# 2021–22 Big South Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 Big South Conference men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 9, 2021, and began conference play on January 5, 2022. The regular season ended on February 26, 2022, setting up the 2021–22 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament from March 2 to March 6.

## Conference changes

Due the offseason addition of the North Carolina A&T Aggies the Big South changed the conference play format. The conference was split into a north and south division. The north included Campbell, Hampton, High Point, Longwood, North Carolina A&T and Radford while the south consisted of Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate and Winthrop. Conference play consisted of 96 total games with each team playing 16 games. Each team played 10 intra-division games and 6 cross-division games. The first 11 games of conference play consisted of 5 intra-division games and 6 cross-division games, while the last five games were all intra-division.

## Head Coaches
### Coach Changes

Radford hired Darris Nichols to replace Mike Jones who left for UNC Greensboro to become head coach.
Winthrop hired Mark Prosser to replace Pat Kelsey who left for College of Charleston to become head coach.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous Job | Years At School | Record at School | Big South Record | Big South Titles | NCAA Tournaments |
| Campbell | Kevin McGeehan | Richmond (Associate HC) | 10 | 123-133 | 60-79 | 0 | 0 |
| Charleston Southern | Barclay Radebaugh | Miami (FL) (Assistant) | 17 | 210-274 | 114-157 | 0 | 0 |
| Gardner-Webb | Tim Craft | East Carolina (Assistant) | 9 | 138-121 | 81-61 | 1 | 1 |
| Hampton | Edward Joyner | Hampton (Assistant) | 13 | 197-190 | 26-26 | 0 | 3 |
| High Point | Tubby Smith | Memphis | 4 | 34-53 | 21-30 | 0 | 0 |
| Longwood | Griff Aldrich | UMBC (Director of Recruiting) | 4 | 42-53 | 24-30 | 0 | 0 |
| North Carolina A&T | Willie Jones | North Carolina A&T (Interim HC) | 3 | 25-15 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presbyterian | Quinton Ferrell | College of Charleston (Assistant) | 3 | 17-37 | 12-23 | 0 | 0 |
| Radford | Darris Nichols | Florida (Assistant) | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNC Asheville | Mike Morrell | Texas (Assistant) | 4 | 29-53 | 19-29 | 0 | 0 |
| USC Upstate | Dave Dickerson | Ohio State (Associate HC) | 4 | 24-64 | 13-37 | 0 | 0 |
| Winthrop Eagles | Mark Prosser | Western Carolina | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2021–22 season.
* Overall and Big South 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.

## Preseason Awards

The Preseason Big South men's basketball poll was released on October 20, 2021.

### Preseason men's basketball polls
#### North

First Place Votes in Parentheses
* Campbell (20) - 148
* Longwood - 96
* North Carolina A&T (3) - 92
* Radford (3) - 83
* Hampton - 70
* High Point - 57

#### South

First Place Votes in Parentheses
* Winthrop (23) - 152
* UNC Ashville (3) - 131
* Gardner-Webb - 103
* Presbyterian College - 72
* Charleston Southern - 47
* USC Upstate - 41

### Preseason Honors

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | D. J. Burns, Winthrop |
| Preseason All-Big South First Team | D. J. Burns, Winthrop |
| Preseason All-Big South First Team | John-Michael Wright, High Point |
| Preseason All-Big South First Team | Cedric Henderson Jr., Campbell |
| Preseason All-Big South First Team | Tajion Jones, UNC Asheville |
| Preseason All-Big South First Team | Rayshon Harrison, Presbyterian College |
| Preseason All-Big South Second Team | Kameron Langley, North Carolina A&T |
| Preseason All-Big South Second Team | Jordan Whitfield, Campbell |
| Preseason All-Big South Second Team | LJ Thorpe, UNC Asheville |
| Preseason All-Big South Second Team | Russell Dean, Hampton |
| Preseason All-Big South Second Team | Justin Hill, Longwood |

## Regular season
### Conference standings

| North Division | North Division | Conference | Conference | Division | Division | Overall | Overall | |
| Rank | Team | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Longwood | 4-0 | 1.000 | 2-0 | 1.000 | 12-5 | .706 | |
| 2 | North Carolina A&T | 4-2 | .667 | 2-2 | .500 | 9-11 | .450 | |
| 3 | Campbell | 3-3 | .500 | 2-1 | .667 | 10-7 | .588 | |
| 4 | Radford | 2-4 | .333 | 1-3 | .250 | 6-12 | .333 | |
| 5 | Hampton | 1-3 | .250 | 1-2 | .333 | 5-10 | .333 | Ahead of High Point based on Head-to-Head Win % |
| 6 | High Point | 1-3 | .250 | 1-1 | .500 | 7-11 | .412 | |
| South Division | South Division | Conference | Conference | Division | Division | Overall | Overall | |
| Rank | Team | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Winthrop | 5-0 | 1.000 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 12-6 | .667 | |
| 2 | USC Upstate | 5-1 | .833 | 4-0 | 1.000 | 8-10 | .444 | |
| 3 | Gardner-Webb | 3-3 | .500 | 2-2 | .500 | 9-10 | .474 | Ahead of UNC Ashville based on Division Win % |
| 4 | UNC Ashville | 3-3 | .500 | 1-2 | .333 | 11-8 | .579 | |
| 5 | Charleston Southern | 1-5 | .167 | 0-3 | .000 | 4-14 | .222 | |
| 6 | Presbyterian | 0-5 | .000 | 0-4 | .000 | 8-12 | .400 | |
| Combined Divisions | Combined Divisions | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | |
| Rank | Team | Record | Percent | Record | Percent | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Winthrop | 5-0 | 1.000 | 12-6 | .667 | |
| 2 | Longwood | 3-0 | 1.000 | 12-5 | .706 | |
| 3 | USC Upstate | 5-1 | .833 | 8-10 | .444 | |
| 4 | North Carolina A&T | 4-2 | .667 | 9-11 | .450 | |
| 5 | UNC Ashville | 3-3 | .500 | 11-8 | .579 | Ahead of Gardner-Webb and Campbell based on Win % between 3-3 teams |
| 6 | Gardner-Webb | 3-3 | .500 | 9-10 | .474 | Ahead of Campbell based on Win % between 3-3 teams |
| 7 | Campbell | 3-3 | .500 | 10-7 | .588 | |
| 8 | Radford | 2-4 | .333 | 6-12 | .333 | |
| 9 | Hampton | 1-3 | .250 | 5-10 | .333 | |
| 10 | High Point | 1-3 | .250 | 7-11 | .412 | |
| 11 | Charleston Southern | 1-5 | .167 | 4-14 | .222 | |
| 12 | Presbyterian | 0-5 | .000 | 8-12 | .400 | |

### Conference Matrix

| | Campbell | Charleston Southern | Gardner–Webb | Hampton | High Point | Longwood | North Carolina A&T | Presbyterian | Radford | UNC Asheville | USC Upstate | Winthrop |
| vs. Campbell | – | 0-1 | | | | 1-0 | 0-1 | | 0-1 | 1-0 | | 1-0 |
| vs. Charleston Southern | 1-0 | – | 1-0 | | 0-1 | | | | | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| vs. Gardner-Webb | | 0-1 | – | 0-1 | | 1-0 | | 0-1 | | | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| vs. Hampton | | | 1-0 | – | 0-1 | | 1-0 | | 1-0 | | | |
| vs. High Point | | 1-0 | | 1-0 | – | | 0-1 | | | | 1-0 | |
| vs. Longwood | 0-1 | | 0-1 | | | – | | 0-1 | 0-1 | | | |
| vs. North Carolina A&T | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | 1-0 | | – | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | | |
| vs. Presbyterian | | | 1-0 | | | 1-0 | 1-0 | – | | | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| vs. Radford | 1-0 | | | 0-1 | | 1-0 | 1-0 | | – | 1-0 | 0-1 | |
| vs. UNC Asheville | 0-1 | 0-1 | | | | | 1-0 | | 0-1 | – | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| vs. USC Upstate | | 0-1 | 0-1 | | 0-1 | | | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | – | |
| vs. Winthrop | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | | | | | 0-1 | | 0-1 | | − |

### Players of the Week

| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School | Freshman of the Week | School |
| Nov. 15 | Ricky Clemens | Campbell | Jordan Gainey | USC Upstate |
| Nov. 22 | Leslie Nkereuwem | Longwood | Zack Austin | High Point |
| Nov. 29 | Patrick Good & Rayshon Harrison | Winthrop & Presbyterian | Jordan Gainey (2) | USC Upstate (2) |
| Dec. 6 | John-Michael Wright | High Point | Zack Austin (2) | High Point (2) |
| Dec. 13 | Drew Pember | UNC Ashville | Zack Austin (3) | High Point (3) |
| Dec. 20 | Drew Pember (2) | UNC Ashville (2) | Jalen Breazeale | USC Upstate (3) |
| Dec. 27 | D. J. Burns | Winthrop (2) | Zack Austin (4) | High Point (4) |
| Jan. 3 | Zion Williams | Gardner-Webb | Zack Austin (5) | High Point (5) |
| Jan. 10 | Anthony Seldon | Gardner-Webb (2) | Jordan Gainey (3) | USC Upstate (4) |
| Jan. 17 | Isaiah Wilkins | Longwood (2) | Jordan Gainey (4) | USC Upstate (5) |
| Jan. 24 | Drew Pember (3) | UNC Ashville (3) | Jordan Gainey (5) | USC Upstate (6) |
| Jan. 31 | | | | |
| Feb. 7 | | | | |
| Feb. 14 | | | | |
| Feb. 21 | | | | |
| Feb. 28 | | | | |

### Records against other conferences

| Power 7 Conferences | Record | Power 7 Conferences | Record |
| ACC | 0-12 | American | 0-6 |
| Big East | 0-1 | Big Ten | 0-3 |
| Big 12 | 0-1 | Pac-12 | 1-2 |
| SEC | 1-8 | Power 7 Total | 2-33 |
| Other Division I Conferences | Record | Other Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 3-0 | Atlantic 10 | 0-3 |
| ASUN | 3-3 | Big Sky | None |
| Big West | None | Colonial | 3-7 |
| Conference USA | 2-4 | Horizon League | None |
| Ivy League | None | MAAC | 0-1 |
| MAC | 0-1 | MEAC | 8-7 |
| MVC | None | MWC | 0-1 |
| NEC | 1-0 | OVC | 1-3 |
| Patriot League | 1-2 | SoCon | 10-15 |
| Southland | 1-0 | SWAC | None |
| Summit League | None | Sun Belt | 0-4 |
| WAC | 1-1 | WCC | None |
| Other Division I Total | Other Division I Total | Other Division I Total | 34-52 |
| NCAA Division I Total | NCAA Division I Total | NCAA Division I Total | 36-84 |
| NCAA Division II Total | NCAA Division II Total | NCAA Division II Total | 5-0 |
| NCAA Division III Total | NCAA Division III Total | NCAA Division III Total | 8-0 |
| NAIA Total | NAIA Total | NAIA Total | 7-0 |
| NCCAA Total | NCCAA Total | NCCAA Total | 9-0 |
| USCAA Total | USCAA Total | USCAA Total | 4-0 |
| Total Non-Conference Record | Total Non-Conference Record | Total Non-Conference Record | 69-85 |

## Conference tournament

The 2022 Hercules Tire Big South tournament was held at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina from March 2 to March 6.
| First round Wednesday, March 2 ESPN+ | First round Wednesday, March 2 ESPN+ | First round Wednesday, March 2 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 ESPN+ | Final Sunday, March 6 ESPN2 | Final Sunday, March 6 ESPN2 | Final Sunday, March 6 ESPN2 |
| | | | 1 | Longwood | 79* | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | North Carolina A&T | 65 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Radford | 71 | 9 | North Carolina A&T | 65 | | | | | | |
| 9 | North Carolina A&T | 78* | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | North Carolina A&T | 78* | | | | 1 | Longwood | 79 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | USC Upstate | 70 | | | |
| | | | 4 | USC Upstate | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | 12 | Charleston Southern | 62 | | | | | | |
| 5 | UNC Asheville | 78 | 12 | Charleston Southern | 62 | | | | | | |
| 12 | Charleston Southern | 79 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Charleston Southern | 79 | | | | | | | 1 | Longwood | 79 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Winthrop | 58 |
| | | | 2 | Winthrop | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | High Point | 51 | | | | | | |
| 7 | High Point | 84* | 7 | High Point | 51 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Hampton | 77 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Hampton | 77 | | | | 2 | Winthrop | 76 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Gardner–Webb | 67 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Gardner–Webb | 54 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Campbell | 53 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Campbell | 75** | 6 | Campbell | 53 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Presbyterian | 72 | | | | | | | | | |