# 2021–22 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Rhode Island Rams basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rams, led by fourth-year head coach David Cox, played their home games at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). They finished the season 15–16, 5–12 in A-10 play, to finish in 11th place. They defeated Duquesne in the first round of the A-10 tournament before losing to Richmond in the second round.
On March 11, 2022, the school fired head coach David Cox. On March 18, the school hired former Dayton and Indiana head coach Archie Miller as the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Rams finished the 2020–21 season 10–15, 7–10 in A-10 play, to finish in 10th place. They lost in the second round of the A-10 tournament to Dayton.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jermaine Harris | 0 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Junior | Upper Marlboro, MD | Transferred to New Mexico State |
| Fatts Russell | 1 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | Philadelphia, PA | Graduate transferred to Maryland |
| Umberto Brusadin | 14 | G | 6'0" | 180 | GS Senior | Latina, Italy | Walk-on; graduated |
| D.J. Johnson | 23 | F | 6'7" | 185 | RS Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Transferred to Kent State |
| Brandon Borde | 31 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Freshman | Foxborough, MA | Walk-on; did not return |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Ishmael El-Amin | 42 | G | 6'3" | 180 | GS Senior | Minneapolis, MN | Ball State |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Abdou Samb PF | Upper Marlboro, MD | Frederick Douglass (MD) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 10, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Sebastian Thomas PG | Providence, RI | Bishop Hendricken High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 18, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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. ||||||

#### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chance Stephens SG | Riverside, CA | Polytechnic School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 12, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| 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: "2022 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 |||||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Johnson & Wales | W 109–56 | | 22 – Walker | 11 – Makhi Mitchell | 5 – Makhi Mitchell | Ryan Center (4,401) Kingston, RI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Boston University | W 71–62 | 1–0 | 18 – Leggett | 5 – 3 tied | 3 – Sheppard | Ryan Center (5,133) Kingston, RI |
| November 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bryant Sunshine Slam campus game | W 83–64 | 2–0 | 17 – Makhel Mitchell | 18 – Makhi Mitchell | 4 – Tie | Ryan Center (5,455) Kingston, RI |
| November 17, 2021* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Boston College | W 57–49 | 3–0 | 12 – El-Amin | 8 – Makhi Mitchell | 3 – 2 tied | Ryan Center (5,421) Kingston, RI |
| November 20, 2021* 7:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Tulsa Sunshine Slam semifinals | L 71–77 | 3–1 | 20 – Makhel Mitchell | 6 – tied | 3 – tied | Ocean Center (1,357) Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 21, 2021* 5:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Boston College Sunshine Slam consolation | W 71–65 | 4–1 | 15 – 2 tied | 5 – Makhi Mitchell | 3 – 2 tied | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 66–67 | 4–2 | 16 – Makhel Mitchell | 6 – 2 tied | 4 – Sheppard | Alico Arena (2,231) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 27, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 94–59 | 5–2 | 21 – Sheppard | 12 – Makhi Mitchell | 6 – Sheppard | Ryan Center (4,132) Kingston, RI |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Harvard | W 64–57 | 6–2 | 16 – Leggett | 9 – Martin | 3 – 2 tied | Lavietes Pavilion (1,038) Boston, MA |
| December 4, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Providence Ocean State Cup | L 52–66 | 6–3 | 10 – Sheppard | 8 – Martin | 3 – Thomas | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,947) Providence, RI |
| December 7, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sacred Heart | W 72–62 | 7–3 | 14 – Makhel Mitchell | 8 – Walker | 5 – Thomas | Ryan Center (4,928) Kingston, RI |
| December 13, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | W 82–58 | 8–3 | 25 – Sheppard | 10 – Makhi Mitchell | 4 – Makhel Mitchell | UWM Panther Arena (2,380) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 p.m. | | vs. College of Charleston Holiday Hoops Fest | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Entertainment and Sports Arena Washington, D.C. |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Brown Ocean State Cup | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Ryan Center Kingston, RI |
| January 2, 2022* 2:30 p.m. | | American International | W 70–55 | 9–3 | 19 – Makhi Mitchell | 11 – Martin | 5 – Thomas | Ryan Center (3,662) Kingston, RI |
| Atlantic 10 regular season |||||||||
| January 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at George Mason | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | EagleBank Arena Fairfax, VA |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Davidson | L 68–72 | 9–4 (0–1) | 19 – Makhel Mitchell | 5 – Makhel Mitchell | 5 – Walker | John M. Belk Arena (2,860) Davidson, NC |
| January 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Joseph's | W 75–64 | 10–4 (1–1) | 15 – Makhel Mitchell | 12 – Martin | 6 – Sheppard | Ryan Center (3,597) Kingston, RI |
| January 15, 2022 4:30 p.m., USA | | at UMass | W 81–68 | 11–4 (2–1) | 20 – Makhel Mitchell | 7 – Martin | 8 – Makhi Mitchell | Mullins Center (2,181) Amherst, MA |
| January 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | La Salle Rescheduled from January 2 | W 56–54 | 12–4 (3–1) | 10 – Makhi Mitchell | 9 – Walker | 3 – Sheppard | Ryan Center (4,379) Kingston, RI |
| January 22, 2022 12:30 p.m., USA | | George Washington | L 61–63 | 12–5 (3–2) | 12 – Sheppard | 10 – Makhi Mitchell | 2 – tied | Ryan Center (4,667) Kingston, RI |
| January 25, 2022 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Richmond | L 63–70 | 12–6 (3–3) | 12 – Walker | 12 – Makhi Mitchell | 7 – Thomas | Ryan Center (6,259) Kingston, RI |
| January 28, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Dayton | L 51–53 | 12–7 (3–4) | 12 – Makhi Mitchell | 11 – Makhi Mitchell | 4 – Thomas | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| February 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Fordham | L 55–61 | 12–8 (3–5) | 13 – Makhel Mitchell | 9 – Makhel Mitchell | 3 – Carey | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,034) The Bronx, NY |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UMass | L 67–78 | 12–9 (3–6) | 21 – Leggett | 13 – Makhi Mitchell | 6 – Makhi Mitchell | Ryan Center (5,847) Kingston, RI |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at VCU | L 64–73 | 12–10 (3–7) | 12 – Makhel Mitchell | 10 – Makhel Mitchell | 7 – Sheppard | Siegel Center (6,624) Richmond, VA |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Davidson | W 72–65 | 13–10 (4–7) | 23 – Sheppard | 11 – Makhi Mitchell | 4 – Walker | Ryan Center (4,734) Kingston, RI |
| February 14, 2022 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Dayton Rescheduled from December 30 | L 57–63 | 13–11 (4–8) | 9 – 3 tied | 11 – Makhi Mitchell | 4 – Sheppard | Ryan Center (4,714) Kingston, RI |
| February 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at George Washington | L 61–72 | 13–12 (4–9) | 15 – Makhel Mitchell | 10 – Makhi Mitchell | 6 – Sheppard | Charles E. Smith Center (1,604) Washington, D.C. |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at St. Bonaventure | L 55–73 | 13–13 (4–10) | 14 – Makhi Mitchell | 9 – Makhi Mitchell | 2 – 4 tied | Reilly Center (3,833) Olean, NY |
| February 26, 2022 12:30 p.m., USA | | Duquesne | W 70–54 | 14–13 (5–10) | 21 – El-Amin | 7 – El-Amin | 3 – Thomas | Ryan Center (4,668) Kingston, RI |
| March 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | L 74–80 | 14–14 (5–11) | 16 – Sheppard | 8 – Makhi Mitchell | 3 – Makhi Mitchell | Ryan Center (4,611) Kingston, RI |
| March 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Joseph's | L 60–70 | 14–15 (5–12) | 11 – Martin | 6 – Martin | 3 – Thomas | Hagan Arena (2,001) Philadelphia, PA |
| A-10 tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2022 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (11) | vs. (14) Duquesne First round | W 79–77 | 15–15 | 17 – Walker | 11 – Walker | 6 – Sheppard | Capital One Arena (2,283) Washington, D.C. |
| March 10, 2022 8:30 p.m., USA | (11) | vs. (6) Richmond Quarterfinals | L 59–64 | 15–16 | 20 – Martin | 9 – Martin | 4 – Sheppard | Capital One Arena (6,543) Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source: