# 2021–22 UCF Knights men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights competed as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 53rd season of basketball, were led by sixth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the Addition Financial Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida. They finished the season 18–12, 9–9 in AAC Play to finish in 6th place. They defeated South Florida in the First Round of the AAC Tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Memphis.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2020–21 season 10–11 overall and 8–10 in AAC play to finish in sixth place. They defeated East Carolina in the first round of the AAC tournament before losing to Memphis in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Josh Kaplan | 0 | G | 6'0" | 160 | Junior | Merrick, NY | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Avery Diggs | 5 | C | 6'11" | 245 | Senior | Brandon, FL | Graduate transferred to Chatttanoga |
| Xavier Grant | 11 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Issac Ward | 15 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Freshman | Tampa, FL | Transferred to Spring Hill |
| Moses Bol | 33 | C | 7'1" | 230 | RS Junior | Wau, South Sudan | Graduate transferred to Milwaukee |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Tyem Freeman | 11 | G | 6'6" | 210 | RS Sophomore | Springfield, IL | Indian Hills CC |
| Cheikh Mbacke Diong | 34 | F | 6'11" | 235 | RS Senior | Dakar, Senegal | UNLV |

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Darius Johnson #26 PG | Boyds, MD | Episcopal High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 1, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| P. J. Edwards SG | Springfield, IL | Liberty Heights Athletic Institute | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Dec 14, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Ed'Xavior Rhodes SG | Dallas, TX | Skyline High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 19, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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 October 18, 2020. ||||||

### 2022 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Taylor Hendricks #13 C | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Calvary Christian Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Mar 21, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 85 |||||||
| Tyler Hendricks #50 SG | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Calvary Christian Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Mar 21, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| 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 18, 2020. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Robert Morris | W 69–59 | 1–0 | 18 – Perry | 8 – Mbacke Diong | 4 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (4,869) Orlando, FL |
| November 13, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Miami (FL) | W 95–89 | 2–0 | 23 – Green Jr. | 11 – Walker | 6 – Perry | Watsco Center (2,950) Coral Gables, FL |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 63–54 | 3–0 | 11 – Green Jr. | 6 – Fuller Jr. | 6 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (3,937) Orlando, FL |
| November 20, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 75–59 | 4–0 | 17 – Green Jr. | 6 – Adams | 2 – Tied | Ford Center (3,233) Evansville, IN |
| November 27, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oklahoma | L 62–65 | 4–1 | 17 – Green Jr. | 7 – Mbacke Diong | 8 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (4,198) Orlando, FL |
| December 1, 2021* 8:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at No. 21 Auburn | L 68–85 | 4–2 | 18 – Perry | 7 – Walker | 4 – Perry | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| December 5, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bethune–Cookman | W 81–45 | 5–2 | 18 – Green Jr. | 9 – Diong | 6 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (3,804) Orlando, FL |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Carolina A&T | W 83–68 | 6–2 | 18 – Green Jr. | 4 – Walker | 6 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (3,507) Orlando, FL |
| December 15, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Temple | W 65–48 | 7–2 (1–0) | 18 – Mahan | 4 – Walker | 3 – Tied | Liacouras Center (3,002) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 18, 2021* 3:30 p.m., BSSUN | | vs. Florida State Orange Bowl Classic | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | FLA Live Arena Sunrise, FL |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Alabama | W 75–64 | 8–2 | 15 – Perry | 9 – Diong | 9 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (3,273) Orlando, FL |
| December 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Michigan | W 85–71 | 9–2 | 27 – Green | 7 – Tied | 7 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (9,358) Orlando, FL |
| January 2, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at SMU | L 60–72 | 9–3 (1–1) | 17 – Mahan | 8 – Walker | 2 – Johnson | Moody Coliseum (3,267) University Park, TX |
| January 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Temple | L 62–66 | 9–4 (1–2) | 14 – Perry | 9 – Walker | 4 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (3,268) Orlando, FL |
| January 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Memphis | W 74–64 | 10–4 (2–2) | 20 – Green Jr. | 7 – Walker | 5 – Perry | Additional Financial Arena (6,163) Orlando, FL |
| January 15, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Florida War on I-4 | L 51–75 | 10–5 (2–3) | 9 – Walker | 4 – Walker | 3 – Johnson | Yuengling Center (3,072) Tampa, FL |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | W 92–85 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (3–3) | 19 – Perry | 6 – Adams | 8 – Perry | Williams Arena (4,167) Greenville, NC |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Tulane | W 68–66 | 12–5 (4–3) | 17 – Johnson | 10 – Mbacke Diong | 4 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,508) Orlando, FL |
| January 26, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | L 79–84 | 12–6 (4–4) | 20 – Mahan | 13 – Mahan | 6 – Perry | Charles Koch Arena (8,041) Wichita, KS |
| January 29, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 7 Houston | L 49–63 | 12–7 (4–5) | 14 – Green Jr. | 7 – Mahan | 6 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (8,142) Orlando, FL |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Florida War on I-4 | W 68–49 | 13–7 (5–5) | 23 – Green Jr. | 7 – Mbacke Diong | 5 – Perry | Addition Financial Arena (6,722) Orlando, FL |
| February 5, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Memphis | L 60–88 | 13–8 (5–6) | 11 – Tied | 8 – Diong | 5 – Johnson | FedExForum (15,280) Memphis, TN |
| February 8, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Wichita State | W 71–66 | 14–8 (6–6) | 19 – Mahan | 9 – Tied | 5 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,276) Orlando, FL |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Tulsa Rescheduled from January 8 | W 76–67 | 15–8 (7–6) | 14 – Johnson | 6 – Tied | 5 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,077) Orlando, FL |
| February 17, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 14 Houston | L 52–70 | 15–9 (7–7) | 12 – Tied | 7 – Walker | 5 – Johnson | Fertitta Center (6,957) Houston, TX |
| February 20, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | W 69–66 | 16–9 (8–7) | 19 – Green Jr. | 8 – Johnson | 6 – Johnson | Addition Financial Arena (4,427) Orlando, FL |
| February 23, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Cincinnati | W 75–61 | 17–9 (9–7) | 13 – Walker | 7 – Johnson | 5 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (5,102) Orlando, FL |
| March 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulane | L 67–82 | 17–10 (9–8) | 15 – Johnson | 16 – Walker | 5 – Perry | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,569) New Orleans, LA |
| March 6, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Tulsa | L 72–73 | 17–11 (9–9) | 19 – Tied | 8 – Diong | 9 – Johnson | Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK |
| AAC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | (6) | vs. (11) South Florida First Round | W 60–58 | 18–11 | 13 – Perry | 7 – Walker | 4 – Tied | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 11, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | (6) | vs. (3) Memphis Quarterfinals | L 69–85 | 18–12 | 23 – Perry | 5 – Tied | 7 – Tied | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source