry North Alabama & Stetson Chase Johnston Stetson
Dec 28 Cyrus Largie FGCU Eli Abaev FGCU
Jan 4 Kevion Nolan Jacksonville Kevion Nolan Jacksonville
Jan 11 Dontarius James Jacksonville Dontarius James Jacksonville
Jan 19 Ethan Claycomb Bellarmine Romeao Ferguson Lipscomb
Jan 25 Mervin James North Alabama Jose Placer North Florida
Feb 1 Rob Perry Stetson Jose Placer North Florida
Feb 8 Pedro Bradshaw & Jalen Warren Bellarmine & FGCU Romeao Ferguson Lipscomb
Feb 15 Ahsan Asadullah Lipscomb Dontarius James Jacksonville
Feb 22 Bryce Workman Jacksonville Romeao Ferguson Lipscomb
Mar 1

End-of-season awards

edit
Honor Recipient
Player of the Year Darius McGhee, Liberty
Coach of the Year Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year Elijah Coffee, Liberty
Newcomer of the Year Romeao Ferguson, Lipscomb
Freshman of the Year Chase Johnston, Stetson
All-ASUN First Team Darius McGhee, Liberty
Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb
Pedro Bradshaw, Bellarmine
Dylan Penn, Bellarmine
Carter Hendricksen, North Florida
All-ASUN Second Team Dontarius James, Jacksonville
Elijah Coffee, Liberty
Romaeo Ferguson, Lipscomb
Mervin James, North Alabama
Jose Placer, North Florida
All-ASUN Freshmen Team Chase Johnston, Stetson
Chris Youngblood, Kennesaw State
Detalian Brown, North Alabama
Jonathan Aybar, North Florida
Josh Smith, Stetson

Source[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ "@ASUN_MBB Teams Set to Conclude Non-League Play; Conference Action Begins New Year's Day". ASUN Conference. December 24, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "ASUN Conference Announces Addition of Bellarmine University" (Press release). ASUN Conference. June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  3. ^ "Lipscomb Seletected Atop @ASUN_MBB Preseason Poll; Asadullah, Cuffee Earn Superlative Honors" (Press release). ASUN Conference. November 5, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Liberty's McGhee Tabbed Player of the Year; 2020-21 @ASUN_MBB Awards Announced" (Press release). ASUN Conference. March 3, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.