Southern releases 2020-21 men's basketball schedule

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Southern University men’s basketball team announced the 2020-21 schedule Saturday afternoon under third-year head coach Sean Woods.

The 2020-21 season was scheduled to start on November 10, 2020, before the NCAA announced on September 16, that they were pushing back the start date of the season by two weeks causing the college basketball world to go into a frenzy with the rescheduling of games. During this time SU lost six scheduled games and had to re-evaluate due to the coronavirus pandemic as CDC, local and state guidelines were a factor as well as testing protocols. The schedule is subject to change because of COVID-19 concerns.

“Our nonconference schedule will definitely be a challenging one for us, as we face some great teams and competition. Ultimately that will help prepare us down the road for a tough Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule,” said Woods. “I think Senior Associate Athletics Director Rodney Kirschner did a really great job putting together a competitive schedule especially with all the challenges he was facing with things changing daily.” “We are just excited to get a chance to get back on the court and compete as this has been a very tough nine months not only for us but the country.”

The Jaguars will open up the season playing their first six games of the season on the road. The season begins at a multi-team event Thursday, Nov. 26 when SU takes on MEAC champion North Carolina Central at the University of Iowa. This will be the fifth time the two HBCU teams will meet on the hardwood since 2012, NCCU leads the series 3-1. The last matchup was an 83-71 Eagles win on Nov. 24, 2018. Followed by a preseason top 5 matchup with No. 5 ranked Iowa on Nov. 27, the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Southern will then travel back to Baton Rouge to finish up virtual finals before another preseason top 5 matchup when the Jaguars travel to No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 10. The game will be televised on Root Sports. This will be the third time these two programs have met as the last matchup was the 2013 NCAA Tournament Second Round when the #1 seed Bulldogs defeated #16 seed Southern 64-58 in Salt Lake City.

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Finishing up a three-game road swing, the Jaguars will travel to UAB on Dec. 16, UC-Riverside on Dec. 19, and California Baptist on Dec. 21.

SU returns from Christmas break opening up Southwestern Athletic Conference play at the F.G. Clark Activity Center hosting SWAC Regular Season Champion Prairie View A&M on Jan. 2 and preseason favorite Texas Southern on Jan. 4.

The Jags make a difficult early conference road swing visiting in-state rival Grambling State on Jan. 9 and Jackson State on Jan. 11. Before returning home to host Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Jan. 16 and Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 18.

Finishing out the first round of SWAC games SU will go back on the road for a three-game road swing visiting Alabama A&M on Jan. 23, Alabama State on Jan. 25, and Alcorn State on Jan. 30.

The February schedule is more favorable as the Jaguars host five of seven contests at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. SU host Grambling State on Feb. 6, Jackson State on Feb. 8 before traveling to Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Feb. 13, and Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 15.

SU welcomes three straight home games at the end of the month with visiting Alabama A&M on Feb. 20, Alabama State on Feb. 22, and Alcorn State on Feb. 27.

Wrapping up the regular season the Jaguars will travel to Prairie View A&M on March 4 and Texas Southern on March 6.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals begins March 9 at the higher-seeded teams’ campus before moving the semifinals and finals to the UAB Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama on March 12.

2020-21 Southern University Men’s Basketball Schedule

Nov. 26 vs. North Carolina Central (University of Iowa)
Nov. 27 at No. 5 University of Iowa
Dec. 10 at No. 1 Gonzaga
Dec. 16 at UAB
Dec. 19 at UC-Riverside
Dec. 21 at California Baptist
Jan. 2 vs. Prairie View A&M*
Jan. 4 vs. Texas Southern*
Jan. 9 at Grambling State*
Jan. 11 at Jackson State*
Jan. 16 vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff*
Jan. 18 vs. Mississippi Valley State*
Jan. 23 at Alabama A&M*
Jan. 25 at Alabama State*
Jan. 30 at Alcorn State*
Feb. 6 vs. Grambling State*
Feb. 8 vs. Jackson State*
Feb. 13 at Arkansas Pine-Bluff*
Feb. 15 at Mississippi Valley State*
Feb. 20 vs. Alabama A&M*
Feb. 22 vs. Alabama State*
Feb. 27 vs. Alcorn State*
March 4 at Prairie View A&M
March 6 at Texas Southern
March 9-12 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament