# 2021–22 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team represented Davidson College during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by 33rd-year head coach Bob McKillop and played their home games at the John M. Belk Arena in Davidson, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 27–7, 15–3 in A-10 Play to finish as regular season champions. They defeated Fordham and Saint Louis to advance to the championship game of the A–10 Tournament where they lost to Richmond. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West Region, where they lost in the first round to Michigan State.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Wildcats finished the 2020–21 season 13–9, 7–4 in A-10 play to finish in third place. They defeated George Mason in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament before losing in the semifinals to VCU. The Wildcats received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to NC State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Carter Collins | 24 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Chapel Hill, NC | Graduate transferred to Murray State |
| Bates Jones | 25 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduate transferred to Duke |
| Kellan Grady | 31 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Boston, MA | Graduate transferred to Kentucky |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Foster Loyer | 0 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Senior | Clarkston, MI | Michigan State |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chris Ford SF | Huntersville, NC | North Mecklenburg High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 15, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Styrmir Snær Þrastarson SG | Reykjavík, Iceland | Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurlands | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 3, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Desmond Watson SF | Columbus, OH | St. Francis DeSales High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 19, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 26, 2020. ||||||
Source

#### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Reed Bailey #32 PF | Wolfeboro, NH | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 4, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Sean Logan SF | Westfield, NJ | Westfield Senior High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 1, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 |||||||
| 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 20, 2021. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 3, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ferrum | W 98–56 | – | 21 – Brajkovic | 10 – Mennenga | 5 – Huffman | John M. Belk Arena (2,087) Davidson, NC |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Delaware | W 93–71 | 1–0 | 27 – Loyer | 10 – Mennenga | 5 – Tied | John M. Belk Arena (2,779) Davidson, NC |
| November 13, 2021* 8:30 p.m., WCC Network | | at San Francisco Chase Center Showcase | L 60–65 | 1–1 | 17 – Brajkovic | 9 – Tied | 3 – Loyer | Chase Center (4,175) San Francisco, CA |
| November 18, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. New Mexico State Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals | L 64–76 | 1–2 | 19 – Brajkovic | 7 – Brajkovic | 4 – Brajkovic | HTC Center (1,168) Myrtle Beach, SC |
| November 19, 2021* 2:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Penn Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation round | W 72–60 | 2–2 | 17 – Mennenga | 11 – Brajkovic | 6 – Brajkovic | HTC Center (1,131) Myrtle Beach, SC |
| November 21, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. East Carolina Myrtle Beach Invitational 5th place game | W 76–67 | 3–2 | 25 – Lee | 10 – Lee | 8 – Jones | HTC Center (1,101) Myrtle Beach, SC |
| November 27, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Robert Morris | W 88–70 | 4–2 | 23 – Lee | 8 – Brajkovic | 5 – Loyer | John M. Belk Arena (2,724) Davidson, NC |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Charlotte | W 75–58 | 5–2 | 32 – Lee | 14 – Lee | 4 – Mennenga | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,258) Charlotte, NC |
| December 4, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | William & Mary | W 70–46 | 6–2 | 16 – Brajkovic | 10 – Lee | 4 – Lee | John M. Belk Arena (2,899) Davidson, NC |
| December 12, 2021* 2:00 p.m., FloHoops | | at Northeastern | W 79–69 | 7–2 | 35 – Loyer | 7 – Brajkovic | 5 – Jones | Matthews Arena (1,197) Boston, MA |
| December 18, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Radford | W 74–54 | 8–2 | 24 – Loyer | 6 – Lee | 4 – Loyer | John M. Belk Arena (2,594) Davidson, NC |
| December 21, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN+ | | vs. No. 10 Alabama C. M. Newton Classic | W 79–78 | 9–2 | 22 – Brajkovic | 7 – Brajkovic | 8 – Loyer | Legacy Arena (9,781) Birmingham, AL |
| December 22, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Johnson & Wales (NC) | W 106–64 | 10–2 | 16 – Kristensen | 11 – Ford | 4 – Huffman | John M. Belk Arena (3,245) Davidson, NC |
| A-10 regular season |||||||||
| January 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Joseph's | W 88–73 | 11–2 (1–0) | 25 – Loyer | 10 – Lee | 5 – Loyer | Hagan Arena (750) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Rhode Island | W 72–68 | 12–2 (2–0) | 19 – Loyer | 8 – Brajkovic | 5 – Loyer | John M. Belk Arena (2,860) Davidson, NC |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UMass | W 77–67 | 13–2 (3–0) | 25 – Brajkovic | 11 – Brajkovic | 6 – Loyer | John M. Belk Arena (2,495) Davidson, NC |
| January 14, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Richmond | W 87–84 | 14–2 (4–0) | 29 – Jones | 11 – Brajkovic | 5 – Loyer | Robins Center (6,471) Richmond, VA |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., USA | | at VCU Rescheduled from January 2 | W 63–61 | 15–2 (5–0) | 19 – Brajkovic | 6 – Jones | 4 – Loyer | Siegel Center (7,091) Richmond, VA |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Fordham | W 69–66 | 16–2 (6–0) | 21 – Brajkovic | 11 – Mennega | 3 – Brajkovic | Rose Hill Gymnasium (0) Bronx, NY |
| January 26, 2022 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | No. 25 | VCU | L 68–70 | 16–3 (6–1) | 23 – Brajkovic | 12 – Brajkovic | 2 – Tied | John M. Belk Arena (3,575) Davidson, NC |
| January 29, 2022 12:00 p.m., USA | No. 25 | La Salle | W 77–69 | 17–3 (7–1) | 22 – Brajkovic | 8 – Mennenga | 5 – Loyer | John M. Belk Arena (3,938) Davidson, NC |
| February 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at St. Bonaventure | W 81–76 | 18–3 (8–1) | 21 – Loyer | 8 – Brajkovic | 7 – Loyer | Reilly Center (4,015) Olean, NY |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at George Washington | W 78–73 | 19–3 (9–1) | 30 – Brajkovic | 8 – Brajkovic | 5 – Loyer | Charles E. Smith Center (1,821) Washington, D.C. |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Joseph's | W 73–67 $^{OT}$ | 20–3 (10–1) | 21 – Loyer | 8 – Lee | 3 – Brajkovic | John M. Belk Arena (3,245) Davidson, NC |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Rhode Island | L 65–72 | 20–4 (10–2) | 20 – Loyer | 7 – Brajkovic | 2 – Tied | Ryan Center (4,734) Kingston, RI |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Duquesne Rescheduled from December 30 | W 72–61 | 21–4 (11–2) | 24 – Loyer | 11 – Brajkovic | 4 – Loyer | John M. Belk Arena (2,881) Davidson, NC |
| February 19, 2022 3:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Saint Louis | W 79–58 | 22–4 (12–2) | 29 – Lee | 8 – Brajkovic | 4 – Huffman | John M. Belk Arena (4,039) Davidson, NC |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Duquesne | W 74–50 | 23–4 (13–2) | 27 – Lee | 8 – Brajkovic | 5 – Brajkovic | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (1,861) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 26, 2022 2:30 p.m., USA | | Fordham | W 66–45 | 24–4 (14–2) | 17 – Mennenga | 11 – Brajkovic | 3 – Lanier | John M. Belk Arena (3,842) Davidson, NC |
| March 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | George Mason | W 73–62 | 25–4 (15–2) | 18 – Lee | 8 – Lee | 3 – Brajkovic | John M. Belk Arena (3,805) Davidson, NC |
| March 5, 2022 12:30 p.m., USA | | at Dayton | L 76–82 | 25–5 (15–3) | 25 – Loyer | 7 – Lee | 3 – Lee | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| A-10 tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2022 12:00 p.m., USA | (1) | vs. (8) Fordham Quarterfinals | W 74–56 | 26–5 | 15 – Mennenga | 9 – Mennenga | 5 – Mennenga | Capital One Arena Washington, D.C. |
| March 12, 2022 12:00 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (5) Saint Louis Semifinals | W 84–69 | 27–5 | 21 – Loyer | 10 – Brajkovic | 5 – Brajkovic | Capital One Arena Washington, D.C. |
| March 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBS | (1) | vs. (6) Richmond Championship | L 62–64 | 27–6 | 18 – Mennenga | 11 – Brajkovic | 4 – Loyer | Capital One Arena Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2022 9:40 p.m., CBS | (10 W) | vs. (7 W) Michigan State First Round | L 73–74 | 27–7 | 18 – Brajkovic | 6 – Tied | 4 – Loyer | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (14,295) Greenville, SC |
| *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 | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —^ | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings. ^Coaches do not release a Week 1 poll.