# 2021–22 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2021–22 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the University of Montana in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by eighth-year head coach Travis DeCuire, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Grizzlies finished the 2020–21 season 15–13, 7–9 in Big Sky play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Idaho and Weber State in the Big Sky tournament before losing to Eastern Washington in the semifinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Michael Steadman | 1 | F | 6'11" | 215 | RS Senior | Union City, CA | Graduate transferred to UMass |
| Darius Henderson | 2 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Junior | Pasadena, CA | Transferred to Corban |
| Eddy Egun | 10 | G | 6'4" | 204 | RS Sophomore | Woodland Hills, CA | Transferred to Regis |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Lonnell Martin | 1 | G | 6'4" | 197 | Junior | Flint, MI | Otero College |
| Scott Blakney | 34 | F | 6'8" | 231 | RS Senior | Prosser, WA | Idaho |

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

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Johnny Braggs SG | Las Vegas, NV | Bishop Gorman High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Feb 2, 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. Retrieved September 20, 2021. ||||||

#### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Isaiah Kerr PG | Mountain View, CA | Saint Francis High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A | Jun 2, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Jaxon Nap SG | Renton, WA | Hazen High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jul 19, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Rhett Reynolds PF | Shelby, MT | Shelby High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jan 4, 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 20, 2021. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dickinson State | W 74–27 | 1–0 | Dahlberg Arena (3,389) Missoula, MT |
| November 13, 2021* 5:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Mississippi State | L 49–86 | 1–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,289) Starkville, MS |
| November 15, 2021* 6:00 p.m., MidcoSN | | at North Dakota | L 77–79 | 1–2 | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,263) Grand Forks, ND |
| November 20, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 68–47 | 2–2 | Dahlberg Arena (2,967) Missoula, MT |
| November 24, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | UC San Diego Zootown Classic | W 71–61 | 3–2 | Dahlberg Arena (2,917) Missoula, MT |
| November 25, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Wilmington Zootown Classic | Canceled | Canceled | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| November 26, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Miss Zootown Classic | W 74–62 | 4–2 | Dahlberg Arena (3,135) Missoula, MT |
| November 29, 2021* 8:00 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon | L 47–87 | 4–3 | Matthew Knight Arena (5,739) Eugene, OR |
| December 2, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | W 65–58 | 5–3 (1–0) | Hornets Nest (685) Sacramento, CA |
| December 4, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Colorado | L 75–78 | 5–4 (1–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,178) Greeley, CO |
| December 8, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Air Force | W 66–48 | 6–4 | Dahlberg Arena (2,841) Missoula, MT |
| December 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Yellowstone Christian College | W 104–43 | 7–4 | Dahlberg Arena (1,144) Missoula, MT |
| December 13, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SAGU American Indian College | W 118–49 | 8–4 | Dahlberg Arena (2,395) Missoula, MT |
| December 19, 2021* 3:00 p.m. | | at Santa Clara | L 64–79 | 8–5 | Leavey Center (835) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 78–54 | 9–5 (2–1) | Dahlberg Arena (3,233) Missoula, MT |
| January 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Weber State | W 74–72 | 10–5 (3–1) | Dahlberg Arena (3,409) Missoula, MT |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., SWX/ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | W 90–78 | 11–5 (4–1) | Reese Court (1,140) Cheney, WA |
| January 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., SWX/ESPN+ | | at Montana State | L 59–66 | 11–6 (4–2) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,763) Bozeman, MT |
| January 20, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Portland State | W 66–64 | 12–6 (5–2) | Viking Pavilion (954) Portland, OR |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 58–48 | 13–6 (6–2) | Walkup Skydome (736) Flagstaff, AZ |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 81–62 | 14–6 (7–2) | Dahlberg Arena (3,014) Missoula, MT |
| January 29, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | W 61–59 | 15–6 (8–2) | Dahlberg Arena (3,882) Missoula, MT |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Weber State | L 75–80 | 15–7 (8–3) | Dee Events Center (5,322) Ogden, UT |
| February 5, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | L 63–86 | 15–8 (8–4) | Holt Arena (1,160) Pocatello, ID |
| February 7, 2022 6:00 p.m., SWX/ESPN+ | | Southern Utah Rescheduled from January 13 | W 78–67 | 16–8 (9–4) | Dahlberg Arena (2,947) Missoula, MT |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona | L 67–72 $^{OT}$ | 16–9 (9–5) | Dahlberg Arena (3,037) Missoula, MT |
| February 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., SWX/ESPN+ | | Portland State | W 85–76 | 17–9 (10–5) | Dahlberg Arena (3,223) Missoula, MT |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Idaho | L 76–82 | 17–10 (10–6) | ICCU Arena (1,310) Moscow, ID |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Utah | L 74–82 | 17–11 (10–7) | America First Event Center (1,817) Cedar City, UT |
| February 27, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Montana State | W 80–74 | 18–11 (11–7) | Dahlberg Arena (5,285) Missoula, MT |
| March 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., SWX/ESPN+ | | Northern Colorado | L 66–75 | 18–12 (11–8) | Dahlberg Arena (3,278) Missoula, MT |
| March 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | L 71–72 | 18–13 (11–9) | Dahlberg Arena (3,821) Missoula, MT |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2022 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Weber State Quarterfinals | L 56–68 | 18–14 | Idaho Central Arena (1,334) Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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