# 2021–22 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team represented the University of Miami during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by eleventh-year head coach Jim Larrañaga, they played their home games at the Watsco Center on the university's campus in Coral Gables, Florida as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Hurricanes finished the season 26–11, 14–6 in ACC play to finish in fourth place. In the ACC Tournament they defeated Boston College in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual runners-up Duke in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated USC, Auburn and Iowa State to advance to the first Elite Eight in school history where they lost to the eventual National Champion Kansas Jayhawks.

## Previous season

The Hurricanes finished the 2020–21 season 10–17, 4–15 in ACC play to finish in thirteenth place. In the ACC tournament they defeated Pittsburgh in the first round, and Clemson in the second round, before losing to eventual champions Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals. They were not invited to either the NCAA tournament or NIT.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Chris Lykes | 0 | G | 5'7" | 160 | Senior | Mitchellville, MD | Transferred to Arkansas |
| Nysier Brooks | 3 | C | 7'0" | 240 | RS Senior | Philadelphia, PA | Transferred to Ole Miss |
| Elijah Olaniyi | 4 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Newark, NJ | Transferred to Stony Brook |
| Earl Timberlake | 13 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Freshman | Washington, D.C. | Transferred to Memphis |
| Willie Herenton | 15 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Senior | Lincolnshire, IL | Walk-on; left the team |
| Matt Cross | 33 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Freshman | Beverly, MA | Transferred to Louisville |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Charlie Moore | 3 | G | 5'11" | 180 | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | DePaul |
| Jordan Miller | 11 | G | 6'7" | 195 | RS Junior | Middleburg, VA | George Mason |

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Bensley Joseph #14 PG | Putnam, CT | Putnam Science Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 27, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Jakai Robinson #20 SF | Fort Washington, MD | National Christian Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 4, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Wooga Poplar #40 SG | Philadelphia, PA | Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 15, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 48 ||||||
| 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: "Miami 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "Miami Hurricanes". ESPN.com. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 20, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Nova Southeastern | W 106–95 | – | 40 – Wong | 8 – McGusty | 8 – McGusty | Watsco Center Coral Gables, FL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 9, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ACCNX | | Canisius | W 77–67 | 1–0 | 20 – McGusty | 10 – McGusty | 4 – 3 tied | Watsco Center (3,234) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 13, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | UCF | L 89–95 | 1–1 | 28 – McGusty | 5 – Wong | 3 – Wong | Watsco Center (2,950) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 16, 2021* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Florida Atlantic | W 68–66 | 2–1 | 18 – Wong | 8 – McGusty | 1 – 4 tied | FAU Arena (2,772) Boca Raton, FL |
| Nov 21, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Florida A&M | W 86–59 | 3–1 | 20 – Moore | 8 – Waardenburg | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (3,175) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 25, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Dayton ESPN Events Invitational Quarterfinals | L 60–76 | 3–2 | 10 – Wong | 5 – J. Miller | 2 – Tied | HP Field House (3,514) Kissimmee, FL |
| Nov 26, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | | vs. North Texas ESPN Events Invitational Consolation 2nd Round | W 69–63 | 4–2 | 21 – Wong | 12 – McGusty | 3 – Moore | HP Field House (3,859) Kissimmee, FL |
| Nov 28, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. No. 10 Alabama ESPN Events Invitational 5th Place | L 64–96 | 4–3 | 24 – McGusty | 10 – McGusty | 3 – Wong | HP Field House (3,127) Kissimmee, FL |
| Dec 1, 2021* 9:15 p.m., ESPNU | | at Penn State Big Ten-ACC Challenge | W 63–58 | 5–3 | 14 – Waardenburg | 5 – Tied | 4 – Moore | Bryce Jordan Center (8,221) University Park, PA |
| Dec 4, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN | | Clemson | W 80–75 | 6–3 (1–0) | 18 – Waardenburg | 4 – McGusty | 5 – Moore | Watsco Center (3,388) Coral Gables, FL |
| Dec 8, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Lipscomb | W 76–59 | 7–3 | 29 – McGusty | 8 – J. Miller | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (2,753) Coral Gables, FL |
| Dec 12, 2021* 11:30 a.m., FloHoops | | vs. Fordham Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational | W 72–66 | 8–3 | 18 – Moore | 9 – J. Miller | 2 – Tied | Barclays Center (0) Brooklyn, NY |
| Dec 20, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Stetson | W 82–72 | 9–3 | 27 – McGusty | 11 – J. Miller | 8 – Moore | Watsco Center (2,232) Coral Gables, FL |
| Dec 29, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | NC State | W 91–83 | 10–3 (2–0) | 25 – J. Miller | 11 – McGusty | 5 – McGusty | Watsco Center (3,014) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 1, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Wake Forest | W 92–84 | 11–3 (3–0) | 25 – Wong | 8 – McGusty | 7 – Moore | Watsco Center (3,376) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 5, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Syracuse | W 88–87 | 12–3 (4–0) | 25 – Moore | 8 – J. Miller | 6 – Moore | Watsco Center (4,506) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 2 Duke | W 76–74 | 13–3 (5–0) | 18 – Moore | 6 – Poplar | 5 – Waardenburg | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Jan 11, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Florida State | L 64–65 | 13–4 (5–1) | 20 – Moore | 9 – McGusty | 6 – Moore | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (10,339) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | North Carolina | W 85–57 | 14–4 (6–1) | 25 – Wong | 10 – McGusty | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (5,979) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN | | Florida State | L 60–61 | 14–5 (6–2) | 22 – Wong | 6 – J. Miller | 4 – McGusty | Watsco Center (7,972) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Virginia Tech | W 78–75 | 15–5 (7–2) | 19 – McGusty | 7 – McGusty | 6 – Moore | Cassell Coliseum (7,086) Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 29, 2022 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Georgia Tech | W 73–62 | 16–5 (8–2) | 20 – McGusty | 8 – J. Miller | 3 – Tied | McCamish Pavilion (5,135) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Notre Dame | L 64–68 | 16–6 (8–3) | 18 – Wong | 8 – Walker | 7 – Moore | Watsco Center (6,363) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 5, 2022 5:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Virginia | L 58–71 | 16–7 (8–4) | 21 – McGusty | 5 – Tied | 4 – J. Miller | John Paul Jones Arena (14,089) Charlottesville, VA |
| Feb 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Georgia Tech | W 79–70 | 17–7 (9–4) | 19 – Waardenburg | 8 – Tied | 5 – Waardenburg | Watsco Center (3,866) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 12, 2022 3:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Wake Forest | W 76–72 | 18–7 (10–4) | 22 – McGusty | 7 – Wong | 3 – Moore | LJVM Coliseum (7,698) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Feb 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Louisville | W 70–63 | 19–7 (11–4) | 15 – Tied | 9 – Waardenburg | 6 – McGusty | KFC Yum! Center (12,065) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 19, 2022 5:00 p.m., ACCN | | Virginia | L 71–74 | 19–8 (11–5) | 20 – McGusty | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (5,596) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 22, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 85–64 | 20–8 (12–5) | 19 – Tied | 6 – Walker | 5 – Moore | Petersen Events Center (7,360) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 26, 2022 3:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Virginia Tech | L 70–71 | 20–9 (12–6) | 15 – McGusty | 6 – J. Miller | 9 – Moore | Watsco Center (5,979) Coral Gables, FL |
| Mar 2, 2022 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Boston College | W 81–70 | 21–9 (13–6) | 27 – Wong | 7 – Wong | 5 – Moore | Conte Forum (4,045) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Mar 5, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Syracuse | W 75–72 | 22–9 (14–6) | 25 – J. Miller | 13 – J. Miller | 8 – Moore | Carrier Dome (23,108) Syracuse, NY |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| Mar 10, 2022 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (4) | vs. (13) Boston College Quarterfinals | W 71–69 $^{OT}$ | 23–9 | 16 – McGusty | 9 – Waardenburg | 6 – Tied | Barclays Center (11,511) Brooklyn, NY |
| Mar 11, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (4) | vs. (1) No. 7 Duke Semifinals | L 76–80 | 23–10 | 24 – McGusty | 13 – J. Miller | 8 – Moore | Barclays Center (15,994) Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 18, 2022* 3:10 pm, truTV | (10 MW) | vs. (7 MW) No. 22 USC First Round | W 68–66 | 24–10 | 22 – Wong | 6 – McGusty | 4 – Moore | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (14,255) Greenville, SC |
| Mar 20, 2022* 7:45 pm, truTV | (10 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 8 Auburn Second Round | W 79–61 | 25–10 | 21 – Wong | 9 – Moore | 8 – Moore | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (14,316) Greenville, SC |
| Mar 25, 2022* 9:59 pm, TBS | (10 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Iowa State Sweet Sixteen | W 70–56 | 26–10 | 27 – McGusty | 8 – Waardenburg | 9 – Moore | United Center (20,857) Chicago, IL |
| Mar 27, 2022* 2:20 pm, CBS | (10 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Kansas Elite Eight | L 50–76 | 26–11 | 18 – McGusty | 5 – Walker | 3 – Wong | United Center (20,241) Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | 16т |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings