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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Regular season | |
| Champions | Liberty |
| Season MVP | Darius McGhee, Liberty |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Liberty |
| Runners-up | North Alabama |
| Finals MVP | Darius McGhee, Liberty |
| 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
editPreseason awards were announced by the league office on November 5, 2020.[3]
Preseason men's basketball coaches poll
edit(First place votes in parentheses)
- Lipscomb (5) 74
- Liberty (2) 66
- Stetson (1) 64
- North Florida (1) 56
- FGCU 45
- North Alabama 40
- Jacksonville 29
- Bellarmine 18
- Kennesaw State 13
Preseason men's basketball media poll
edit(First place votes in parentheses)
- Lipscomb (16) 256
- Liberty (10) 245
- Stetson (4) 202
- North Florida (2) 192
- FGCU 156
- North Alabama 146
- Jacksonville 108
- Kennesaw State 68
- 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
editASUN 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- ^ "@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.
- ^ "ASUN Conference Announces Addition of Bellarmine University" (Press release). ASUN Conference. June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Lipscomb Seletected Atop @ASUN_MBB Preseason Poll; Asadullah, Cuffee Earn Superlative Honors" (Press release). ASUN Conference. November 5, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ "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.