# 2021–22 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2021–22 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by first-year head coach Pat Kelsey, played their home games at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Cougars finished the season 17–15, 8–10 in CAA play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament before losing to UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars finished the 2020–21 season 9–10, 6–4 CAA play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament to Drexel.
Following the season, head coach Earl Grant was hired as the new coach at Boston College. Shortly thereafter, the school named Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey the team's new head coach.

## Offseason
### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Raekwon Horton F | Santee, SC | Vermont Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 5, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Reyne Smith G | Ulverstone, Tasmania | Australian Institute of Sports | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Mar 8, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Babacar Faye F | Saly, Senegal | NBA Academy Africa | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 30, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Ben Burnham F | Matthews, NC | Carmel Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jul 1, 2021 |
| 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. ||||||
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 11, 2021* 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | South Carolina State Rising Coaches Classic | W 106–74 | 1–0 | 19 – Meeks | 8 – Smart | 4 – Underwood | TD Arena (4,448) Charleston, SC |
| November 12, 2021* 7:30 pm, FloHoops | | Lipscomb Rising Coaches Classic | W 86–77 | 2–0 | 16 – Meeks | 11 – Smart | 6 – Ali | TD Arena (4,151) Charleston, SC |
| November 13, 2021* 5:00 pm, FloHoops | | Loyola (MD) Rising Coaches Classic | W 79–72 | 3–0 | 20 – Tucker | 12 – Underwood | 6 – Meeks | TD Arena (4,166) Charleston, SC |
| November 16, 2021* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | No. 18 North Carolina | L 83–94 | 3–1 | 19 – Smith | 7 – Team | 4 – Ali | TD Arena (5,203) Charleston, SC |
| November 22, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 66–96 | 3–2 | 22 – Meeks | 10 – Team | 2 – Underwood | Gallagher-Iba Arena (8,307) Stillwater, OK |
| November 27, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | W 68–66 | 4–2 | 18 – Smith | 5 – Smart | 3 – Ali | McKenzie Arena (2,244) Chattanooga, TN |
| November 30, 2021* 7:30 pm, FloHoops | | Tulane | W 81–77 | 5–2 | 22 – Smith | 8 – Meeks | 6 – Meeks | TD Arena (3,852) Charleston, SC |
| December 3, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 88–91 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 | 24 – Smith | 9 – Underwood | 3 – Ali | Timmons Arena (2,015) Greenville, SC |
| December 7, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tulane | W 86–72 | 6–3 | 15 – Smith | 8 – Underwood | 8 – Ali | Devlin Fieldhouse (653) New Orleans, LA |
| December 12, 2021* 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | Presbyterian | W 78–76 $^{OT}$ | 7–3 | 23 – Tucker | 10 – Burnham | 6 – Underwood | TD Arena (3,648) Charleston, SC |
| December 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stetson | L 59–67 | 7–4 | 14 – Horton | 9 – Horton | 3 – Smith | Edmunds Center (399) DeLand, FL |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 pm | | vs. Rhode Island Holiday Hoops Fest | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Rhode Island | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Rhode Island | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Rhode Island | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Rhode Island | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Rhode Island | Entertainment and Sports Arena Washington, D.C. |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 pm, ODUSports.com | | at Old Dominion | W 82–80 | 8–4 | 13 – Underwood | 10 – Smart | 3 – Underwood | Chartway Arena (4,272) Norfolk, VA |
| CAA regular season |||||||||
| December 31, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | Delaware | L 66–67 | 8–5 (0–1) | 17 – Meeks | 10 – Smart | 4 – Underwood | TD Arena (3,394) Charleston, SC |
| January 9, 2022 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | Elon | W 65–61 | 9–5 (1–1) | 19 – Meeks | 7 – Meeks | 2 – Smith | TD Arena (3,635) Charleston, SC |
| January 17, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | UNC Wilmington | L 78–86 | 9–6 (1–2) | 27 – Meeks | 9 – Underwood | 3 – Meeks | TD Arena (3,844) Charleston, SC |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Towson | L 67–74 | 9–7 (1–3) | 16 – Meeks | 9 – Underwood | 4 – Meeks | SECU Arena (968) Towson, MD |
| January 22, 2022 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | at James Madison | L 94–95 | 9–8 (1–4) | 21 – Smith | 9 – Smart | 3 – Smith | Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,721) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | William & Mary Rescheduled from January 11 | W 74–73 | 10–8 (2–4) | 25 – Smith | 7 – Burnham | 5 – Underwood | TD Arena (3,230) Charleston, SC |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Hofstra | L 73–76 | 10–9 (2–5) | 17 – Tucker | 9 – Underwood | 4 – Smith | TD Arena (3,719) Charleston, SC |
| January 29, 2022 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | Northeastern | W 81–63 | 11–9 (3–5) | 22 – Meeks | 7 – Burnham | 6 – Underwood | TD Arena (4,634) Charleston, SC |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at William & Mary | W 84–61 | 12–9 (4–5) | 21 – Tucker | 8 – Underwood | 5 – Meeks | Kaplan Arena (2,352) Williamsburg, VA |
| February 5, 2022 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Elon | W 66–64 | 13–9 (5–5) | 23 – Farrar | 8 – Tucker | 2 – Horton | Schar Center (2,690) Elon, NC |
| February 12, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at UNC Wilmington | L 79–85 | 13–10 (5–6) | 21 – Meeks | 9 – Meeks | 5 – Tucker | Trask Coliseum (5,250) Wilmington, NC |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Drexel Rescheduled from December 29 | W 79–75 | 14–10 (6–6) | 17 – Farrar | 7 – Underwood | 5 – Meeks | TD Arena (3,516) Charleston, SC |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | James Madison | L 63–71 | 14–11 (6–7) | 14 – Underwood | 12 – Underwood | 3 – Underwood | TD Arena (4,283) Charleston, SC |
| February 19, 2022 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | Towson | L 77–80 | 14–12 (6–8) | 21 – Underwood | 11 – Underwood | 6 – Underwood | TD Arena (5,060) Charleston, SC |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Northeastern Rescheduled from January 3 | W 83–72 | 15–12 (7–8) | 19 – Underwood | 8 – Underwood | 8 – Underwood | Matthews Arena (518) Boston, MA |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Delaware | W 99–96 | 16–12 (8–8) | 22 – Smith | 11 – Underwood | 8 – Underwood | Bob Carpenter Center (1,706) Newark, DE |
| February 26, 2022 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Drexel | L 79–80 | 16–13 (8–9) | 23 – Underwood | 10 – Horton | 6 – Underwood | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,184) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 28, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Hofstra Rescheduled from January 5 | L 84–89 | 16–14 (8–10) | 19 – Smith | 13 – Burnham | 6 – Smith | Mack Sports Complex (1,416) Hempstead, NY |
| CAA tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2022 8:30 pm, FloHoops | (6) | vs. (3) Hofstra Quarterfinals | W 92–76 | 17–14 | 31 – Meeks | 8 – Horton | 4 – Tucker | Entertainment and Sports Arena (1,578) Washington, D.C. |
| March 7, 2022 8:30 pm, CBSSN | (6) | vs. (2) UNC Wilmington Semifinals | L 57–60 | 17–15 | 21 – Underwood | 10 – Horton | 1 – Tucker | Entertainment and Sports Arena (1,707) Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

Conference honors :
| Honors | Player | Position |
| CAA All-Tournament Team | John Meeks | F |
| All-CAA Second Team | John Meeks | F |
| All-CAA Third Team | Dimitrius Underwood | G/F |
| CAA All-Rookie Team | Reyne Smith | G |
| CAA All-Rookie Team | Ben Burnham | F |
| CAA All-Defensive Team | Dimitrius Underwood | G/F |
Source