# 2021–22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Fighting Irish were led by 22nd-year head coach Mike Brey and played their home games at the Edmund P. Joyce Center in South Bend, Indiana as ninth-year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 24–11, 15–5 in ACC Play to finish a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed, they lost in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament to Virginia Tech. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the West Region, where they defeated Rutgers in the First Four and then upset Alabama to advance to the Second Round where they lost to Texas Tech.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Fighting Irish finished the 2020–21 season 11–15, 7–11 in ACC play to finish in 11th place. In the ACC tournament they defeated Wake Forest before losing to North Carolina in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Juwan Durham | 11 | F | 6'11" | 223 | GS | Tampa, FL | Graduated |
| Nikola Djogo | 13 | G | 6'8" | 230 | GS | Hamilton, ON | Graduate transferred to Northeastern |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Paul Atkinson | 20 | F | 6'9" | 230 | GS | West Palm Beach, FL | Yale |

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| J.R. Konieczny #42 SF | South Bend, IN | St. Joseph | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Blake Wesley #31 CG | South Bend, IN | Riley | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 20, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Notre Dame Fighting Irish". ESPN.com. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "Notre Dame 2021 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. ||||||

#### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Dom Campbell #31 C | Exeter, NH | Phillips Exeter Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Notre Dame Fighting Irish". ESPN.com. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. "Notre Dame 2022 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Nazareth College | W 87–37 | – | 16 – Ryan | 10 – Atkinson | 7 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (5,039) South Bend, IN |
| November 5, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | St. Norbert | W 78–44 | – | 15 – Tied | 15 – Laszewski | 4 – Tied | Edmund P. Joyce Center (5,231) South Bend, IN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 13, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Cal State Northridge | W 68–52 | 1–0 | 21 – Wesley | 8 – Laszewski | 6 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (5,062) South Bend, IN |
| November 16, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | High Point | W 70–61 | 2–0 | 19 – Atkinson | 16 – Laszewski | 5 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (5,124) South Bend, IN |
| November 22, 2021* 10:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Saint Mary's Maui Invitational tournament quarterfinals | L 59–62 | 2–1 | 16 – Ryan | 7 – Laszewski | 5 – Wertz | Michelob Ultra Arena (0) Paradise, NV |
| November 23, 2021* 10:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational Tournament | W 90–64 | 3–1 | 17 – Goodwin | 15 – Laszewski | 3 – Tied | Michelob Ultra Arena (0) Paradise, NV |
| November 24, 2021* 11:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Texas A&M Maui Invitational Tournament | L 67–73 | 3–2 | 18 – Goodwin | 8 – Goodwin | 6 – Wertz | Michelob Ultra Arena (0) Paradise, NV |
| November 29, 2021* 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Illinois ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 72–82 | 3–3 | 24 – Wesley | 7 – Ryan | 2 – Tied | State Farm Center (14,907) Champaign, IL |
| December 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Boston College | L 57–73 | 3–4 (0–1) | 15 – Hubb | 8 – Laszewski | 3 – Wesley | Conte Forum (6,023) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| December 11, 2021* 5:15 p.m., ESPN | | No. 10 Kentucky | W 66–62 | 4–4 | 14 – Tied | 6 – Tied | 4 – Ryan | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,283) South Bend, IN |
| December 18, 2021* 2:30 p.m., FOX | | vs. Indiana Crossroads Classic | L 56–64 | 4–5 | 15 – Goodwin | 11 – Atkinson | 2 – Tied | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (17,905) Indianapolis, IN |
| December 20, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Western Michigan | W 85–52 | 5–5 | 18 – Goodwin | 8 – Wesley | 5 – Wertz | Edmund P. Joyce Center (4,903) South Bend, IN |
| December 22, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 83–73 | 6–5 | 21 – Goodwin | 7 – Ryan | 9 – Wesley | Edmund P. Joyce Center (5,970) South Bend, IN |
| December 28, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 68–67 | 7–5 (1–1) | 16 – Atkinson | 8 – Atkinson | 4 – Goodwin | Petersen Events Center (8,656) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 5, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | North Carolina | W 78–73 | 8–5 (2–1) | 20 – Laszewski | 8 – Laszewski | 6 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,259) South Bend, IN |
| January 8, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | W 72–68 $^{OT}$ | 9–5 (3–1) | 22 – Wesley | 9 – Laszewski | 9 – Hubb | McCamish Pavilion (5,813) Atlanta, GA |
| January 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Clemson | W 72–56 | 10–5 (4–1) | 21 – Goodwin | 8 – Laszewski | 3 – Tied | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,618) South Bend, IN |
| January 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Virginia Tech | L 73–79 | 10–6 (4–2) | 19 – Atkinson | 9 – Atkinson | 4 – Wesley | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 17, 2021* 2:30 p.m., FOX | | at Howard MLK Day Classic | W 71–68 | 11–6 | 17 – Tied | 13 – Laszewski | 2 – Tied | Burr Gymnasium (1,315) Washington, D.C. |
| January 22, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Louisville | W 82–70 | 12–6 (5–2) | 22 – Wesley | 6 – Laszewski | 5 – Hubb | KFC Yum! Center (16,175) Louisville, KY |
| January 26, 2022 9:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | NC State | W 73–65 | 13–6 (6–2) | 18 – Laszewski | 11 – Laszewski | 5 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,120) South Bend, IN |
| January 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Virginia | W 69–65 | 14–6 (7–2) | 16 – Tied | 9 – Atkinson | 7 – Wesley | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,495) South Bend, IN |
| January 31, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 9 Duke Rescheduled from January 1 | L 43–57 | 14–7 (7–3) | 14 – Atkinson | 9 – Atkinson | 3 – Ryan | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| February 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Miami (FL) | W 68–64 | 15–7 (8–3) | 23 – Atkinson | 11 – Atkinson | 7 – Wesley | Watsco Center (6,363) Coral Gables, FL |
| February 5, 2022 3:00 p.m., ACCN | | at NC State | W 69–57 | 16–7 (9–3) | 15 – Atkinson | 10 – Tied | 4 – Hubb | PNC Arena (13,690) Raleigh, NC |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Louisville | W 63–57 | 17–7 (10–3) | 17 – Atkinson | 15 – Atkinson | 5 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,260) South Bend, IN |
| February 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Clemson | W 76–61 | 18–7 (11–3) | 21 – Wesley | 6 – Wesley | 4 – Atkinson Jr. | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,524) Clemson, SC |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Boston College | W 99–95 $^{OT}$ | 19–7 (12–3) | 23 – Goodwin | 7 – Hubb | 4 – Wesley | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,700) South Bend, IN |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Wake Forest | L 74–79 | 19–8 (12–4) | 24 – Wesley | 7 – Goodwin | 6 – Hubb | LJVM Coliseum (8,355) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNews | | Syracuse | W 79–69 | 20–8 (13–4) | 20 – Atkinson | 17 – Atkinson | 10 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,838) South Bend, IN |
| February 26, 2022 5:00 p.m., ACCN | | Georgia Tech | W 90–56 | 21–8 (14–4) | 17 – Goodwin | 10 – Ryan | 6 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| March 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Florida State | L 70–74 | 21–9 (14–5) | 21 – Wesley | 10 – Atkinson | 3 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (8,401) Tallahassee, FL |
| March 5, 2022 2:30 p.m., ESPNews | | Pittsburgh | W 78–54 | 22–9 (15–5) | 17 – Laszewski | 9 – Laszewski | 6 – Hubb | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,555) South Bend, IN |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (7) Virginia Tech Quarterfinals | L 80–87 | 22–10 | 23 – Hubb | 10 – Laszewski | 5 – Hubb | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2022* 9:10 pm, TruTV | (11 W) | vs. (11 W) Rutgers First Four | W 89–87 $^{2OT}$ | 23–10 | 26 – Atkinson | 6 – Tied | 7 – Hubb | UD Arena (12,516) Dayton, OH |
| March 18, 2022* 4:15 pm, TNT | (11 W) | vs. (6 W) Alabama First Round | W 78–64 | 24–10 | 29 – Ryan | 8 – Atkinson Jr. | 3 – Tied | Viejas Arena (11,328) San Diego, CA |
| March 20, 2022* 7:10 pm, TBS | (11 W) | vs. (3 W) No. 12 Texas Tech Second Round | L 53–59 | 24–11 | 14 – Goodwin | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Viejas Arena San Diego, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings