# 2021–22 Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team represented Bellarmine University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights, led by 17th-year head coach Scott Davenport, played their home games at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky as members West division of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season 20–13, 11–5 in ASUN play, to finish in second place in the West division. They defeated Florida Gulf Coast, Liberty, and Jacksonville to win the ASUN tournament championship. Because the Knights were in the second year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I, they were not eligible for NCAA postseason play. As a result, the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament went to regular season champion Jacksonville State.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Knights finished the 2020–21 season 14–8, 10–3 in ASUN play, to finish in second place. The season marked Bellarmine's first year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. They lost in the first round of the ASUN tournament to Stetson. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational tournament where they defeated Army in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to Pepperdine.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 28, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Tiffin | W 90–87 | | Freedom Hall (1,313) Louisville, KY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | at No. 7 Purdue | L 67–96 | 0–1 | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| November 13, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 59–78 | 0–2 | CFSB Center (3,613) Murray, KY |
| November 17, 2021* 10:00 pm, WCC Network | | at Saint Mary's | L 64–73 | 0–3 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,265) Moraga, CA |
| November 19, 2021* 9:00 pm, RTNW | | at No. 1 Gonzaga | L 50–92 | 0–4 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| November 22, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. No. 2 UCLA Empire Classic | L 62–75 | 0–5 | T-Mobile Arena (7,001) Las Vegas, NV |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Central Michigan Empire Classic | W 76–69 | 1–5 | T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, NV |
| November 28, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Franklin | W 75–38 | 2–5 | Freedom Hall (1,117) Louisville, KY |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at West Virginia | L 55–74 | 2–6 | WVU Coliseum (9,523) Morgantown, WV |
| December 5, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Defiance | W 92–43 | 3–6 | Freedom Hall (911) Louisville, KY |
| December 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Asbury | W 87–55 | 4–6 | KFC Yum! Center (863) Louisville, KY |
| December 10, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Midway | W 89–39 | 5–6 | Freedom Hall (710) Louisville, KY |
| December 15, 2021* 8:00 pm | | at South Dakota | L 64–78 | 5–7 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (753) Vermillion, SD |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | W 77–68 | 6–7 | Millett Hall (1,202) Oxford, OH |
| December 21, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola Marymount | L 57–71 | 6–8 | Freedom Hall (1,519) Louisville, KY |
| December 29, 2021* 8:00 pm | | at Bradley | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Peoria Civic Center Peoria, IL |
| ASUN Conference regular season ||||||
| January 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 66–61 | 7–8 (1–0) | Freedom Hall (2,782) Louisville, KY |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Arkansas | W 85–63 | 8–8 (2–0) | Freedom Hall (1,571) Louisville, KY |
| January 15, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb | W 77–71 | 9–8 (3–0) | Allen Arena (3,026) Nashville, TN |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Alabama | W 68–60 | 10–8 (4–0) | Freedom Hall (1,228) Louisville, KY |
| January 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 76–73 $^{OT}$ | 11–8 (5–0) | Freedom Hall (1,839) Louisville, KY |
| January 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State Rescheduled from January 4 | L 60–65 | 11–9 (5–1) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,287) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 27, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stetson | W 72–47 | 12–9 (6–1) | Edmunds Center (510) DeLand, FL |
| January 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 74–63 | 13–9 (7–1) | Alico Arena (2,536) Fort Myers, FL |
| February 3, 2022 1:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Liberty | L 53–66 | 13–10 (7–2) | Freedom Hall (743) Louisville, KY |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | L 70–75 | 13–11 (7–3) | Freedom Hall (1,564) Louisville, KY |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Florida | W 73–70 | 14–11 (8–3) | UNF Arena (1,329) Jacksonville, FL |
| February 12, 2022 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Alabama | W 75–69 | 15–11 (9–3) | Flowers Hall (687) Florence, AL |
| February 16, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Central Arkansas | W 79–69 | 16–11 (10–3) | Farris Center (1,918) Conway, AR |
| February 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | L 67–82 | 16–12 (10–4) | Freedom Hall (2,375) Louisville, KY |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lipscomb | W 76–73 | 17–12 (11–4) | Freedom Hall (1,376) Louisville, KY |
| February 26, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 58–72 | 17–13 (11–5) | Alumni Coliseum (4,911) Richmond, KY |
| ASUN tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (W2) | (E3) Florida Gulf Coast Quarterfinals | W 81–68 | 18–13 | Freedom Hall (1,593) Louisville, KY |
| March 5, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | (W2) | at (E1) Liberty Semifinals | W 53–50 | 19–13 | Liberty Arena (3,515) Lynchburg, VA |
| March 8, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | (W2) | (E2) Jacksonville Championship | W 77–72 | 20–13 | Freedom Hall (6,251) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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