2020–21 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents the University of Evansville in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces are led by first-year head coach Todd Lickliter and play their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

2020–21 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2020–21 record8–8 (6–4 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Logan Baumann
  • Thomas Jackson
  • Brandon Crone
Home arenaFord Center
2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 25 Drake8–0 1.000  17–0  1.000
Loyola-Chicago10–1 .909  15–3  .833
Evansville6–4 .600  8–8  .500
Indiana State7–5 .583  10–7  .588
Missouri State5–5 .500  9–5  .643
Valparaiso3–5 .375  6–11  .353
Northern Iowa3–7 .300  5–11  .313
Bradley3–7 .300  9–10  .474
Southern Illinois2–6 .250  8–6  .571
Illinois State2–9 .182  5–12  .294
† 2021 MVC Tournament winner
As of February 5, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Purple Aces finished the 2019–20 season 9–23, 0–18 in MVC play to finish in last place. As the No. 10 seed in the MVC Tournament, they lost to Valparaiso in the first round.

Preseason

Evansville was picked to finish last in the MVC despite returning a trio of seniors starters.[1] [2]

Roster
2020–21 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Gage Bobe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoSouth Knox Vincennes, IN
G 1 Emmette Page 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrOssesso Senior High School Brooklyn Park, MN
F 2 Jack Levitch 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrTrinitiy High School Louisville, KY
G 3 Jawaun Newton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrBurges El Paso, TX
G 4 Devan Straub (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SrMater Dei
IU Kokomo		 Evansville, IN
G 5 Shamar Givance 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)155 lb (70 kg) JrFirst Love Christian Academy Toronto, ON
F 10 Evan Kuhlman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrLakota East Liberty Township, OH
G 11 Thomasi Gilgeous-Alexander 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoThe Potter's House Christian Academy Hamilton, ON
F 23 Trey Hall 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrLink Year Prep Willimantic, CT
G 24 Alex Matthews 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrJohn Hardin HS Elizabethtown, KT
G 30 Noah Frederking 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrOkawville Okawville, IL
F 31 Iyen Enaruna 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrCloud County CC Amsterdam, Netherlands
G 41 Samari Curtis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoXenia HS
Nebraska		 Xenia, OH
F 42 Peace Ilegomah 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg) SrMontverde Academy
Pittsburgh		 Benin City, Nigeria
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 25, 2020*
3:00 pm, ACCN		 Louisville
Wade Houston Tipoff Classic		 L 44–79  0–1
 KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
Nov 27, 2020*
12:00 pm, ESPN3		 Prairie View A&M
Wade Houston Tipoff Classic		 L 61–64  0–2
 KFC Yum! Center 
Louisville, KY
Dec 2, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at UT Martin L 87–93 2OT 0–3
 Skyhawk Arena 
Martin, TN
Dec 6, 2020*
TBA		 IUPUI Cancelled due to COVID-19[3] Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Dec 9, 2020*
6:00 pm		 Eastern Illinois W 68–65  1–3
 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Dec 12, 2020*
2:00 pm		 Saint Louis Cancelled due to COVID-19[4] Chaifetz Arena 
Saint Louis, MO
Dec 15, 2020*
6:00 pm		 Southeast Missouri State W 63–61 OT 2–3
 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Dec 21, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Belmont L 63–72  2–4
 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Dec 27, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Southern Illinois L 57–63  2–5
(0–1)		 SIU Arena 
Carbondale, IL
Dec 28, 2020
5:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Southern Illinois W 84–72  3–5
(1–1)		 SIU Arena 
Carbondale, IL
Jan 2, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN+		 Northern Iowa W 65–61  4–5
(2–1)		 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Jan 3, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN+		 Northern Iowa W 70–64  5–5
(3–1)		 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Jan 9, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN3		 Illinois State W 57–48  6–5
(4–1)		 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Jan 10, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN3		 Illinois State L 68–73  6–6
(4–2)		 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Jan 16, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Bradley L 60–69  6–7
(4–3)		 Carver Arena 
Peoria, IL
Jan 17, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Bradley L 55–86  6–8
(4–4)		 Peoria Civic Center 
Peoria, IL
Jan 31, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN3		 Valparaiso W 70–52  7–8
(5–4)		 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Feb 1, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN3		 Valparaiso W 58–51  8–8
(6–4)		 Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Feb 6, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Loyola–Chicago Joseph J. Gentile Arena 
Chicago, IL
Feb 7, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Loyola–Chicago Joseph J. Gentile Arena 
Chicago, IL
Feb 14, 2021
6:00 pm		 Indiana State Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, IN
Feb 21, 2021
3:00 pm		 at Drake Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA
Feb 22, 2021
6:00 pm		 at Drake Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA
Feb 26, 2021
6:00 pm		 Missouri State Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Feb 27, 2021
6:00 pm		 Missouri State Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
MVC Tournament
March 4–7, 2021
TBD		 TBD Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References
  1. "UNI favored in MVC Men's Basketball Poll". MVC-Sports.com]. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  2. "2020-21 MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll" (PDF). mvc-sports.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  3. Courier & Press: "Evansville basketball cancels Saturday's game with Saint Louis"
  4. Courier & Press: "Evansville basketball cancels Saturday's game with Saint Louis"
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