# 2021–22 VMI Keydets basketball team

The 2021–22 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Keydets, led by seventh-year head coach Dan Earl, played their home games in Cameron Hall in Lexington, Virginia as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the regular season 16–15, 9–9 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the SoCon tournament, they lost to Wofford in the quarterfinals. They accepted an invitation to play in the College Basketball Invitational tournament marking their first postseason tournament appearance since 2014. As a No. 8 seed, they lost to No. 9-seeded UNC Wilmington in the first round.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Keydets finished the 2020–21 season 13–12, 7–7 in SoCon play to finish in sixth place. They upset Furman in overtime in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament, before falling to Mercer in the semifinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Carlow | W 111–55 | 1–0 | Cameron Hall (1,039) Lexington, VA |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | L 72–73 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Templeton Physical Education Center (510) Clinton, SC |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Keystone | W 97–35 | 2–1 | Cameron Hall (347) Lexington, VA |
| November 20, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Marist | L 74–78 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | McCann Arena (1,183) Poughkeepsie, NY |
| November 24, 2021* 4:00 pm | | vs. Presbyterian University of New Orleans Classic | L 54–59 | 2–3 | Lakefront Arena (301) New Orleans, LA |
| November 25, 2021* 4:00 pm | | vs. Central Arkansas University of New Orleans Classic | W 73–67 | 3–3 | Lakefront Arena (347) New Orleans, LA |
| November 26, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at New Orleans University of New Orleans Classic | L 71–79 | 3–4 | Lakefront Arena (856) New Orleans, LA |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Clarks Summit | W 88–40 | 4–4 | Cameron Hall (657) Lexington, VA |
| December 3, 2021* 10:00 pm | | at Portland | W 90–82 | 5–4 | Chiles Center (1,171) Portland, OR |
| December 5, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Seattle | W 89–82 | 6–4 | Climate Pledge Arena (1334) Seattle, WA |
| December 11, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Gardner–Webb | W 64–61 | 7–4 | Cameron Hall (2,306) Lexington, VA |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Wake Forest | L 70–77 | 7–5 | LJVM Coliseum (3,587) Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 22, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Hampton | Cancelled due to COVID-19 Issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 Issues | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, VA |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| December 29, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | W 80–73 | 8–5 (1–0) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (706) Spartanburg, SC |
| January 1, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Furman | W 76–67 | 9–5 (2–0) | Cameron Hall (650) Lexington, VA |
| January 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | L 79–80 | 9–6 (2–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,922) Johnson City, TN |
| January 8, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 56–72 | 9–7 (2–2) | Cameron Hall (747) Lexington, VA |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Mercer | L 91–97 | 9–8 (2–3) | Hawkins Arena (1,341) Macon, GA |
| January 15, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 90–85 | 10–8 (3–3) | McAlister Field House (1,256) Charleston, SC |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | W 99–80 | 11–8 (4–3) | Cameron Hall (826) Lexington, VA |
| January 22, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 74–78 | 11–9 (4–4) | Cameron Hall (2,345) Lexington, VA |
| January 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 64–79 | 11–10 (4–5) | Timmons Arena (1,464) Greenville, SC |
| January 29, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 83–79 | 12–10 (5–5) | Cameron Hall (2,245) Lexington, VA |
| February 2, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | W 76–65 | 13–10 (6–5) | Greensboro Coliseum (1,559) Greensboro, NC |
| February 4, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 76–69 | 14–10 (7–5) | Cameron Hall (2,434) Lexington, VA |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 85–79 | 15–10 (8–5) | Cameron Hall (1,214) Lexington, VA |
| February 12, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | The Citadel | L 79–83 | 15–11 (8–6) | Cameron Hall (3,745) Lexington, VA |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Samford | L 99–100 $^{OT}$ | 15–12 (8–7) | Pete Hanna Center (1,013) Homewood, AL |
| February 19, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | W 80–75 | 16–12 (9–7) | McKenzie Arena (3,651) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wofford | L 72–83 | 16–13 (9–8) | Cameron Hall (1,067) Lexington, VA |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | L 73–82 | 16–14 (9–9) | Ramsey Center (2,026) Cullowhee, NC |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2022 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Wofford Quarterfinals | L 66–68 | 16–15 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| CBI ||||||
| March 20, 2022 12:00 pm, FloHoops | (8) | vs. (9) UNC Wilmington First Round | L 78–93 | 16–16 | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources

## Post Season Awards

* Jake Stephens (1st Team All-SoCon)
* Kamdyn Curfman (3rd Team All-SoCon)
* Trey Bonham (3rd Team All-SoCon)
* Jake Stephens (2nd Team All-SoCon Tournament)
* Honor Huff (All SoCon Freshmen Team)