# 2021–22 South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team

The 2021–22 South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team represented the University of South Dakota in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Coyotes, led by fourth-year head coach Todd Lee, played their home games at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, South Dakota as members of the Summit League. They finished the season 19–12, 11–7 in Summit League play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Kansas City in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament before losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals.
On March 10, 2022, the school fired head coach Todd Lee after four years. On March 15, the school named Utah State assistant Eric Peterson the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Coyotes finished the 2020–21 season 14–11, 11–4 in Summit League play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the Summit League tournament, they defeated Western Illinois in the quarterfinals, before falling to North Dakota State in the semifinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Simpson | W 98–47 | – | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (792) Vermillion, SD |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 11, 2021* 1:30 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | vs. Air Force | W 59–53 | 1–0 | Sanford Pentagon (1,854) Sioux Falls, SD |
| November 14, 2021* 2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 50–99 | 1–1 | Knapp Center (2,827) Des Moines, IA |
| November 19, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Southern | W 71–68 | 2–1 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,130) Vermillion, SD |
| November 21, 2021* 2:00 pm | | Tennessee State | W 83–66 | 3–1 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (847) Vermillion, SD |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Presentation | W 99–58 | 4–1 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (795) Vermillion, SD |
| November 27, 2021* 1:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Nebraska | L 70–83 | 4–2 | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,685) Lincoln, NE |
| November 30, 2021* 9:00 pm | | at San Jose State | L 52–61 | 4–3 | Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,181) San Jose, CA |
| December 3, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Waldorf | W 93–37 | 5–3 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (859) Vermillion, SD |
| December 7, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Colorado | L 69–74 | 5–4 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,115) Greeley, CO |
| December 11, 2021* 3:30 pm | | Northern Arizona | W 76–71 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,832) Vermillion, SD |
| December 15, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Bellarmine | W 78–64 | 7–4 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (753) Vermillion, SD |
| Summit League regular season ||||||
| December 20, 2021 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | Oral Roberts | L 73–82 | 7–5 (0–1) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,516) Vermillion, SD |
| December 22, 2021 7:00 pm | | Kansas City | L 57–68 | 7–6 (0–2) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,635) Vermillion, SD |
| December 30, 2021 7:00 pm | | at North Dakota | Postponed due to COVID-19 protocols | Postponed due to COVID-19 protocols | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center Grand Forks, ND |
| January 1, 2022 1:00 pm, WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | at North Dakota State | Postponed due to COVID-19 protocols | Postponed due to COVID-19 protocols | Scheels Center Fargo, ND |
| January 8, 2022 6:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+ | | at South Dakota State | L 65–84 | 7–7 (0–3) | Frost Arena (3,351) Brookings, SD |
| January 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Dakota Rescheduled from December 30 | W 75–68 | 8–7 (1–3) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,207) Grand Forks, ND |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | Denver | W 80–71 | 9–7 (2–3) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,090) Vermillion, SD |
| January 15, 2022 4:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 105–70 | 10–7 (3–3) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,669) Vermillion, SD |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Western Illinois | Postponed due to COVID-19 protocols | Postponed due to COVID-19 protocols | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| January 22, 2022 7:00 pm | | at St. Thomas | W 90–79 | 11–7 (4–3) | Schoenecker Arena (746) St. Paul, MN |
| January 24, 2022 6:00 pm | | at Western Illinois Rescheduled from January 20 | W 75–72 | 12–7 (5–3) | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 pm | | North Dakota State | L 62–74 $^{OT}$ | 12–8 (5–4) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,837) Vermillion, SD |
| January 29, 2022 4:00 pm | | North Dakota | W 71–58 | 13–8 (6–4) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,112) Vermillion, SD |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | South Dakota State | L 79–89 | 13–9 (6–5) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (4,224) Vermillion, SD |
| February 7, 2022 7:00 pm, WDAY Xtra/ESPN+ | | at North Dakota State Rescheduled from January 1 | L 74–76 | 13–10 (6–6) | Scheels Center (1,343) Fargo, ND |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Omaha | W 91–69 | 14–10 (7–6) | Baxter Arena (1,198) Omaha, NE |
| February 12, 2022 3:00 pm | | at Denver | W 84–76 | 15–10 (8–6) | Hamilton Gymnasium (1,229) Denver, CO |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | St. Thomas | W 81–60 | 16–10 (9–6) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,770) Vermillion, SD |
| February 19, 2022 4:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+ | | Western Illinois | W 78–65 | 17–10 (10–6) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,814) Vermillion, SD |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Kansas City | L 63–72 | 17–11 (10–7) | Swinney Recreation Center (1,046) Kansas City, MO |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | at Oral Roberts | W 92–87 | 18–11 (11–7) | Mabee Center (5,364) Tulsa, OK |
| Summit League tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Kansas City Quarterfinals | W 74–61 | 19–11 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (7,364) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 7, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (1) South Dakota State Semifinals | L 60–83 | 19–12 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (10,418) Sioux Falls, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources