# 2021–22 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Asheville in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Mike Morrell, played their home games at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, North Carolina, as members of the Big South Conference. With the reintroduction of divisions for the first time since the 2013–14 season, the Bulldogs played in the South division. They finished the regular season 16–13, 8–8 in Big South play which resulted in a fourth place in the South division. As the No. 5 seed in the Big South tournament, they lost to Charleston Southern in the first round.
The Bulldogs participated in the College Basketball Invitational as a No. 13 seed, where they defeated No. 4 Stephen F. Austin in the first round before losing to No. 12 Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the 2020–21 season 10–10, 9–5 in Big South play to finish in fourth place. They were defeated by Longwood in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament.

## Preseason

The Bulldogs were picked to finish in second place in the South division in a preseason poll. The team returned six of their top seven scorers from the prior season, including guard Tajion Jones who entered the season as the Big South's active leader in career points (1,058).

## Schedule and results

During the non-conference half of the season, the Bulldogs used a balanced attack (Tajion Jones, Drew Pember, and LJ Thorpe all averaging 10-15 points per game) to begin the conference half with the best record in either division of the Big South.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:30 pm, CUSAtv | | at UAB | L 77–102 | 0–1 | Bartow Arena (2,923) Birmingham, AL |
| November 11, 2021* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Brevard | W 101–44 | 1–1 | Kimmel Arena (1,290) Asheville, NC |
| November 14, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga Coke Zero Sugar Classic | L 45-75 | 1–2 | McKenzie Arena (2,250) Chattanooga, TN |
| November 18, 2021* 6:00 pm | | vs. Tennessee Tech Coke Zero Sugar Classic | W 61–55 | 2–2 | McKenzie Arena (412) Chattanooga, TN |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | at North Carolina | L 53–72 | 2–3 | Dean Smith Center (15,710) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 28, 2021* 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | St. Andrews | W 106–36 | 3–3 | Kimmel Arena (659) Asheville, NC |
| December 1, 2021* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 65–58 | 4–3 | Kimmel Arena (751) Asheville, NC |
| December 4, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Carolina Central | W 82–66 | 5–3 | Kimmel Arena (580) Asheville, NC |
| December 8, 2021* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 73–78 | 5–4 | Kimmel Arena (405) Asheville, NC |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | W 73–72 | 6–4 | Ramsey Center (2,418) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 14, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | L 68–79 | 6–5 | Skyhawk Arena (1,041) Martin, TN |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 79–64 | 7–5 | Kimmel Arena (767) Asheville, NC |
| December 21, 2021* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Milligan | W 114–54 | 8–5 | Kimmel Arena (641) Asheville, NC |
| December 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Indiana | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Big South regular season ||||||
| January 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Campbell | W 60–54 | 9–5 (1–0) | Gore Arena (0) Buies Creek, NC |
| January 8, 2022 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Charleston Southern | W 82–59 | 10–5 (2–0) | Kimmel Arena (175) Asheville, NC |
| January 12, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Winthrop | L 80–86 $^{OT}$ | 10–6 (2–1) | Winthrop Coliseum (1,698) Rock Hill, SC |
| January 15, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | L 73–76 | 10–7 (2–2) | Kimmel Arena (85) Asheville, NC |
| January 19, 2022 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | North Carolina A&T | L 71–73 | 10–8 (2–3) | Kimmel Arena (441) Asheville, NC |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Radford | W 78–74 $^{OT}$ | 11–8 (3–3) | Dedmon Center (1,181) Radford, VA |
| January 27, 2022 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | Gardner–Webb | L 55–61 | 11–9 (3–4) | Kimmel Arena (614) Asheville, NC |
| January 29, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | W 68–67 | 12–9 (4–4) | Templeton Physical Education Center (594) Clinton, SC |
| February 2, 2022 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Longwood | L 48–56 | 12–10 (4–5) | Kimmel Arena (507) Asheville, NC |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at High Point | L 83–91 $^{OT}$ | 12–11 (4–6) | Qubein Center (4,698) High Point, NC |
| February 9, 2022 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Hampton | W 69–53 | 13–11 (5–6) | Kimmel Arena (572) Asheville, NC |
| February 12, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at USC Upstate | W 83–56 | 14–11 (6–6) | G. B. Hodge Center (267) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | W 85–66 | 15–11 (7–6) | Buccaneer Field House (619) North Charleston, SC |
| February 19, 2022 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Winthrop | L 79–84 | 15–12 (7–7) | Kimmel Arena (1,505) Asheville, NC |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Gardner–Webb | L 59–60 | 15–13 (7–8) | Paul Porter Arena (687) Boiling Springs, NC |
| February 26, 2022 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Presbyterian | W 98–96 $^{OT}$ | 16–13 (8–8) | Kimmel Arena (1,691) Asheville, NC |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| March 2, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (12) Charleston Southern First round | L 78–79 | 16–14 | Bojangles Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| CBI ||||||
| March 19, 2022 2:30 pm, FloSports | (13) | vs. (4) Stephen F. Austin First Round | W 80–68 | 17–14 | Ocean Center (588) Daytona Beach, FL |
| March 21, 2022 3:30 pm, FloSports | (13) | vs. (12) Northern Colorado Quarterfinals | L 84–87 | 17–15 | Ocean Center (706) Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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