# 2021–22 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 12th-year head coach Russell Turner.

## Previous season

The team finished the season with an 18–9 (10–4) record finishing 2nd place in the standings and advanced to the 2021 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament where they were defeated by UC Santa Barbara 63–79. The Anteaters continued their success finishing 1st or 2nd for 7 straight seasons in the Big West Conference and 4 straight Big West tournament Championship games (the 2020 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The school set a new scoring record and the largest margin of victory (80) on November 28, 2020 over NCCAA opponent Bethesda University by the score of 135–55. Also new school records broken in that game were assists (31) and FGs made (56). New Bren Events Center records broken were the most points scored in a first half (70) and game FG % (0.691).

## Roster

Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 05, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Dominguez Hills | W 84–59 | – | 15 – Davis | 6 – Johnson | 6 – Hohn | Bren Events Center (1,114) Irvine, CA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 09, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | L 51–62 | 0–1 | 13 – Welp | 7 – Hohn | 1 – Tied | Pan American Center (5,056) Las Cruces, NM |
| November 13, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Boise State | W 58–50 | 1–1 | 11 – Welp | 8 – Johnson | 6 – Welp | Bren Events Center (2,197) Irvine, CA |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | La Verne | W 100–41 | 2–1 | 18 – Butler | 7 – Ujadughele | 8 – Lee | Bren Events Center (987) Irvine, CA |
| November 20, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Pepperdine | W 82–48 | 3–1 | 19 – Baker | 7 – Johnson | 4 – Welp | Bren Events Center (1,641) Irvine, CA |
| November 27, 2021* 4:30 pm, WCC Network | | at Santa Clara | W 69–64 | 4–1 | 17 – Welp | 10 – Welp | 4 – Hohn | Leavey Center (834) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 03, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bethesda | W 86–54 | 5–1 | 15 – Henry | 12 – Johnson | 3 – Henry | Bren Events Center (866) Irvine, CA |
| December 11, 2021* 4:00 pm, MW Network | | at Fresno State | L 55–63 | 5–2 | 16 – Davis | 8 – Johnson | 3 – Tied | Save Mart Center (4,501) Fresno, CA |
| December 15, 2021* 6:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 10 USC | L 61–66 | 5–3 | 24 – Welp | 9 – Johnson | 2 – Davis | Galen Center (3,253) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 19, 2021* 10:00 am | | vs. Duquesne | L 54–76 | 5–4 | 14 – Tshimanga | 4 – Tied | 5 – Hohn | LeBron James Arena (211) Akron, OH |
| December 21, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues. | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues. | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues. | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues. | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues. | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY |
| Big West regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | CSUN | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA |
| January 01, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Santa Barbara | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA |
| January 06, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Davis | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | University Credit Union Center Davis, CA |
| January 08, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Riverside | W 68–51 | 6–4 (1–0) | 30 – Welp | 8 – Welp | 4 – Davis | SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA |
| January 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC San Diego | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA |
| January 13, 2022 10:00 pm, Spectrum OC16, ESPN+ | | at Hawaiʻi | L 56–72 | 6–5 (1–1) | 11 – Welp | 8 – Welp | 2 – Welp | Stan Sheriff Center (3,245) Honolulu, HI |
| January 20, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Fullerton | L 63–65 | 6–6 (1–2) | 19 – Davis | 9 – Johnson | 6 – Lee | Bren Events Center (931) Irvine, CA |
| January 22, 2022* 1:00 pm, SNLA, ESPN+ | | at Long Beach State | L 67–73 | 6–7 (1–3) | 20 – Welp | 11 – Welp | 3 – Hohn | Walter Pyramid (982) Long Beach, CA |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 57–52 | 7–7 (2–3) | 11 – Johnson | 5 – Tied | 3 – Hohn | Bren Events Center (790) Irvine, CA |
| January 29, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal Poly | W 72–48 | 8–7 (3–3) | 13 – Hohn | 6 – Tshimanga | 2 – Welp | Bren Events Center (1,532) Irvine, CA |
| February 03, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 53–52 | 9–7 (4–3) | 17 – Welp | 8 – Welp | 4 – Butler | The Thunderdome (999) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 05, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at CSUN | W 75–70 | 10–7 (5–3) | 24 – Baker | 9 – Welp | 3 – Ujadughele | Matadome (300) Northridge, CA |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Riverside | W 66–56 | 11–7 (6–3) | 15 – Welp | 13 – Welp | 3 – Davis | Bren Events Center (1,364) Irvine, CA |
| February 12, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Davis | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA |
| February 15, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC San Diego | W 56–50 | 12–7 | 14 – Davis | 9 – Johnson | 4 – Welp | RIMAC Arena (1,753) La Jolla, CA |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 pm, SNLA ESPN+ | | Hawaiʻi | W 77–52 | 13–7 (7–3) | 18 – Welp | 13 – Welp | 2 – Tied | Bren Events Center (1,529) Irvine, CA |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Fullerton | L 64–66 | 13–9 (7–4) | 17 – Welp | 5 – Tied | 3 – Baker | Titan Gym (1,013) Fullerton, CA |
| February 26, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Long Beach State | W 77–72 | 14–8 (8–4) | 18 – Baker | 7 – Welp | 7 – Hohn | Bren Events Center (2,480) Irvine, CA |
| March 03, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal Poly | L 54–65 | 14–9 (8–5) | 18 – Baker | 5 – Lee | 3 – Davis | Mott Athletics Center (1,868) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| March 05, 2022 1:00 pm, SNLA, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Bakersfield | W 66–61 | 15–9 (9–5) | 24 – Davis | 8 – Johnson | 2 – Tied | Icardo Center (1,323) Bakersfield, CA |
| Big West tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) UC Santa Barbara Quarterfinals | L 69–78 | 15–10 | 17 – Welp | 8 – Welp | 2 – Tied | Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |||||||||
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