# 2021–22 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Bryant University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Jared Grasso, played their home games at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island as members of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 22–10, 16–2 in NEC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Central Connecticut, Mount St. Mary's, and Wagner to win the NEC tournament championship. As a result, the Bulldogs received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's first-ever trip to the tournament, where they lost to Wright State in the First Four.
Senior guard Peter Kiss led NCAA Division I in scoring with a 25.2 points per game average.
On March 29, 2022, the school announced that the season was the last season for the team in the NEC as they would join the America East Conference on July 1, 2022.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the 2020–21 season 15–7, 10–4 in NEC play to finish in second place. In the NEC tournament, they defeated Sacred Heart in the semifinals before losing to Mount St. Mary's in the championship game. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational, where they lost in the quarterfinals to Coastal Carolina.

## Schedule and results

NEC COVID-19 policy provided that if a team could not play a conference game due to COVID-19 issues within its program, the game would be declared a forfeit and the other team would receive a conference win. However, wins related to COVID-19 do not count pursuant to NCAA policy.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 25, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Nichols | W 107–71 | – | Chace Athletic Center (1,400) Smithfield, RI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:30 pm | | Fisher | W 122–54 | 1–0 | Chase Athletic Center (1,250) Smithfield, RI |
| November 12, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Rhode Island Sunshine Slam campus game | L 64–83 | 1–1 | Ryan Center (5,455) Kingston, RI |
| November 15, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Clemson | L 70–93 | 1–2 | Littlejohn Coliseum (5,411) Clemson, SC |
| November 20, 2021* 12:00 pm | | vs. Bethune–Cookman Sunshine Slam Bracket B Semifinals | L 75–81 | 1–3 | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 21, 2021* 12:00 pm | | vs. Holy Cross Sunshine Slam Bracket B Consolation Game | W 78–62 | 2–3 | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 26, 2021* 2:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+ | | at Brown | W 65–59 | 3–3 | Pizzitola Sports Center (874) Providence, RI |
| November 28, 2021* 4:00 pm | | Dartmouth | L 61–63 $^{OT}$ | 3–4 | Chase Athletic Center (759) Smithfield, RI |
| December 3, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 15 Houston | L 44–111 | 3–5 | Fertitta Center (7,051) Houston, TX |
| December 5, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | L 58–73 | 3–6 | Fifth Third Arena (7,924) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 8, 2021* 7:30 pm | | New Hampshire | W 76–59 | 4–6 | Chase Athletic Center (625) Smithfield, RI |
| December 11, 2021* 6:31 pm, SNY/ESPN3 | | at Stony Brook | L 78–86 | 4–7 | Island Federal Arena (1,930) Stony Brook, NY |
| December 19, 2021* 5:30 pm | | at Cornell | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Cornell | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Cornell | Newman Arena Ithaca, NY |
| December 22, 2021* 11:00 am | | Eastern Kentucky | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Bryant | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols at Bryant | Chase Athletic Center Smithfield, RI |
| NEC regular season ||||||
| December 29, 2021 7:00 pm | | at Central Connecticut | W 80–76 | 5–7 (1–0) | William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,658) New Britain, CT |
| December 31, 2021 1:00 pm | | Sacred Heart | W 85–82 | 6–7 (2–0) | Chase Athletic Center (503) Smithfield, RI |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3/SNY | | at Wagner | L 81–84 $^{OT}$ | 6–8 (2–1) | Spiro Sports Center (1,317) Staten Island, NY |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 pm | | at Fairleigh Dickinson | W 1–0 (Forfeit) | 6–8 (3–1) | Rothman Center Hackensack, NJ |
| January 15, 2022 1:00 pm | | Mount St. Mary's | W 73–66 | 7–8 (4–1) | Chase Athletic Center (240) Smithfield, RI |
| January 17, 2022 7:00 pm | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 82–52 | 8–8 (5–1) | Chase Athletic Center (600) Smithfield, RI |
| January 21, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Merrimack | W 79–63 | 9–8 (6–1) | Hammel Court (893) North Andover, MA |
| January 23, 2022 1:00 pm | | St. Francis Brooklyn | W 85–68 | 10–8 (7–1) | Chase Athletic Center (985) Smithfield, RI |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 pm | | Merrimack | W 76–67 | 11–8 (8–1) | Chase Athletic Center (1,200) Smithfield, RI |
| January 30, 2022 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | LIU | W 88–81 | 12–8 (9–1) | Chase Athletic Center (750) Smithfield, RI |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Saint Francis (PA) | W 89–82 | 13–8 (10–1) | DeGol Arena (0) Loretto, PA |
| February 5, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Mount St. Mary's | W 62–61 | 14–8 (11–1) | Knott Arena (2,784) Emmitsburg, MD |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Sacred Heart | W 99–86 | 15–8 (12–1) | William H. Pitt Center (663) Fairfield, CT |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 pm | | at LIU | L 88–99 | 15–9 (12–2) | Steinberg Wellness Center (593) Brooklyn, NY |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm | | Central Connecticut | W 75–61 | 16–9 (13–2) | Chase Athletic Center (1,575) Smithfield, RI |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 pm | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 105–93 | 17–9 (14–2) | Chase Athletic Center (1,805) Smithfield, RI |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm | | at St. Francis Brooklyn | W 86–69 | 18–9 (15–2) | Daniel J. Lynch Gym (368) Brooklyn, NY |
| February 26, 2022 4:00 pm | | Wagner | W 78–70 | 19–9 (16–2) | Chase Athletic Center (2,650) Smithfield, RI |
| NEC tournament ||||||
| March 2, 2022 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row | (1) | (9) Central Connecticut Quarterfinals | W 73–59 | 20–9 | Chase Athletic Center (2,650) Smithfield, RI |
| March 5, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (4) Mount St. Mary's Semifinals | W 70–69 | 21–9 | Chase Athletic Center (2,650) Smithfield, RI |
| March 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | (2) Wagner Championship | W 70–43 | 22–9 | Chase Athletic Center (2,650) Smithfield, RI |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 16, 2022* 6:40 pm, TruTV | (16 S) | vs. (16 S) Wright State First Four | L 82–93 | 22–10 | UD Arena (9,999) Dayton, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources