The 2020-21 season will be very different than anything seem before, but games will still be played and a Peach Belt Conference champion will still be crowned. Here is a comprehensive look at the men's basketball landscape for the 2020-21 season. This is divided into three parts: the men's basketball preseason coaches poll, the preseason All-Conference team and a team-by-team preview in their own words. We hope you enjoy this new format!
Preseason Coaches Poll | Preseason All-Conference Team | Team-by-Team Video Preview
Augusta Named PBC Preseason Men's Basketball Favorite
The Augusta Jaguars have been selected as the preseason favorite to claim the PBC men's basketball championship in a poll of the league's head coaches presented by FloorAction. The Jaguars received six of a possible 11 first-place votes for 116 total points. UNC Pembroke was second with 102 points and two first-place votes while Lander was third and USC Aiken fourth. Columbus State came in fifth with Georgia College in sixth, Flagler seventh and North Georgia eighth. Young Harris, Georgia Southwestern, Francis Marion and Clayton State rounded out the voting.
Augusta is coming off a 21-8 record in the 2019-20 season and were second in the conference standings with a 16-4 mark. The Jaguars had earned their third NCAA Tournament bid in the last four years prior to the tournament cancellation. This season's team looks to build on that success with the return of three seniors and five juniors. Among the returners is second-team All-Conference junior Tyshaun Crawford, who was third in the PBC in rebounding and led the conference in field goal percentage. Junior Miguel Arnold was third in the PBC in made three-pointers last year while junior Tyree Myers was sixth in assists.
UNC Pembroke won their second PBC regular-season championship in the last three years with a 17-3 overall conference record in 2019-20. The 2020-21 team will be under new leadership as Drew Richards returns to Lumbee County after leading Lander to the 2020 PBC Tournament title. The Braves, ranked #22 in the preseason D2SIDA poll, return three seniors and three juniors this season including first-team All-Conference guard Tyrell Kirk and third-team All-Conference guard Jordan Ratliffe.
Lander won their fifth PBC Tournament title in 2020, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which would have been their first appearance in the postseason since 2016. The Bearcats will also be under new leadership with former Lincoln Memorial assistant Omar Wattad at the helm. Lander returns three of their top five scorers from last year including All-Conference senior Deon Berrien. Also back is senior DaJuan Moorer who was also an All-Conference selection and led the team in rebounding.
USC Aiken finished fourth in the 2019-20 PBC standings and finished with a 17-14 overall record. The Pacers may have one of the most experienced teams on the court in 2020-21 with five seniors and three juniors on the roster. Among the returners is senior Gus Rowland, who was the second-leading scorer on the team and was fifth in the PBC in assists and fourth in steals.
The preseason coaches poll is below with first-place votes in parentheses. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
Augusta (6) |
116 |
| 2. |
UNC Pembroke (2) |
102 |
| 3. |
Lander (3) |
92 |
| 4. |
USC Aiken |
81 |
| 5. |
Columbus State |
79 |
| 6. |
Georgia College (1) |
74 |
| 7. |
Flagler |
63 |
| 8. |
North Georgia |
57 |
| 9. |
Young Harris |
42 |
| 10. |
Georgia Southwestern |
31 |
| 11. |
Francis Marion |
29 |
| 12. |
Clayton State |
26 |
PBC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
The Peach Belt Conference has announced the 2020-21 men's basketball preseason All-Conference team. The five-player team is selected by the league's head coaches from players who played in the conference last year. The five players on this year's team come from five different institutions
Deon Berrien • Lander University
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A 6-6 senior guard from Augusta, Ga.
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A second-team All-Conference selection in 2019-20
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Led the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game, 20th in the PBC
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Ranked 15th in the conference in rebounds per game (5.9)
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Ranked 15th in the conference in rebounds per game (5.9)
Tyshawn Crawford • Augusta University
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A 7-1 junior center from Griffin, Ga.
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Named second-team All-Conference last season
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Led the Peach Belt and was ranked third in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage (.687)
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Also led the PBC in blocks and was third in rebounding
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Scored 20 or more points four times with a season-high 28 on 12-for-12 shooting against Young Harris and had 15 games of double-digit rebounds
Tyrell Kirk, UNC Pembroke
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A 6-5 senior guard from Whiteville, N.C.
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Named first-team All-Conference in 2020-21
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Led the team with 13.7 points per game in all 29 games for the Braves with 3.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game
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Ranked among the PBC's top 20 in scoring, made three-pointers, assists and steals
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Scored 33 in a win over Lander, hitting seven three-pointers, one of his four games with 20 or more points
Anthony Moore • Columbus State
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A 6-5 redshirt senior from Phenix City, Ala.
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Played in all 31 games for the Cougars with 30 starts
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Was third on the team in scoring with 12.1 ppg and second with 5.8 rebounds per game
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Scored 20 or more points four times last season with a career-best 25 against Augusta
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Had 24 points and 14 rebounds against Young Harris, one of his three double-doubles
Jordan Thomas • Georgia College
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A 6-1 senior guard from Conyers, Ga.
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A second-team All-Conference selection in 2019-20, his second All-Conference honor
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The 2017-18 PBC Freshman of the Year, he scored a career-high 37 against Flagler last December, the second-highest single-game point total in the PBC last season
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Ranked third in the PBC in scoring with 19.3 ppg last year, he had 13 games of 20 or more points and four games of 30 or more, going over 1,000 points for his career
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Named the PBC Player of the Week on Feb. 24 of last season
2020-21 Peach Belt Men's Basketball
Preseason All-Conference Team
Deon Berrien, Lander
Tyshawn Crawford, Augusta
Tyrell Kirk, UNC Pembroke
Anthony Moore, Columbus State
Jordan Thomas, Georgia College
Team-By-Team Video Previews
The following team videos were submitted to the PBC by the member institutions for use with basketball preview day.
Augusta University |
Clayton State University |
Columbus State University |
Flagler College |
Francis Marion University |
Georgia College |
Georgia Southwestern State University |
Lander University |
University of North Carolina at Pembroke |
University of North Georgia |
University of South Carolina Aiken |
Young Harris College |