| 2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball | |
|---|---|
![]()  | |
| Conference | Big West Conference | 
| Record | 14–8 (8–4 Big West) | 
| Head coach | 
  | 
| Assistant coaches | 
  | 
| Home arena | SRC Arena  (Capacity: 2,750)  | 
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara † | 13 | – | 3 | .813 | 22 | – | 5 | .815 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 18 | – | 9 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | 14 | – | 8 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Davis | 6 | – | 4 | .600 | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 15 | – | 11 | .577 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawai'i | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 11 | – | 10 | .524 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 5 | – | 7 | .417 | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 9 | – | 13 | .409 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 4 | – | 8 | .333 | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal Poly | 1 | – | 15 | .063 | 4 | – | 20 | .167 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC San Diego* | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 10 | .412 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament and 2021 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2021 Big West tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the University of California, Riverside in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by first-year head coach Mike Magpayo, played their home games at SRC Arena in Riverside, California as members of the Big West Conference.
Previous season
The Highlanders finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 6–9 in Big West play to finish sixth in the Big West Conference standings. Initially set to play UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference tournament, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ending the Highlanders' season.[1]
On July 1, 2020, associate head coach Mike Magpayo was elevated to head coach of the program, replacing David Patrick, who had accepted an associate coach position at Arkansas.[2] Magpayo, who is Filipino–American, thus became the first head coach of Asian descent in Division I men's basketball history.[3][4]
Roster
Rather unusually, nine out of the fourteen players on UCR's roster during the 2020–21 season were from either Australia or New Zealand, with four players coming from the city of Melbourne alone, compared to only five who were from the United States.
| 2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Roster   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV  | 
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance)  city, state  | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 2:00 p.m.  | 
at Pacific | L 60–66 | 0–1 | 
16 – Chidom | 8 – Cameron | 4 – Pullin | Alex G. Spanos Center  Stockton, CA  | ||||
| November 30, 2020* | 
at Fresno State | Cancelled | Save Mart Center  Fresno, CA  | ||||||||
| December 1, 2020* 1:00 p.m., Flohoops  | 
at Washington  Men's Vegas Bubble  | 
W 57–42 | 1–1 | 
21 – Perry | 12 – Chidom | 9 – Pullin | T-Mobile Arena  Paradise, NV  | ||||
| December 2, 2020* 4:00 p.m.  | 
Bethesda | Postponed to a later date | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||||||
| December 6, 2020* 12:00 p.m.  | 
at Denver | W 83–63 | 2–1 | 
22 – Pullin | 8 – Hayes-Brown | 6 – Pickett | Hamilton Gymnasium  Denver, CO  | ||||
| December 10, 2020* 5:00 p.m., Pluto TV  | 
at Northern Arizona | W 74–50 | 3–1 | 
17 – Chidom | 7 – Hayes-Brown | 5 – Cameron | Rolle Activity Center  Flagstaff, AZ  | ||||
| December 19, 2020* 4:00 p.m.  | 
Southern | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||||||
| December 27, 2020 4:00 p.m.  | 
Long Beach State | Postponed to a later date | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||||||
| December 28, 2020 4:00 p.m.  | 
Long Beach State | Postponed to a later date | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||||||
| January 1, 2021 | 
at UC Davis | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | The Pavilion  Davis, CA  | ||||||||
| January 2, 2021 | 
at UC Davis | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | The Pavilion  Davis, CA  | ||||||||
| January 8, 2021 4:00 p.m., BigWest.tv  | 
Hawaii | L 83–88 | 3–2 (0–1)  | 
20 – Chidom | 10 – Pullin | 3 – Pickett | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| January 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., BigWest.tv  | 
Hawaii | W 70–68 | 4–2 (1–1)  | 
15 – Chidom | 4 – Tied | 4 – Chidom | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| January 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m., P12N  | 
at USC | L 62–67 OT | 4–3 | 
16 – Pickett | 10 – Perry | 4 – Pickett | Galen Center  Los Angeles, CA  | ||||
| January 15, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
at Cal Poly | W 86–51 | 5–3 (2–1)  | 
19 – Tattersall | 7 – 3 tied | 6 – Pullin | Mott Athletics Center  San Luis Obispo, CA  | ||||
| January 16, 2020 4:00 p.m.  | 
at Cal Poly | W 70–53 | 6–3 (3–1)  | 
20 – Pullin | 8 – Tied | 6 – Pickett | Mott Athletics Center  San Luis Obispo, CA  | ||||
| January 22, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
Cal State Bakersfield | L 45–47 | 6–4 (3–2)  | 
13 – Pullin | 9 – Pullin | 3 – Tied | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| January 23, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
Cal State Bakersfield | W 70–63 | 7–4 (4–2)  | 
14 – Tied | 6 – Hayes-Brow | 3 – Tied | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| January 31, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
UC San Diego | W 71–59 | 8–4 (4–2)  | 
14 – Perry | 9 – Pullin | 6 – Pullin | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| February 5, 2021 5:00 p.m.  | 
at Cal State Fullerton | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA  | ||||||||
| February 6, 2021 5:00 p.m.  | 
at Cal State Fullerton | Canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests | Titan Gym  Fullerton, CA  | ||||||||
| February 12, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
UC Irvine | W 86–65 | 9–4 (5–2)  | 
22 – Pickett | 8 – Chidom | 6 – Pullin | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| February 13, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU  | 
UC Irvine | L 67–73 | 9–5 (5–3)  | 
17 – Chidom | 6 – Cameron | 4 – Pullin | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| February 19, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN3  | 
at UC San Diego | W 81–75 | 10–5 (5–3)  | 
19 – Pickett | 7 – Chidom | 6 – Pullin | RIMAC Arena  La Jolla, CA  | ||||
| February 20, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN3  | 
at UC San Diego | L 82–83 OT | 10–6 (5–3)  | 
19 – Chidom | 8 – Cameron | 6 – Pullin | RIMAC Arena  La Jolla, CA  | ||||
| February 26, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN2  | 
UC Santa Barbara | L 68–72 | 10–7 (5–4)  | 
17 – Chidom | 4 – Chidom | 3 – Chidom | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| February 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3  | 
UC Santa Barbara | W 68–52 | 11–7 (6–4)  | 
21 – Pullin | 11 – Hayes-Brown | 5 – Pullin | SRC Arena  Riverside, CA  | ||||
| March 5, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
at Cal State Northridge | W 72–68 | 12–7 (7–4)  | 
17 – Pullin | 8 – Perry | 7 – Pullin | Matadome  Northridge, CA  | ||||
| March 6, 2021 4:00 p.m.  | 
at Cal State Northridge | W 66–65 | 13–7 (8–4)  | 
18 – Cameron | 8 – Perry | 5 – Pullin | Matadome  Northridge, CA  | ||||
| Big West tournament | |||||||||||
| March 11, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN3  | 
(3) | vs. (6) Hawaii  Quarterfinals  | 
W 62–52 | 14–7 | 
14 – Pickett | 7 – Perry | 5 – Pullin | Michelob Ultra Arena  Paradise, NV  | |||
| March 12, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPNU  | 
(3) | vs. (2) UC Irvine  Semifinals  | 
L 61–78 | 14–8 | 
16 – Perry | 10 – Perry | 5 – Pullin | Michelob Ultra Arena  Paradise, NV  | |||
*Non-conference game.  #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.      All times are in Pacific Time Zone.  | |||||||||||
Source: [5]
References
- ↑ "Big West Cancels 2020 Basketball Tournament". UC Riverside Athletics. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
 - ↑ "Mike Magpayo becomes first NCAA Div. 1 head coach of Filipino descent". ESPN. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
 - ↑ Steinberg, Emma (November 25, 2020). "'It's a Responsibility': History-Making Mike Magpayo Ready to Make a Difference On and Off the Court". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
 - ↑ Giongco, Mark (July 4, 2020). "Filipino coach Mike Magpayo makes US NCAA Division 1 history". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
 - ↑ "2020-2021 Men's Basketball Schedule". UC Riverside Athletics. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
 
