# 2021–22 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by second-year head coach Rob Jeter, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as members of the Summit League. They finished the regular season 16–15, 7–11 in Summit League play, to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Summit League tournament, they lost to Oral Roberts in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to The Basketball Classic postseason tournament, formerly known as the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Leathernecks finished the 2020–21 season 7–15, 5–9 in Summit League play, to finish in seventh place. They lost to South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 27, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | Illinois–Springfield | W 92–80 | – | Western Hall (1,050) Macomb, IL |
| November 1, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | Monmouth College | W 88–34 | – | Western Hall (500) Macomb, IL |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Nebraska | W 75–74 | 1–0 | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,312) Lincoln, NE |
| November 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | Culver–Stockton | W 91–69 | 2–0 | Western Hall (940) Macomb, IL |
| November 16, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | Iowa Wesleyan | W 97–71 | 3–0 | Western Hall (1,500) Macomb, IL |
| November 20, 2021* 7:00 p.m., FS2 | | at DePaul | L 80–84 | 3–1 | Wintrust Arena (2,642) Chicago, IL |
| November 22, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Kentucky | W 69–67 | 4–1 | BB&T Arena (2,065) Highland Heights, KY |
| November 24, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan | L 68–72 | 4–2 | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,145) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 27, 2021* 2:00 p.m. | | Miami (OH) | W 79–67 | 5–2 | Western Hall (506) Macomb, IL |
| December 1, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | Ball State | W 93–80 | 6–2 | Western Hall (998) Macomb, IL |
| December 4, 2021* 1:00 p.m. | | UT Martin | W 81–64 | 7–2 | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| December 5, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 97–70 | 8–2 | McGuirk Arena (1,299) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 p.m. | | Eastern Illinois | W 71–54 | 9–2 | Western Hall (1,004) Macomb, IL |
| December 20, 2021 8:00 p.m. | | at Denver | W 84–80 $^{OT}$ | 10–2 (1–0) | Hamilton Gymnasium (682) Denver, CO |
| December 22, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | at Omaha | L 78–84 | 10–3 (1–1) | Baxter Arena (1,430) Omaha, NE |
| December 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | at Iowa | L 71–92 | 10–4 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| January 1, 2022 7:00 p.m. | | at St. Thomas | L 66–89 | 10–5 (1–2) | Schoenecker Arena (797) St. Paul, MN |
| January 6, 2022 6:00 p.m. | | Kansas City | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 p.m. | | Oral Roberts | L 86–87 | 10–6 (1–3) | Western Hall (1,022) Macomb, IL |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Dakota | W 73–68 | 11–6 (2–3) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,258) Grand Forks, ND |
| January 15, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Dakota State | W 90–79 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (3–3) | Scheels Center (1,634) Fargo, ND |
| January 20, 2022 6:00 p.m. | | South Dakota | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m. | | South Dakota State | L 75–93 | 12–7 (3–4) | Western Hall (1,206) Macomb, IL |
| January 24, 2022 6:00 p.m. | | South Dakota Rescheduled from January 20 | L 72–75 | 12–8 (3–5) | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| January 29, 2022 2:00 p.m. | | St. Thomas | W 81–52 | 13–8 (4–5) | Western Hall (589) Macomb, IL |
| January 31, 2022 6:00 p.m. | | Kansas City Rescheduled from January 6 | L 75–83 | 13–9 (4–6) | Western Hall (633) Macomb, IL |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m. | | at Oral Roberts | W 90–85 | 14–9 (5–6) | Mabee Center (4,136) Tulsa, OK |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 p.m. | | at Kansas City | L 82–91 | 14–10 (5–7) | Swinney Recreation Center (876) Kansas City, MO |
| February 10, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Dakota State | L 81–84 $^{2OT}$ | 14–11 (5–8) | Western Hall (789) Macomb, IL |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | North Dakota | W 70–68 | 15–11 (6–8) | Western Hall (827) Macomb, IL |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Dakota State | L 66–91 | 15–12 (6–9) | Frost Arena (3,345) Brookings, SD |
| February 19, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at South Dakota | L 65–78 | 15–13 (6–10) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,814) Vermillion, SD |
| February 24, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 88–76 | 16–13 (7–10) | Western Hall (621) Macomb, IL |
| February 26, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Denver | L 77–83 | 16–14 (7–11) | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| Summit League tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2022 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Oral Roberts Quarterfinals | L 68–80 | 16–15 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (7,364) Sioux Falls, SD |
| The Basketball Classic ||||||
| March 19, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP First round | L 54–80 | 16–16 | Don Haskins Center (3,500) El Paso, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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