The Wildcats, founding members of the Southeastern Conference, played their home games at Rupp Arena and were led by John Calipari in his 13th season as head coach.

3 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals before losing to Tennessee in the semifinals.

It also marked the first time Kentucky had suffered a First Round exit under Calipari, and allowed eventual tournament champion Kansas to take the all-time record for most wins in Division I men's college basketball history.

Due to COVID-19 impacts, the NCAA declared that the 2020–21 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any student-athlete in any of the organization's winter sports, including basketball.

On May 12, 2021, TyTy Washington committed to UK over offers from Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, LSU and Oregon.

Sources: On November 10, 2021, four consensus five-star prospects signed with UK: Skyy Clark, Chris Livingston, Shaedon Sharpe, and Cason Wallace.

[13] Sources: On November 20, 2021, Reed Sheppard verbally committed to UK over multiple offers, with Louisville and Virginia among the most active in attempting to recruit him.

The son of former UK basketball players Jeff Sheppard and the former Stacey Reed, he was the first commitment to the 2023 recruiting class.