2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team represented Tarleton State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Texans, led by first-year head coach Billy Gillispie, played their home games at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas as first-year members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	10–10 (5–7 WAC)
Head coach	Billy Gillispie (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Steve Shields Jim Shaw
Home arena	Wisdom Gym
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 WAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Grand Canyon †	9	–	3		.750			17	–	7		.708
Utah Valley	9	–	4		.692			11	–	11		.500
New Mexico State	7	–	6		.538			12	–	8		.600
California Baptist*	6	–	6		.500			13	–	10		.565
Seattle	4	–	5		.444			12	–	11		.522
Tarleton State*	5	–	7		.417			10	–	10		.500
Dixie State*	4	–	10		.286			8	–	13		.381
Texas–Rio Grande Valley	2	–	5		.286			9	–	10		.474
Chicago State	0	–	0		–			0	–	9		.000
† 2021 WAC tournament winner * Ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament due to transition period Chicago State suspended their season on December 23, 2020

The season marked Tarleton State's first year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Texans were not eligible for NCAA postseason play and could not participate in the WAC tournament. They were eligible to play in the CIT or CBI, but were not invited.^[1]

Previous season

The Texans finished the 2019–20 season 18–12, 13–9 in Lone Star Conference (LSC) play, to finish in a tie for seventh place. They received the No. 7 seed in the LSC tournament, and defeated the No. 10 seed UT Permian Basin in the opening round, 84–68.^[2] They advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to St. Edward's, 52–60.^[3]

The season marked the school's final season as a Division II school.^[4]

Roster

2020–21 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Joey Madimba 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Mansfield Timberview High School Mansfield, TX G 1 Montre' Gipson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Ranger College DeSoto, TX G 2 Freddy Hicks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Searcy High School Searcy, AR F 3 Konstantin Dotsenko 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Freed–Hardeman Vorkuta, Russia G 4 Tahj Small 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Troy Durham, NC G 5 Sam Sparks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Santa Fe Prep Santa Fe, NM G 10 Caleb Golden 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Shiloh High School Austin, TX G 12 Cadarius Baggett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Ranger College Altheimer, AR G 13 Shakur Daniel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Ranger College Toronto, ON G 14 Javontae Hopkins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Fort Bend Travis High School Houston, TX G 20 Caleb Starks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr LSU Lafayette, LA G 22 Tanner Ford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Graford High School Palo Pinto, TX G 24 Isaiah Range 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Trinity Christian School Cedar Hill, TX G 25 Shamir Bogues 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Killeen Ellison High School Killeen, TX G 30 Roman Garcia 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Franklin High School El Paso, TX F 34 Heri Ngalamulume 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Ranger College Kinshasa, DR Congo F 35 Jonathan Jr. Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Prairie View A&M Fort Worth, TX	Head coach Billy Gillispie (Texas State) Assistant coach(es) Steve Shields (Baylor) Jim Shaw (Grinnell) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 2, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 7:00 p.m.		Dallas Christian	W 103–48	1–0	Wisdom Gym (256) Stephenville, TX
November 28, 2020*		Howard Payne West Texas Classic	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Howard Payne[5]		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
December 2, 2020* 6:00 p.m., SECN		at Texas A&M	L 66–73	1–1	Reed Arena (1,316) College Station, TX
December 5, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Abilene Christian West Texas Classic	L 48–69	1–2	Teague Special Events Center (296) Abilene, TX
December 8, 2020* 8:00 p.m., Root Sports		at No. 1 Gonzaga	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Gonzaga[6]		McCarthey Athletic Center  Spokane, WA
December 9, 2020* 7:00 p.m.		Arlington Baptist	W 84–43	2–2	Wisdom Gym (482) Stephenville, TX
December 13, 2020* 1:00 p.m.		at No. 5 Kansas	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Tarleton State[7]		Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
December 15, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 2 Baylor	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Baylor[8]		Ferrell Center  Waco, TX
December 19, 2020* 4:00 p.m.		McMurry	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues at Tarleton State[8]		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
December 23, 2020* 3:00 p.m.		at Pepperdine	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Firestone Fieldhouse  Malibu, CA
December 31, 2020* 4:00 p.m.		Paul Quinn	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
WAC regular season
January 8, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Grand Canyon	L 72–75	2–3 (0–1)	Wisdom Gym (962) Stephenville, TX
January 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Grand Canyon	L 48–59	2–4 (0–2)	Wisdom Gym (833) Stephenville, TX
January 15, 2021 8:00 p.m., WAC DN		at California Baptist	L 74–83	2–5 (0–3)	CBU Events Center (0) Riverside, CA
January 16, 2021 8:00 p.m., WAC DN		at California Baptist	L 67–73	2–6 (0–4)	CBU Events Center (0) Riverside, CA
January 17, 2021* 8:00 p.m., Pluto TV		at Weber State	L 79–94	2–7	Dee Events Center (0) Ogden, UT
January 22, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Seattle	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
January 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		Seattle	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
January 25, 2021* 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		Howard Payne	W 113–53	3–7	Wisdom Gym (1,093) Stephenville, TX
January 29, 2021 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		at Utah Valley	L 60–72	3–8 (0–5)	UCCU Center (100) Orem, UT
January 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		at Utah Valley	W 70–62	4–8 (1–5)	UCCU Center (100) Orem, UT
February 6, 2021* 8:00 p.m.		Southwestern Adventist	W 97–26	5–8	Wisdom Gym (284) Stephenville, TX
February 9, 2021* 6:00 p.m.		McMurry	W 112–54	6–8	Wisdom Gym (335) Stephenville, TX
February 12, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Chicago State	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
February 13, 2021 1:00 p.m., WAC DN		Chicago State	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Wisdom Gym  Stephenville, TX
February 19, 2021 8:00 p.m., WAC DN		at Dixie State	W 77–59	7–8 (2–5)	Burns Arena (559) St. George, UT
February 20, 2021 8:00 p.m., WAC DN		at Dixie State	L 48–64	7–9 (2–6)	Burns Arena (437) St. George, UT
February 26, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Mexico State	L 51–78	7–10 (2–7)	Wisdom Gym (1,172) Stephenville, TX
February 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		New Mexico State	W 64–55	8–10 (3–7)	Wisdom Gym (1,464) Stephenville, TX
March 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley	W 65–47	9–10 (4–7)	UTRGV Fieldhouse (510) Edinburg, TX
March 6, 2021 7:00 p.m., WAC DN		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley	W 69–58	10–10 (5–7)	UTRGV Fieldhouse (161) Edinburg, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[9][10]