ABILENE, Texas—After the 2019-20 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wildcats entered the 2020-21 season hungrier than ever. Coming off of back-to-back 20-win seasons and returning a majority of the team that had success the year before, they were ready to prove that they had what it takes to defend their 2019 Southland Conference Tournament Championship.
The team was picked to finish second in the preseason poll, just behind SFA, and felt they could compete for the regular season title, despite having one of the tougher conference slates. It took almost no time for the Wildcats to prove they came to compete, jumping out to a 3-0 record and a tournament win in the Gulf Coast Showcase to start the season. Once again it was their defense that led the way, opening the season with a 70-47 win over ETSU, a team coming off a 30-4 record in 2019-20. They would also hand losses to Austin Peay and Omaha in Florida as well.
ACU ran their record to 5-0 to start the season with two home wins before their first major game of the year, when they traveled to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech. The team showed no fear going into the game and played a gritty, defensive battle in a seven-point loss to the then No. 17-ranked Red Raiders. This was just a taste of what the Wildcats would display throughout a season of uncertainty and adversity.
The Wildcats were hit with adversity from every angle over the season with injuries, game cancellations, and a massive snowstorm. No matter what was thrown their way, they were able to come out better on the other side. The team was without starting guard
Coryon Mason for three games, they had a stretch of four games in eight days, and still found ways to excel.
ACU completed the regular season with a second-place finish in the Southland and all eyes were on them as they got to Katy to defend their tournament title. It was a dominant weekend for the Wildcats as they earned a 22-point win over Lamar in the semifinals and capped it with a 34-point win in the championship game over the regular season champion, Nicholls. The team was headed back to the NCAA tournament, but this time they had their eyes on making noise at the national level.
The Wildcats drew in-state powerhouse, Texas, in the first round and became an overnight sensation with their late-game heroics to down the Longhorns 53-52 and move on to the second round. ACU made national headlines and proved that their defense could keep pace with anyone while forcing Texas into a season-high 23 turnovers. The most successful season in ACU men's basketball history came to an end against UCLA in the second round, but the team finished with a 24-5 record, their third-straight 20-win season.
TOP MOMENTS
Wildcats win the Gulf Coast Showcase
Recaps:
ETSU |
Austin Peay |
Omaha
ACU began the 2020-21 season in Estero, Fla. where they participated in the Gulf Coast Showcase that featured some of the top mid-major programs in the country. After several teams had to drop out due to COVID, the Wildcats were one of five teams in the tournament. The Wildcats played in the very first DI game of the season and senior
Kolton Kohl scored the first points in college basketball since the shutdown. The team earned three tough wins and came away as tournament champions.
ACU takes Texas Tech to the brink in Lubbock
Recap
After a 5-0 start to the season, ACU faced a tough test when they made the short trip to Lubbock to take on No. 17 Texas Tech in early December. It was a battle between two defensive-minded teams that saw a 2-1 score at the first media timeout of the night. The Red Raiders stretched their lead to as many as 14 and held a nine-point advantage at the half, but the Wildcats came back and had the game tied as late as the under-eight timeout in the second half. Texas Tech made the plays down the stretch to pull away, but the game cemented the Wildcats as a top-tier defensive program and gave them the confidence to have success through the rest of the season.
Wildcats go undefeated in the Teague Center
Game highlights:
Tarleton |
SLU |
Lamar |
UCA |
SFA |
SHSU
With the announcement that Moody Coliseum would undergo renovations, the men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams were relocated to a temporary facility in the Teague Center for the 2020-21 season. In a season that presented so many challenges to begin with, the Wildcats made the best of their time in Teague. The men went 13-0 at home and won by an average of 27 points in those games while beating conference opponent by an average of 25-plus points per game.
Wildcats win eight-straight
Recaps:
UCA |
UIW |
HBU |
AMCC |
SHSU
The Wildcats dropped their fourth conference game of the season on the road at Sam Houston after losing
Coryon Mason to a concussion and key reserve,
Immanuel Allen, to a torn ACL in game. Only their third loss of the year, the Wildcats responded by running off eight-straight wins including winning four games over the span of eight days. The team handed a 20-point loss to SFA, dominated in their home games, and capped the streak with a huge win at home over Sam Houston to take sole possession of first place in the conference at the time.
ACU sweeps the season series over SFA with buzzer beater in Nacogdoches
Recap
After handing SFA a 20-point loss in Abilene, the Wildcats had the chance to earn a season sweep and a win at SFA for the first time since rejoining the Southland in 2013-14. It was all SFA in the first half as the Lumberjacks went on a 16-0 run and led by as many as 15 points early. ACU was able to come back in the second half and held a five-point lead with just over four minutes left to play. SFA's defense was able to turn the Wildcats over late and the game was tied at 61 with 37 second left to play.
Reggie Miller forced an SFA turnover on their final possession and set the Wildcats up for the last shot. Miller drove the lane and threw up a wild shot with
Kolton Kohl grabbing the rebound and laying up for the game-winner as time expired.
Wildcats dominate in Katy
Recaps:
Lamar |
Nicholls
Video:
Lamar |
Nicholls
ACU went into Katy as the two-seed for the third-straight season and looked to repeat as conference champions after winning in 2019. After Lamar upset Sam Houston in the quarterfinals, ACU faced the Cardinals for the third time on the season and came away with a 93-71 win in the semifinals. The Wildcats would then face the No. 1 Nicholls Colonels in the championship game in a matchup of the top two seeds. After not seeing each other in the regular season, it was a game that saw ACU's dominant defense get the best of some of the best scorers in a league on the way to a dominant 79-45 win to defend their tournament title and punch their ticket to Indianapolis.
ACU upsets Texas in the first round behind clutch free throws from Joe Pleasant
Recap
To cap an already historic season, the Wildcats became an NCAA tournament darling with a first round upset of in-state powerhouse, Texas. The Wildcats and Longhorns tipped off in the final game of the first round with the eyes of the entire country watching. ACU put all their eggs into the defensive side of the ball, knowing that if they could turn over Texas they would give themselves a chance to be in the game late. The Wildcats were down five points at the half and the team knew that if they were in the game now, they could be in it late. A late three gave Texas the one-point lead with just a few seconds remaining that seemed to seal the game, but the Wildcats would not quit. A drive to the basket by
Reggie Miller led to a wild shot, but
Joe Pleasant got the offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback. Pleasant, a 60 percent free throw shooter on the season, sank the two biggest free throws of his life to put the Wildcats ahead. He then proceeded to break up the full-court heave from the Longhorns to seal the win, giving ACU their biggest win in program history.
Brette Tanner named the 17th MBB head coach
Release
After three 20-win seasons and the upset win over Texas, Joe Golding was named the head coach at UTEP leaving the head coaching position open. Just two days after Golding made the announcement that he was leaving, Athletics Director,
Allen Ward, announced a press conference where Associate Head Coach,
Brette Tanner, was named as the next coach for the Wildcats. Tanner was a huge part of the Wildcats success over the past few seasons and the mastermind behind their top-tier defense. It was the natural move and one that had the support of everyone in the ACU community.
SEASON AWARDS
NABC All-District 22 First Team
Kolton Kohl
NABC District 22 Co-Coach of the Year
Joe Golding
Southland All-Conference
Kolton Kohl, first team
Joe Pleasant, second team
Coryon Mason, third team
Southland All-Defense
Damien Daniels
Reggie Miller
Coryon Mason
Southland Conference All-Academic
Kolton Kohl, first team
Joe Pleasant, first team
Dave Campbell's Texas Basketball Awards
Reggie Miller, Co-Defensive Player of the Year
Kolton Kohl, second team
Coryon Mason, honorable mention
Paul Goad ACU MVP Award
Kolton Kohl
ACU Comeback Player of the Year
Mahki Morris
ACU Horizon Award
Paul Hiepler,
Kolton Kohl,
Coryon Mason,
Reggie Miller,
Mahki Morris
RANKINGS
NCAA / Southland Team Rankings
Turnovers Forced: 19.93 1st NCAA / 1
st SLC
Turnover Margin: +6.3 1
st NCAA / 1
st SLC
Steals per game: 9.7 2
nd NCAA / 1
st SLC
Assists per game: 17.7 5
th NCAA / 2
nd SLC
Scoring Defense: 60.4 5
th NCAA / 1
st SLC
Scoring Margin: +15.3 5
th NCAA / 1
st SLC
Field-Goal Percentage Defense: 40.4 27
th NCAA / 1
st SLC
Assist to Turnover Ratio: 1.30 1
st SLC
NCAA / Southland Individual Rankings
Assist to Turnover Ratio:
Reggie Miller 2.44 37
th NCAA / 2
nd SLC
Steals per game:
Damien Daniels 1.97 37
th NCAA / 2
nd SLC
Reggie Miller 1.93 44
th NCAA / 3
rd SLC
Total Assists:
Reggie Miller 127 39
th NCAA / 1
st SLC
Total Steals:
Damien Daniels 57 11
th NCAA / 2
nd SLC
Reggie Miller 56 16
th NCAA / 3
rd SLC
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
D1 Era Individual Career Records
Points
6.
Joe Pleasant – 804
7.
Kolton Kohl – 742
Scoring Average
9.
Coryon Mason – 9.6
Field Goals Made
6.
Joe Pleasant – 297
7.
Kolton Kohl – 281
Field Goal Percentage (min. 20 made)
3.
Kolton Kohl – .524
4.
Immanuel Allen – .517
7.
Joe Pleasant – .495
10.
Cameron Steele – .478
Three-point Field Goals Made
T-8.
Clay Gayman – 57
Three-point Field Goal Percentage (min. 20 made)
5.
Joe Pleasant – .400
Free Throws Made
6.
Kolton Kohl – 176
7.
Joe Pleasant – 172
8.
Clay Gayman – 132
T-10.
Coryon Mason – 121
Free Throw Percentage (min. 20 made)
6.
Clay Gayman – .805
Rebounds
5.
Joe Pleasant – 364
6.
Kolton Kohl – 345
10.
Airion Simmons – 243
Rebounding Average
6.
Airion Simmons – 4.1
7.
Joe Pleasant – 4.0
9.
Reggie Miller – 3.3
Assists
3.
Damien Daniels – 229
6.
Reggie Miller – 191
T-9.
Coryon Mason – 118
Assists Average
4.
Reggie Miller – 3.2
7.
Damien Daniels – 2.4
8.
Coryon Mason – 2.1
Blocks
3.
Kolton Kohl – 74
5.
Clay Gayman – 38
Steals
5.
Damien Daniels – 111
6.
Reggie Miller – 88
T-8.
Airion Simmons – 61
T-8.
Coryon Mason – 61
Steals Average
4.
Reggie Miller – 1.5
7.
Damien Daniels – 1.2
8.
Coryon Mason – 1.1
10.
Airion Simmons – 1.0
Games Played
T-7.
Kolton Kohl – 116
10.
Damien Daniels – 94
Games Started
7.
Joe Pleasant – 57
T-8.
Kolton Kohl – 53
10.
Coryon Mason – 50
Minutes
6.
Joe Pleasant – 1873
7.
Damien Daniels – 1828
Minutes Average
10.
Coryon Mason – 25.2
Individual Season Records
Field Goals Made
9.
Kolton Kohl – 134
Field Goal Percentage
5.
Kolton Kohl – .540
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (min. 5 made)
2.
Joe Pleasant – .465
Rebounds
8.
Joe Pleasant – 153
Rebounding Average
7.
Joe Pleasant – 5.5
Assists
3.
Reggie Miller – 127
Assists Average
5.
Reggie Miller – 4.4
Blocks
T-5.
Kolton Kohl – 27
Steals
T-4.
Damien Daniels – 57
6.
Reggie Miller – 56
Steals Average
2.
Damien Daniels – 2.0
3.
Reggie Miller – 1.9
Individual Game Records
Three-Point Field Goals Made
T-8.
Clay Gayman vs. ETSU – 5
T-8.
Logan McLaughlin vs. Howard Payne – 5
Free Throws Made
T-6.
Kolton Kohl vs. ETSU – 10
Most Rebounds
T-6.
Joe Pleasant at Houston Baptist – 13
Most Assists
T-1.
Reggie Miller at UCA – 11
T-8.
Reggie Miller vs. UIW – 9
Most Steals
T-2.
Damien Daniels vs. HBU – 6
T-6.
Damien Daniels vs. Texas – 5
T-6.
Reggie Miller vs. HPU – 5
Most Blocked Shots
T-10.
Kolton Kohl vs. UIW – 3
T-10.
Kolton Kohl vs. UCA – 3
D1 Era Team Season Records Broken
Rebounding Average – 36.1
Assists Average – 17.7
Steals Average – 9.7
Scoring Defense – 60.4
Scoring Margin – +15.3
Field Goal Percentage Defense – .404
Rebounding Margin – +2.1
