# 2021–22 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team represented the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The team was led by first-year head coach Matt Figger. With the exception of two games at Bert Ogden Arena, the Vaqueros played their home games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. Both venues are in Edinburg, Texas.

## Previous season

The Vaqueros finished the 2020–21 season 9–10, 2–5 in WAC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. In the first round of the WAC tournament, they lost to New Mexico State.
On February 6, 2021, following a game against Texas Southern, head coach Lew Hill announced that he would be stepping away to focus on his health. Unfortunately, the next day, Hill would pass away due to COVID-19. Four days later, assistant coach Jai Steadman was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3, 2021* 7:00 pm | | UT Tyler | W 101–72 | – | UTRGV Fieldhouse Edinburg, TX |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas A&M International | W 74–59 | 1–0 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,711) Edinburg, TX |
| November 12, 2021* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona | L 50–104 | 1–1 | McKale Center (11,862) Tucson, AZ |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Paul Quinn | W 85–68 | 2–1 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (873) Edinburg, TX |
| November 20, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Northern Arizona UTRGV South Padre Island Battle on the Beach | L 87–89 | 2–2 | South Padre Island Convention Centre (1,340) South Padre Island, TX |
| November 22, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 82–80 | 3–2 | Rolle Activity Center (400) Flagstaff, AZ |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Cal State Fullerton | W 72–67 | 4–2 | Rolle Activity Center (84) Flagstaff, AZ |
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 14 Illinois | L 85–94 | 4–3 | State Farm Center (12,782) Champaign, IL |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi South Texas Showdown | L 77–83 | 4–4 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,681) Edinburg, TX |
| December 3, 2021* 6:00 pm, LHN | | at No. 7 Texas | L 58–88 | 4–5 | Frank Erwin Center (10,865) Austin, TX |
| December 8, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi South Texas Showdown | L 69–75 | 4–6 | American Bank Center (1,349) Corpus Christi, TX |
| December 14, 2021* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas Southern | L 60–70 | 4–7 | Bert Ogden Arena (1,189) Edinburg, TX |
| December 17, 2021* 7:00 pm | | at UTSA | W 68–50 | 5–7 | Convocation Center (748) San Antonio, TX |
| December 21, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southwestern Adventist | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | UTRGV Fieldhouse Edinburg, TX |
| WAC conference season ||||||
| January 3, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Sam Houston State | L 78–86 | 5–8 (0–1) | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (131) Huntsville, TX |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Grand Canyon | L 70–84 | 5–9 (0–2) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (878) Edinburg, TX |
| January 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | L 73–85 | 5–10 (0–3) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (846) Edinburg, TX |
| January 11, 2022 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stephen F. Austin Rescheduled from Dec. 30 | L 75–86 | 5–11 (0–4) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,709) Nacogdoches, TX |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Chicago State | W 85–63 | 6–11 (1–4) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (537) Edinburg, TX |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Utah Valley | L 56–66 | 6–12 (1–5) | UCCU Center (1,574) Orem, UT |
| January 22, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Dixie State | L 74–85 | 6–13 (1–6) | Burns Arena (1,560) St,. George, UT |
| January 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Abilene Christian | L 85–87 | 6–14 (1–7) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (713) Edinburg, TX |
| January 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tarleton State | L 64–79 | 6–15 (1–8) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,453) Edinburg, TX |
| February 2, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lamar | W 93–79 | 7–15 (2–8) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (818) Edinburg, TX |
| February 5, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Abilene Christian | L 66–83 | 7–16 (2–9) | Teague Center (1,088) Abilene, TX |
| February 10, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Seattle | L 59–67 | 7–17 (2–10) | Climate Pledge Arena (2,488) Seattle, WA |
| February 12, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at California Baptist | L 72–80 | 7–18 (2–11) | CBU Events Center (4,651) Riverside, CA |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Seattle | L 62–102 | 7–19 (2–12) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,618) Edinburg, TX |
| February 19, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sam Houston State | L 61–67 | 7–20 (2–13) | Bert Ogden Arena (2,717) Edinburg, TX |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tarleton State | L 62–75 | 7–21 (2–14) | Wisdom Gymnasium (1,074) Stephenville, TX |
| March 2, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lamar | W 67–63 | 8–21 (3–14) | Montagne Center (2,122) Beaumont, TX |
| March 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Stephen F. Austin | L 63–93 | 8–22 (3–15) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (974) Edinburg, TX |
| WAC tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (9) | vs. (8) California Baptist First round | L 80–81 | 8–23 | Orleans Arena (307) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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