# 2021–22 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 11th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). It is the program's 106th season of play and 71st as a member of the MAC.

## Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2020–21 season 15–8 overall, 12–6 in MAC play to finish fourth place in conference. They lost to Ohio in the first round of the MAC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Evan Bainbridge | F | 6'9 | 205 | Junior | Stow, OH | Transferred to Ashland |
| Kalin Bennett | F | 6'11 | 300 | Junior | Little Rock, AR | Transferred to Morehouse |
| James Jordan | G | 6'5 | 180 | Senior | Detroit, MI | Transferred to Eastern New Mexico |
| Michael Nuga | G | 6'2 | 180 | Graduate Student | Toronto, Ontario | Transferred to UNLV |
| Gabe O'Neal | F | 6'7 | 240 | Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Transferred to Bowling Green |
| Danny Pippen | F | 6'9 | 232 | Redshirt Senior | Detroit, MI | Graduated - playing for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBA G League |

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Sincere Carry | G | 6'1 | 185 | Redshirt Junior | Solon, OH | Duquesne |
| Andrew Garcia | G | 6'5 | 224 | Graduate Student | Harlem, NY | Georgia |
| DJ Johnson | F | 6'8 | 184 | Redshirt Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Rhode Island |
| Akeem Odusipe | F | 6'8 | 225 | Redshirt Freshman | Lagos, Nigeria | Vanderbilt |

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Cli'Ron Hornbeak C | Toledo, OH | St. Francis de Sales School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Nov 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Julius Rollins SF | Country Club Hills, IL | Hillcrest High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jalen Sullinger PG | Columbus, OH | Thomas Worthington High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 11, 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## 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 12, 2021* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at Xavier | L 59–73 | 0–1 | 18 – Carry | 9 – Jacobs | 4 – Carry | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Oberlin College | W 84–38 | 1–1 | 14 – Tied | 10 – Davis | 5 – Santiago | MAC Center (1,682) Kent, OH |
| November 22, 2021* 12:00 pm | | vs. James Madison Naples Invitational First Round | W 74–69 | 2–1 | 18 – Jacobs | 7 – Tied | 5 – Jacobs | Community School of Naples (607) Naples, FL |
| November 23, 2021* 5:30 pm | | vs. George Washington Naples Invitational Semifinals | W 77–69 | 3–1 | 20 – Carry | 7 – Jacobs | 7 – Jacobs | Community School of Naples (307) Naples, FL |
| November 24, 2021* 8:00 pm | | vs. East Tennessee State Naples Invitational Championship | L 51–57 | 3–2 | 21 – Carry | 12 – Jacobs | 4 – Carry | Community School of Naples (237) Naples, FL |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Point Park | W 107–41 | 4–2 | 24 – Sullinger | 12 – Hamilton | 8 – Carry | MAC Center (1,214) Kent, OH |
| December 6, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Towson | L 58–73 | 4–3 | 17 – Carry | 5 – Tied | 5 – Carry | MAC Center (1,397) Kent, OH |
| December 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Detroit Mercy | W 69–52 | 5–3 | 23 – Jacobs | 11 – Jacobs | 5 – Santiago | MAC Center (2,176) Kent, OH |
| December 12, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at West Virginia | L 50–63 | 5–4 | 18 – Carry | 12 – Hamilton | 5 – Carry | WVU Coliseum (11,532) Morgantown, WV |
| December 19, 2021* 5:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern | L 76–78 | 5–5 | 14 – Carry | 8 – Hamilton | 5 – Carry | MAC Center (1,234) Kent, OH |
| December 21, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Cleveland State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Cleveland State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Cleveland State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Cleveland State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues at Cleveland State | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2021 4:30 pm | | Central Michigan | L 69–72 | 5–6 (0–1) | 22 – Carry | 5 – Tied | 6 – Jacobs | MAC Center (802) Kent, OH |
| January 1, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toledo | W 66–63 | 6–6 (1–1) | 19 – Carry | 11 – Hamilton | 4 – Carry | MAC Center (701) Kent, OH |
| January 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | W 66–65 | 7–6 (2–1) | 26 – Carry | 8 – Hamilton | 6 – Carry | Worthen Arena (2,885) Muncie, IN |
| January 7, 2022 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Ohio | L 72–80 | 7–7 (2–2) | 26 – Carry | 8 – Tied | 6 – Carry | Convocation Center (4,576) Athens, OH |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | L 63–65 | 7–8 (2–3) | 16 – Tied | 10 – Jacobs | 6 – Carry | MAC Center (1,423) Kent, OH |
| January 14, 2022 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Akron | W 67–55 | 8–8 (3–3) | 32 – Carry | 7 – Jacobs | 4 – Jacobs | MAC Center (1,791) Kent, OH |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 56–47 | 9–8 (4–3) | 17 – Jacobs | 5 – Tied | 6 – Carry | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,063) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 21, 2022 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Buffalo | L 51–64 | 9–9 (4–4) | 11 – Beck | 9 – Hamilton | 5 – Carry | Alumni Arena (2,056) Amherst, NY |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan | W 75–64 | 10–9 (5–4) | 18 – Garcia | 10 – Jacobs | 6 – Jacobs | MAC Center (2,134) Kent, OH |
| January 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | W 91–83 | 11–9 (6–4) | 30 – Carry | 11 – Jacobs | 7 – Tied | Stroh Center (2,475) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 78–65 | 12–9 (7–4) | 20 – Carry | 10 – Hamilton | 4 – Tied | Millett Hall (1,930) Oxford, OH |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 90–71 | 13–9 (8–4) | 21 – Santiago | 7 – Carry | 6 – Jacobs | MAC Center (1,943) Kent, OH |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 76–68 | 14–9 (9–4) | 18 – Santiago | 8 – Jacobs | 5 – Carry | MAC Center (1,677) Kent, OH |
| February 11, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Akron | W 66–64 | 15–9 (10–4) | 19 – Carry | 10 – Jacobs | 3 – Jacobs | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,699) Akron, OH |
| February 15, 2022 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Toledo | W 72–59 | 16–9 (11–4) | 23 – Carry | 8 – Tied | 5 – Carry | Savage Arena (4,570) Toledo, OH |
| February 18, 2022 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Ohio | W 75–52 | 17–9 (12–4) | 14 – Tied | 9 – Jacobs | 7 – Carry | MAC Center (4,875) Kent, OH |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 93–82 | 18–9 (13–4) | 42 – Carry | 11 – Jacobs | 10 – Jacobs | MAC Center (2,221) Kent, OH |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 73–71 | 19–9 (14–4) | 21 – Garcia | 10 – Garcia | 3 – Jacobs | McGuirk Arena (1,832) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| March 1, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | W 63–55 | 20–9 (15–4) | 22 – Carry | 9 – Jacobs | 6 – Carry | Convocation Center (706) DeKalb, IL |
| March 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Buffalo | W 70–65 | 21–9 (16–4) | 20 – Carry | 9 – Jacobs | 9 – Carry | MAC Center (4,283) Kent, OH |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (7) Miami (OH) Quarterfinals | W 85–75 | 22–9 | 21 – Jacobs | 11 – Jacobs | 8 – Carry | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| March 11, 2022 7:30 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) Ohio Semifinals | W 67–61 | 23–9 | 19 – Jacobs | 10 – Jacobs | 5 – Jacobs | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| March 12, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (4) Akron Championship | L 55–75 | 23–10 | 19 – Hamilton | 8 – Hamilton | 4 – Jacobs | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (8,361) Cleveland, OH |
| The Basketball Classic |||||||||
| March 16, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Utah First round – Willis Reed Game | L 79–83 | 23–11 | 28 – Jacobs | 5 – Tied | 5 – Jacobs | America First Event Center (1,316) Cedar City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
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