# 2021–22 ASUN Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 ASUN Conference men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 9, 2021, and began conference play on January 4, 2022. The regular season ended on February 26, 2022, followed by the 2022 ASUN men's basketball tournament held March 1–8, 2022.
The conference's regular season champions, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, were awarded the conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The conference tournament was won by the Bellarmine Knights, who were ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to their transitional status moving from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I.

## Conference changes

Due to the offseason additions of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State, the ASUN changed the conference play format. The conference was split into East and West Divisions. The East includes Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Liberty, North Florida and Stetson, while the West features Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Lipscomb and North Alabama. Conference play consists of 96 total games, with each team playing 16 games. Each team plays home-and-home against the other teams in its own division, and single games against teams from the other division evenly split between home and away games.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

Jacksonville hired Jordan Mincy after Tony Jasick was fired after going 11–13.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous Job | Years at School | Record at School | ASUN Record | ASUN Titles | NCAA Tournaments |
| Bellarmine | Scott Davenport | Louisville (Assistant) | 17 | 375-120 | 10-3 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Arkansas | Anthony Boone | Central Arkansas (Assistant) | 3 | 14-33 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastern Kentucky | A. W. Hamilton | NC State (Assistant) | 4 | 51-42 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida Gulf Coast | Michael Fly | Florida Gulf Coast (Assistant) | 4 | 34-48 | 20-21 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacksonville | Jordan Mincy | Florida (Assistant) | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacksonville State | Ray Harper | Western Kentucky | 6 | 97-64 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kennesaw State | Amir Abdur-Rahim | Georgia (Assistant) | 3 | 6-47 | 2-29 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberty | Ritchie McKay | Virginia (Associate HC) | 9 | 177-93 | 38-7 | 3 | 2 |
| Lipscomb | Lennie Acuff | Alabama–Huntsville | 3 | 31-28 | 18-13 | 0 | 0 |
| North Alabama | Tony Pujol | Wyoming (Assistant) | 4 | 34-49 | 22-25 | 0 | 0 |
| North Florida | Matthew Driscoll | Baylor (Assistant) | 13 | 192-194 | 111-84 | 1 | 1 |
| Stetson | Donnie Jones | Dayton (Assistant) | 3 | 28-32 | 16-16 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2021–22 season.
* Overall and ASUN records are from the time at current school and are through the end of the 2020–21 season.
* NCAA Tournament appearances are from the time at current school only, and refer solely to Division I. Before Ballarmine started its transition to Division I, Scott Davenport had led the Knights to 12 Division II tournament appearances.

## Preseason Awards

The ASUN preseason men's basketball poll was released on October 20, 2021.

### Preseason men's basketball polls
#### Coaches Poll

First Place Votes in Parentheses
* Liberty (9) - 141
* Eastern Kentucky (1) - 126
* Jacksonville State - 103
* Bellarmine (1) - 97
* Lipscomb - 89
* Florida Gulf Coast - 88
* North Florida (1) - 82
* Stetson - 67
* North Alabama - 49
* Jacksonville - 40
* Kennesaw State - 37
* Central Arkansas - 17

#### Media Poll

First Place Votes in Parentheses
* Liberty (30) - 276
* Eastern Kentucky (2) - 288
* Bellarmine / Lipscomb - 284
* Jacksonville State - 240
* North Florida - 230
* Florida Gulf Coast - 200
* Stetson - 176
* North Alabama - 174
* Jacksonville - 94
* Central Arkansas - 80
* Kennesaw State - 0

### Preseason Honors

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Darius McGhee, Liberty* |
| Preseason Defensive Player of the Year | Kevin Samuel, Florida Gulf Coast |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Darius McGhee, Liberty* |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb* |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Dylan Penn, Bellarmine |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Braxton Beverly, Eastern Kentucky |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Jomaru Brown, Eastern Kentucky |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Kevin Samuel, Florida Gulf Coast |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Kevion Nolan, Jacksonville |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Darian Adams, Jacksonville State |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Carter Hendricksen, North Florida |
| Preseason All-ASUN First Team | Rob Perry, Stetson |
*unanimous selection

## Regular season
### Conference standings

| North Division | North Division | Conference | Conference | Division | Division | Overall | Overall | |
| Rank | Team | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Liberty | 5-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 13-6 | .684 | |
| 2 | Kennesaw State | 3-1 | .750 | 3-0 | 1.000 | 8-9 | .471 | |
| 3 | Jacksonville | 3-2 | .600 | 3-1 | .750 | 11-6 | .647 | |
| 4 | Florida Gulf Coast | 2-4 | .333 | 2-3 | .400 | 12-8 | .600 | Ahead of Stetson based on Head-to-Head Win % |
| 5 | Stetson | 2-4 | .333 | 1-4 | .200 | 8-11 | .421 | |
| 6 | North Florida | 0-6 | .000 | 0-5 | .000 | 4-16 | .200 | |
| South Division | South Division | Conference | Conference | Division | Division | Overall | Overall | |
| Rank | Team | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 5-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 12-6 | .667 | |
| 1 | Bellarmine | 5-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 11-8 | .579 | |
| 3 | Central Arkansas | 3-2 | .600 | 3-2 | .600 | 6-12 | .333 | |
| 4 | Eastern Kentucky | 2-4 | .333 | 1-4 | .200 | 10-10 | .500 | Ahead of Lipscomb based on Head-to-Head Win % |
| 5 | Lipscomb | 2-4 | .333 | 1-4 | .200 | 9-12 | .429 | |
| 6 | North Alabama | 1-5 | .167 | 1-4 | .200 | 8-11 | .421 | |
| Combined Divisions | Combined Divisions | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | |
| Rank | Team | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Liberty | 5-0 | 1.000 | 13-6 | .684 | |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 5-0 | 1.000 | 12-6 | .667 | |
| 1 | Bellarmine | 5-0 | 1.000 | 11-8 | .579 | |
| 4 | Kennesaw State | 3-1 | .750 | 8-9 | .471 | |
| 5 | Jacksonville | 3-2 | .600 | 11-6 | .647 | |
| 5 | Central Arkansas | 3-2 | .600 | 6-12 | .333 | |
| 7 | Florida Gulf Coast | 2-4 | .333 | 12-8 | .600 | Ahead of Lipscomb and Stetson based on Win % between 2-4 teams |
| 7 | Eastern Kentucky | 2-4 | .333 | 10-10 | .500 | Ahead of Lipscomb and Stetson based on Win % between 2-4 teams |
| 9 | Lipscomb | 2-4 | .333 | 9-12 | .429 | |
| 9 | Stetson | 2-4 | .333 | 8-11 | .421 | |
| 11 | North Alabama | 1-5 | .167 | 8-11 | .421 | |
| 12 | North Florida | 0-6 | .000 | 4-16 | .200 | |

### Conference Matrix

| | Bellarmine | Central Arkansas | Eastern Kentucky | Florida Gulf Coast | Jacksonville | Jacksonville State | Kennesaw State | Liberty | Lipscomb | North Alabama | North Florida | Stetson |
| vs. Bellarmine | – | 0-1 | 0-1 | | 0-1 | | | | 0-1 | 0-1 | | |
| vs. Central Arkansas | 1-0 | – | 0-1 | | | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | 0-1 | | |
| vs. Eastern Kentucky | 1-0 | 1-0 | – | | | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | |
| vs. Florida Gulf Coast | | | | – | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| vs. Jacksonville | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | – | | | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| vs. Jacksonville State | | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | | – | | | 0-1 | 0-1 | | |
| vs. Kennesaw State | | | | 0-1 | | | – | | 1-0 | | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| vs. Liberty | | | | 0-1 | 0-1 | | | – | | | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| vs. Lipscomb | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | | | 1-0 | 0-1 | | – | 0-1 | | |
| vs. North Alabama | 1-0 | 1-0 | 0-1 | | | 1-0 | | | 1-0 | – | | 1-0 |
| vs. North Florida | | | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | | 1-0 | 1-0 | | | – | 1-0 |
| vs. Stetson | | | | 1-0 | 1-0 | | 1-0 | 1-0 | | 0-1 | 0-1 | − |

### Players of the Week

| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School | Newcomer of the Week | School |
| Nov. 15 | Ahsan Asadullah | Lipscomb | Jacob Ognacevic | Lipscomb |
| Nov. 22 | Ahsan Asadullah (2) | Lipscomb (2) | Darious Hall | Central Arkansas |
| Nov. 29 | Tavian Dunn-Martin | Florida Gulf Coast | Jannson Williams | Eastern Kentucky |
| Dec. 6 | Cyrus Largie | Florida Gulf Coast (2) | Kevin Samuel | Florida Gulf Coast |
| Dec. 13 | Tavian Dunn-Martin (2) | Florida Gulf Coast (3) | Jarius Hicklen | North Florida |
| Dec. 20 | Christiaan Jones | Stetson | Jacob Ognacevic (2) | Lipscomb (2) |
| Dec. 27 | Darius McGhee | Liberty | Ibbe Klintman | Central Arkansas (2) |
| Jan. 3 | Devontae Blanton | Eastern Kentucky | Cameron Hunter | Central Arkansas (3) |
| Jan. 10 | Ahsan Asadullah (3) | Lipscomb (3) | Cameron Hunter (2) | Central Arkansas (4) |
| Jan. 18 | Darius McGhee (2) | Liberty (2) | Osayi Osifo | Jacksonville |
| Jan. 24 | Dylan Penn | Bellarmine | Tavian Dunn-Martin | Florida Gulf Coast (2) |
| Jan. 31 | Kayne Henry | Jacksonville State | Mike Marsh | Jacksonville (2) |
| Feb. 7 | Tavian Dunn-Martin (3) | Florida Gulf Coast (4) | Kevin Samuel (2) | Florida Gulf Coast (3) |
| Feb. 14 | Tavian Dunn-Martin (4) | Florida Gulf Coast (5) | Camren Hunter | Central Arkansas (5) |
| Feb. 21 | Jarius Hicklen | North Florida | Tavian Dunn-Martin (2) | Florida Gulf Coast (4) |
| Feb. 28 | Darius McGhee (3) | Liberty (3) | Tavian Dunn-Martin (3) | Florida Gulf Coast (5) |

### Records against other conferences

| Power 7 Conferences | Record | Power 7 Conferences | Record |
| ACC | 0-7 | American | 1-3 |
| Big East | 0-2 | Big Ten | 0-2 |
| Big 12 | 0-6 | Pac-12 | 0-6 |
| SEC | 1-11 | Power 7 Total | 2-37 |
| Other Division I Conferences | Record | Other Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 1-0 | Atlantic 10 | 2-2 |
| Big Sky | None | Big South | 3-3 |
| Big West | None | Colonial | 4-2 |
| Conference USA | 2-7 | Horizon League | 4-0 |
| Ivy League | 1-0 | MAAC | 0-5 |
| MAC | 3-2 | MEAC | 3-0 |
| MVC | 1-3 | MWC | None |
| NEC | None | OVC | 2-5 |
| Patriot League | 1-0 | SoCon | 1-5 |
| Southland | 1-1 | SWAC | 7-0 |
| Summit League | 1-1 | Sun Belt | 1-3 |
| WAC | 1-2 | WCC | 0-5 |
| Other Division I Total | Other Division I Total | Other Division I Total | 39-46 |
| NCAA Division I Total | NCAA Division I Total | NCAA Division I Total | 41-83 |
| NCAA Division II Total | NCAA Division II Total | NCAA Division II Total | 1-0 |
| NCAA Division III Total | NCAA Division III Total | NCAA Division III Total | 9-0 |
| NAIA Total | NAIA Total | NAIA Total | 16-0 |
| NCCAA Total | NCCAA Total | NCCAA Total | 12-0 |
| USCAA Total | USCAA Total | USCAA Total | 1-0 |
| Total Non-Conference Record | Total Non-Conference Record | Total Non-Conference Record | 80-83 |

## Conference tournament

The 2022 ASUN Tournament was held at the higher seeded team's home court from March 1, 2022 to March 8, 2022.
| First Round Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 ESPN+ | First Round Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 ESPN+ | First Round Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 5th, 2022 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 5th, 2022 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 5th, 2022 ESPN+ | Championship game Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 ESPN | Championship game Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 ESPN | Championship game Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 ESPN |
| | | | 2E | Jacksonville | 79 | | | | | | |
| 3W | Central Arkansas | 74 | 3W | Central Arkansas | 69 | | | | | | |
| 6E | Stetson | 73 | | | | 2E | Jacksonville | 54 | | | |
| | | | | | | 1W | Jacksonville State | 51 | | | |
| | | | 1W | Jacksonville State | 78 | | | | | | |
| 4E | Kennesaw State | 82 | 4E | Kennesaw State | 67 | | | | | | |
| 5W | Eastern Kentucky | 73 | | | | | | | 2E | Jacksonville | 72 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2W | Bellarmine | 77 |
| | | | 2W | Bellarmine | 81 | | | | | | |
| 3E | Florida Gulf Coast | 81 | 3E | Florida Gulf Coast | 68 | | | | | | |
| 6W | North Alabama | 72 | | | | 2W | Bellarmine | 53 | | | |
| | | | | | | 1E | Liberty | 50 | | | |
| | | | 1E | Liberty | 52 | | | | | | |
| 4W | Lipscomb | 74 | 4W | Lipscomb | 47 | | | | | | |
| 5E | North Florida | 65 | | | | | | | | | |