2020–21 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team were led by second-year head coach Greg Gary, and played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as a member of the Southern Conference.

2020–21 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	18–11 (8–9 SoCon)
Head coach	Greg Gary (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Bobby Kummer Kim Lewis D.J. Byrd
Home arena	Hawkins Arena

2020–21 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UNC Greensboro †	13	–	5		.722			21	–	9		.700
Wofford	12	–	5		.706			15	–	9		.625
Furman	10	–	5		.667			16	–	9		.640
Chattanooga	9	–	7		.563			18	–	8		.692
East Tennessee State	8	–	7		.533			13	–	12		.520
VMI	7	–	7		.500			13	–	12		.520
Mercer	8	–	9		.471			18	–	11		.621
The Citadel	5	–	11		.313			13	–	12		.520
Western Carolina	4	–	13		.235			11	–	16		.407
Samford	2	–	9		.182			6	–	13		.316
† 2021 SoCon Tournament winner

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 11–7 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Western Carolina.

Roster

2020–21 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Leon Ayers III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Troy, Michigan G 1 Kamar Robertson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Alpharetta, Georgia G 2 Neftali Alvarez 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS So Cataño, Puerto Rico G 3 Jeff Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Austin, Texas F 5 Drew Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Smyrna, Georgia C 10 Shannon Grant 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Fr Sylacauga, Alabama G 11 Jovan Tucker 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Atlanta, Georgia G 12 Mitch Prendergast 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Dallas, Texas C 14 Victor Bafutto 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Brasília, Brazil F 15 John Treanor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Roswell, Georgia G 20 Ross Cummings 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Dickson, Tennessee F 22 Felipe Haase 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 253 lb (115 kg) RS Jr Osorno, Chile F 23 James Glisson III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Decatur, Georgia F 25 Maciej Bender 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Sr Warsaw, Poland G 30 Diego Rivera 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Bayamón, Puerto Rico G 31 Jackson Greco 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Canton, Georgia F 35 Patrick Urey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Chattanooga, Tennessee	Head coach Greg Gary (Tulane) Assistant coach(es) Bobby Kummer (Charlotte) Kim Lewis (Tulane) D.J. Byrd (Purdue) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 16, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Georgia	W 79–48	1–0	Hawkins Arena (727) Macon, GA
November 27, 2020* 8:00 p.m., FSS		at Georgia Tech	W 83–73	2–0	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
November 30, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Georgia State	W 86–69	3–0	Hawkins Arena (672) Macon, GA
December 5, 2020* 10:00 a.m., ESPN+		Columbia International	W 88–62	4–0	Hawkins Arena (478) Macon, GA
December 6, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Wesleyan	W 96–85	5–0	Hawkins Arena (727) Macon, GA
December 13, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Georgia Southern	W 77–75	6–0	Hanner Fieldhouse (459) Statesboro, GA
December 16, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Georgia State	L 81–88	6–1	GSU Sports Arena (907) Atlanta, GA
December 19, 2020* 2:00 p.m.		Georgia Southwestern	Canceled		Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
December 22, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	W 81–71	7–1	KSU Convocation Center (341) Kennesaw, GA
December 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		Wofford	L 65–78	7–2 (0–1)	Hawkins Arena (946) Macon, GA
January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Furman	L 80–83	7–3 (0–2)	Timmons Arena (250) Greenville, SC
January 13, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Chattanooga	L 80–83	7–4 (0–3)	McKenzie Arena (0) Chattanooga, TN
January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Carolina	W 78–76	8–4 (1–3)	Hawkins Arena (1,027) Macon, GA
January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at The Citadel	W 83–63	9–4 (2–3)	McAlister Field House  Charleston, SC
January 23, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		VMI	W 83–80	10–4 (3–3)	Hawkins Arena (927) Macon, GA
January 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UNC Greensboro	L 68–81	10–5 (3–4)	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, NC
January 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wofford	L 69–72	10–6 (3–5)	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium  Spartanburg, SC
February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		East Tennessee State	L 64–70	10–7 (3–6)	Hawkins Arena (927) Macon, GA
February 6, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Samford	W 89–82	11–7 (4–6)	Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 10, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Samford	W 77–70	12–7 (5–6)	Pete Hanna Center  Homewood, AL
February 13, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UNC Greensboro	L 74–77	12–8 (5–7)	Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at East Tennessee State	W 71–64	13–8 (6–7)	Freedom Hall Civic Center  Johnson City, TN
February 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Furman	L 60–70	13–9 (6–8)	Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 22, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		The Citadel	W 88–52	14–9 (7–8)	Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 24, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Chattanooga	W 81–77	15–9 (8–8)	Hawkins Arena  Macon, GA
February 27, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Carolina	L 61–85	15–10 (8–9)	Ramsey Center  Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
March 5, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (10) Samford First Round	W 87–59	16–10	Harrah's Cherokee Center  Asheville, NC
March 6, 2021 5:30 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (2) Wofford Quarterfinals	W 62–61	17–10	Harrah's Cherokee Center  Asheville, NC
March 7, 2021 7:30 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (6) VMI Semifinals	W 73–59	18–10	Harrah's Cherokee Center  Asheville, NC
March 8, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN	(7)	vs. (1) UNC Greensboro Championship	L 61–69	18–11	Harrah's Cherokee Center  Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

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