# 2021–22 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cornhuskers were led by third-year head coach Fred Hoiberg and played their home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 10–22, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for last place. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Northwestern in the first round.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cornhuskers finished the 2019–20 season 7–20, 3–16 in Big Ten play to finish last place. As the No. 14 seed in the Big Ten tournament, the Cornhuskers lost to No. 11-seeded Penn State.

## Offseason
### Departures

Due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any competitor in any of the organization's winter sports, including basketball. This in turn meant that all players active in the 2020–21 season, regardless of their academic classification, could return in 2021–22. This also led the NBA and its players union to agree that graduating seniors, who are normally automatically eligible for the NBA draft, had to declare their eligibility for the 2021 draft.
| Name | No. | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Teddy Allen | 0 | G | 6'6" | 223 | Jr | Mesa, Arizona | Transferred to New Mexico State |
| Akol Arop | 33 | G | 6'5" | 203 | So | Omaha, Nebraska | Transferred to Omaha |
| Dalano Banton | 45 | G | 6'9" | 204 | So | Toronto, ON, Canada | Declared for NBA Draft |
| Yvan Ouedraogo | 24 | F | 6'9" | 245 | So | Bordeaux, France | Transferred to Grand Canyon |
| Bret Porter | 44 | F | 6'5" | 228 | Fr (RS) | Omaha, Nebraska | Entered Transfer Portal |
| Shamiel Stevenson | 4 | G | 6'6" | 245 | Jr | Toronto, ON, Canada | Declared for NBA Draft |
| Þórir Þorbjarnarson | 34 | G | 6'6" | 202 | Sr | Akureyri, Iceland | Graduated and chose not to return |
| Elijah Wood | 3 | G | 6'5" | 174 | Fr | Potomac, Maryland | Transferred to Eastern Illinois |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | No. | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| C. J. Wilcher | 0 | G | 6 ft 5 in | 221 lbs | Sophomore | Plainfield, NJ | Xavier |
| Alonzo Verge Jr. | 1 | G | 6 ft 3 in | 164 lbs | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | Arizona State |
| Keon Edwards | 23 | G | 6 ft 7 in | 204 lbs | Redshirt Freshman | Houston, TX | DePaul |

### 2021 recruiting class

On November 13, 2020, five-star shooting guard Bryce McGowens committed to Nebraska. McGowens became Nebraska's first five-star commit and highest-ranked recruit in program history. Wilhelm Breidenbach, Oleg Kojenets, Quaran McPherson, and Keisei Tominaga rounded out the 2021 class.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Wilhelm Breidenbach C | Santa Ana, CA | Mater Dei High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 1, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| Oleg Kojenets C | Kaunas, Lithuania | Western Reserve Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Apr 5, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Bryce McGowens SG | Pendleton, SC | Legacy Charter | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 13, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Quaran McPherson PG | Queens, NY | Link Year Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 3, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Keisei Tominaga SG | Nagoya, Japan | Sakuragaoka Gakuen High School Ranger College | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Nov 28, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 20 247Sports: 18 ESPN: 13 ||||||
| 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. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Peru State | W 97–58 | 0–0 | 20 – Verge Jr. | 6 – Tied | 8 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,542) Lincoln, NE |
| October 31, 2021* 11:00 a.m., BTN+ | | Colorado Charity Exhibition | W 82–67 | 0–0 | 15 – B. McGowens | 6 – Walker | 6 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,345) Lincoln, NE |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Western Illinois | L 74–75 | 0–1 | 26 – Verge Jr. | 13 – Verge Jr. | 5 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,312) Lincoln, NE |
| November 12, 2021* 7:30 p.m., BTN+ | | Sam Houston State | W 74–65 | 1–1 | 29 – B. McGowens | 9 – T. McGowens | 7 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,474) Lincoln, NE |
| November 16, 2021* 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | Creighton Rivalry/Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 69–77 | 1–2 | 20 – Webster | 5 – Tied | 4 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,939) Lincoln, NE |
| November 19, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Idaho State | W 78–60 | 2–2 | 14 – Walker | 7 – B. McGowens | 5 – Webster | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,274) Lincoln, NE |
| November 21, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Southern Nebraska MTE | W 82–59 | 3–2 | 18 – B. McGowens | 11 – B. McGowens | 4 – Tied | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,255) Lincoln, NE |
| November 23, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Tennessee State Nebraska MTE | W 79–73 | 4–2 | 18 – Tied | 6 – Tied | 10 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,236) Lincoln, NE |
| November 27, 2021* 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | South Dakota Nebraska MTE | W 83–70 | 5–2 | 23 – Tominaga | 8 – B. McGowens | 5 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,685) Lincoln, NE |
| December 1, 2021* 6:15 p.m., ESPNU | | at NC State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 100–104 $^{4OT}$ | 5–3 | 25 – Verge Jr. | 13 – Walker | 11 – Verge Jr. | PNC Arena (11,562) Raleigh, NC |
| December 4, 2021 11:00 a.m., BTN | | at Indiana | L 55–68 | 5–4 (0–1) | 15 – Verge Jr. | 5 – Tied | 3 – Verge Jr. | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| December 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Michigan | L 67–102 | 5–5 (0–2) | 31 – Verge Jr. | 8 – Verge Jr. | 3 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,426) Lincoln, NE |
| December 11, 2021* 10:30 a.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 18 Auburn Holiday Hoopsgiving | L 68–99 | 5–6 | 17 – Wilcher | 10 – Walker | 4 – Tied | State Farm Arena (8,557) Atlanta, GA |
| December 19, 2021* 5:00 p.m., BTN | | Kansas State | L 58–67 | 5–7 | 21 – Verge Jr. | 9 – Walker | 5 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) Lincoln, NE |
| December 22, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU | | Kennesaw State | W 88–74 | 6–7 | 18 – Tominaga | 7 – Verge Jr. | 12 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,000) Lincoln, NE |
| January 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 13 Ohio State | L 79–87 $^{OT}$ | 6–8 (0–3) | 18 – B. McGowens | 10 – Walker | 4 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,478) Lincoln, NE |
| January 5, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 10 Michigan State | L 67–79 | 6–9 (0–4) | 16 – Walker | 4 – Tied | 5 – Verge Jr. | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| January 8, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at Rutgers | L 65–93 | 6–10 (0–5) | 17 – B. McGowens | 6 – Walker | 4 – Verge Jr. | Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN | | No. 25 Illinois | L 71–81 | 6–11 (0–6) | 19 – B. McGowens | 7 – Walker | 9 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,069) Lincoln, NE |
| January 14, 2022 5:30 p.m., FS1 | | at No. 7 Purdue | L 65–92 | 6–12 (0–7) | 11 – Tominaga | 8 – Mayen | 5 – Webster | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 17, 2022 5:00 p.m., BTN | | Indiana | L 71–78 | 6–13 (0–8) | 20 – B. McGowens | 5 – B. McGowens | 4 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,290) Lincoln, NE |
| January 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 11 Wisconsin Rescheduled from January 25 | L 65–73 | 6–14 (0–9) | 23 – B. McGowens | 5 – Tied | 4 – Walker | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,385) Lincoln, NE |
| January 29, 2022 5:30 p.m., BTN | | Rutgers | L 61–63 | 6–15 (0–10) | 29 – B. McGowens | 8 – Mayen | 3 – Mayen | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,671) Lincoln, NE |
| February 1, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan | L 79–85 | 6–16 (0–11) | 24 – B. McGowens | 6 – B. McGowens | 3 – Verge Jr. | Crisler Center (9,301) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., BTN | | Northwestern | L 63–87 | 6–17 (0–12) | 15 – Wilcher | 6 – Walker | 6 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,609) Lincoln, NE |
| February 9, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Minnesota | W 78-65 | 7–17 (1–12) | 22 – Verge Jr. | 7 – Tied | 5 – T. McGowens | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,303) Lincoln, NE |
| February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Iowa | L 75–98 | 7–18 (1–13) | 14 – Walker | 6 – Walker | 6 – Verge Jr. | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,772) Iowa City, IA |
| February 18, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Maryland | L 74–90 | 7–19 (1–14) | 25 – B. McGowens | 6 – Walker | 5 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,443) Lincoln, NE |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at Northwestern | L 65–77 | 7–20 (1–15) | 15 – B. McGowens | 10 – B. McGowens | 5 – Walker | Welsh–Ryan Arena (3,487) Evanston, IL |
| February 25, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 25 Iowa | L 78–88 | 7–21 (1–16) | 18 – Verge Jr. | 8 – Walker | 7 – Verge Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,960) Lincoln, NE |
| February 27, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Penn State | W 93–70 | 8–21 (2–16) | 25 – B. McGowens | 7 – Walker | 5 – Verge Jr. | Bryce Jordan Center (8,273) University Park, PA |
| March 1, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 23 Ohio State Rescheduled from January 22 | W 78–70 | 9–21 (3–16) | 26 – B. McGowens | 6 – T. McGowens | 7 – Verge Jr. | Value City Arena (12,268) Columbus, OH |
| March 6, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 10 Wisconsin | W 74-73 | 10-21 (4-16) | 26 – Verge Jr. | 7 – Walker | 6 – Verge Jr. | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2022 5:00 p.m., BTN | (13) | vs. (12) Northwestern First round | L 69–71 | 10–22 | 21 – Verge Jr. | 7 – Tied | 9 – Verge Jr. | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||