# 2021–22 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by third-year head coach Greg Gary, played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in seventh place. They defeated Western Carolina in the first round of the SoCon tournament before losing to Furman in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bears finished the 2020–21 season 18–11, 8–9 in SoCon play to finish in seventh place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated Samford, Wofford, and VMI to advance to the championship game. There they lost to UNC Greensboro.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Fort Valley State | W 93–61 | – | Hawkins Arena (1,027) Macon, GA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 8:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Arkansas | L 61–74 | 0–1 | Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR |
| November 13, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Winthrop | L 85–88 $^{OT}$ | 0–2 | Winthrop Coliseum (1,778) Rock Hill, SC |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Life | W 78–50 | 1–2 | Hawkins Arena (1,332) Macon, GA |
| November 20, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis Cancún Challenge campus game | L 58–75 | 1–3 | Chaifetz Arena (4,725) St. Louis, MO |
| November 23, 2021* 3:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Bucknell Cancún Challenge Mayan semifinal | W 78–68 | 2–3 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (133) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 24, 2021* 3:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Middle Tennessee Cancún Challenge Mayan championship | L 58–82 | 2–4 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (103) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 27, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Milligan | W 88–49 | 3–4 | Hawkins Arena (427) Macon, GA |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | W 73–71 | 4–4 | KSU Convocation Center (1,518) Kennesaw, GA |
| December 4, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 83–77 | 5–4 | Hawkins Arena (901) Macon, GA |
| December 6, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 74–69 | 6–4 | HTC Center (953) Conway, SC |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | W 77–68 | 7–4 | Hawkins Arena (2,322) Macon, GA |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 55–67 | 7–5 | Alico Arena (1,711) Fort Myers, FL |
| December 22, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Troy | L 65–69 | 7–6 | Hawkins Arena (1,256) Macon, GA |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| January 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | W 83–80 | 8–6 (1–0) | Hawkins Arena (1,082) Macon, GA |
| January 8, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 66–81 | 8–7 (1–1) | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (3,217) Greenville, SC |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | VMI | W 97-91 | 9–7 (2–1) | Hawkins Arena (1,341) Macon, GA |
| January 15, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | W 58–49 | 10–7 (3–1) | Hawkins Arena (1,981) Macon, GA |
| January 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at The Citadel Rescheduled from Dec. 29 | W 71–64 | 11–7 (4–1) | McAlister Field House (731) Charleston, SC |
| January 19, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | L 64–72 | 11–8 (4–2) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,270) Johnson City, TN |
| January 22, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 72–64 | 12–8 (5–2) | Hawkins Arena (2,271) Macon, GA |
| January 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Samford | L 61–75 | 12–9 (5–3) | Pete Hanna Center (891) Homewood, AL |
| January 29, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Furman | L 50–80 | 12–10 (5–4) | Hawkins Arena (3,572) Macon, GA |
| January 31, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Wofford | W 67–62 | 13–10 (6–4) | Hawkins Arena (1,792) Macon, GA |
| February 5, 2022 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Chattanooga | L 68–77 | 13–11 (6–5) | McKenzie Arena (3,192) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 7, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Chattanooga Rescheduled from Jan. 1 | L 72–74 $^{OT}$ | 13–12 (6–6) | Hawkins Arena (1,826) Macon, GA |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at VMI | L 79–85 | 13–13 (6–7) | Cameron Hall (1,214) Lexington, VA |
| February 13, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | W 73–64 | 14–13 (7–7) | Greensboro Coliseum (1,509) Greensboro, NC |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 65–56 | 15–13 (8–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,649) Macon, GA |
| February 19, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | L 65–69 | 15–14 (8–8) | Ramsey Center (1,721) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 23, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | The Citadel | L 67–71 | 15–15 (8–9) | Hawkins Arena (2,221) Macon, GA |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 67–74 | 15–16 (8–10) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,551) Spartanburg, SC |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (10) Western Carolina First Round | W 81–53 | 16–16 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,113) Asheville, NC |
| March 5, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+/Nexstar | (7) | vs. (2) Furman Quarterfinals | L 66–80 | 16–17 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,032) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources