# 2021–22 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by first-year head coach Stan Heath, played their home games at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. They won the Michigan MAC Trophy.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles finished the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 6–12, 3–11 in MAC play to finish in 10th place in the MAC. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.
Following the season, the school announced it was parting ways with head coach Rob Murphy after 10 seasons. On April 12, 2021, the school hired EMU alum and former Kent State, Arkansas, and South Florida head coach Stan Heath as the team's new head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Miles Gibson | 2 | G/F | 6'6" | 195 | RS Junior | Richmond, VA | Transferred to Metropolitan State |
| Ty Groce | 1 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | Ypsilanti, MI | Graduated; Transferred to Butler |
| Chris James | 13 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Sophomore | Long Beach, CA | Transferred to College of Southern Idaho |
| James Love III | 21 | F | 6'11" | 225 | RS Senior | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Graduated |
| Drew Lowder | 3 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Sophomore | Jackson, MI | |
| Yeikson Montero | 0 | G | 6'5" | 205 | RS Senior | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Graduated |
| Noah Morgan | 5 | G/F | 6'5" | 180 | Senior | Mount Vernon, NY | Graduated; Transferred to Morehouse College |
| Luis Pacheco | 10 | F | 6'8" | 245 | RS Freshman | Queens, NY | |

### Incoming transfers

On April 28, 2021, the NCAA officially adopted a measure that would allow athletes in all sports to transfer once without sitting out a season beginning with the 2021–22 season.
Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Noah Farrakhan | 5 | G | 6'2" | 165 | Freshman | Newark, NJ | East Carolina |
| Colin Golson Jr. | 1 | F | 6'6" | 230 | Freshman | Detroit, MI | Siena |
| Yusuf Jihad | 22 | C | 6'8" | 220 | RS Freshman | Farmington Hills, MI | Oakland |
| Kevin-David Rice | 0 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Freshman | Flint, MI | Delta College |
| Monty Scott | 2 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Senior | Union, NJ | Portland State |
| Nate Scott | 25 | G | 6'8" | 210 | Senior | Naperville, IL | Northern Illinois |

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

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Malcolm Clements G | Ypsilanti, MI | Arbor Preparatory High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 04/27/2021 (verbal) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Prakash Ketterhagen G | Kalamazoo, MI | New Rochelle High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 09/13/2021 (verbal) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Mo Njie C | Centerville, OH | Centerville High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | 06/2/2021 (verbal) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Javantae Randle F | Detroit, MI | Frederick Douglass Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 05/14/2021 (verbal) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Luka Savicevic G | Skopje, Macedonia | Sports Academy Skopje | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | May 26, 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 Eastern Michigan Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021. "2021 Eastern Michigan Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021. "2021 Eastern Michigan Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 28, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Oakland Charity Exhibition | W 74–69 | | 27 – Farrakhan | 7 – Farrakhan | 6 – Farrakhan | Athletics Center O'rena (1,112) Rochester, MI |
| November 5, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | Goshen | W 94–66 | | 18 – Tie | 8 – Tie | 4 – Spottsville | George Gervin GameAbove Center (475) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 6:30 p.m., BTN | at Indiana | L 62–68 | 0–1 | 18 – Farrakhan | 10 – N. Scott | 3 – M. Scott | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| November 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Illinois State | W 103–98 $^{2OT}$ | 1–1 | 28 – M. Scott | 8 – McBride | 4 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,905) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 18, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Northern Kentucky Blue Demon Classic | L 73–74 | 1–2 | 21 – Farrakhan | 7 – Njie | 3 – Scott | BB&T Arena (2,220) Highland Heights, KY |
| November 20, 2021* 5:00 p.m., BTN+ | at Michigan State | L 59–83 | 1–3 | 13 – Farrakhan | 8 – McBride | 5 – Scott | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lasning, MI |
| November 24, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Western Illinois Blue Demon Classic | W 72–68 | 2–3 | 16 – Scott | 7 – Scott | 3 – Scott | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,145) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 28, 2021* 2:00 p.m., FS1 | at DePaul Blue Demon Classic | L 63–101 | 2–4 | 18 – Scott | 4 – Golson Jr. | 3 – McBride | Wintrust Arena (2,194) Chicago, IL |
| December 2, 2021* 10:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at UC San Diego | L 74–83 | 2–5 | 16 – Golson | 7 – N. Scott | 4 – Savicevic | RIMAC Arena (838) San Diego, CA |
| December 5, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Northwood | W 79–57 | 3–5 | 20 – Farrakhan | 5 – Tied | 3 – M. Scott | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,243) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 8, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | Niagara | W 60–58 | 4–5 | 19 – McBride | 6 – Golson | 4 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,111) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 11, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | FIU | W 92–88 $^{4OT}$ | 5–5 | 27 – Farrakhan | 11 – M. Scott | 5 – N. Scott | George Gervin GameAbove Center (3,991) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 20, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Valparaiso | L 55–67 | 5–6 | 17 – Farrakhan | 8 – N. Scott | 4 – M. Scott | Athletics–Recreation Center (1293) Valparaiso, IN |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 85–79 | 6–6 (1–0) | 25 – Farrakhan | 9 – Spottsville | 4 – Farrakhan | University Arena (1,119) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 8, 2022 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Ball State | L 72–78 | 6–7 (1–1) | 16 – Golson | 9 – N. Scott | 3 – Spottsville | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,242) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 99–68 | 7–7 (2–1) | 16 – McBride | 7 – Nije | 5 – Spottsville | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,131) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 15, 2022 4:30 p.m., ESPN3 | at Northern Illinois | L 70–77 | 7–8 (2–2) | 27 – Farrakhan | 5 – Spottsville | 4 – Spottsville | Convocation Center (1,035) DeKalb, IL |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Kent State | L 47–56 | 7–9 (2–3) | 20 – McBride | 6 – Nije | 2 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,063) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Akron | L 44–46 | 7–10 (2–4) | 14 – Golson | 8 – N. Scott | 3 – N. Scott | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,090) Akron, OH |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Bowling Green | L 71–85 | 7–11 (2–5) | 16 – Golson | 6 – N. Scott | 3 – McBride | Stroh Center (1,951) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 29, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Miami (OH) | W 85–75 | 8–11 (3–5) | 28 – Farrakhan | 10 – Scott | 7 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,459) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Toledo | L 66–86 | 8–12 (3–6) | 17 – Farrakhan | 8 – Nije | 4 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,791) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Ohio Rescheduled from December 28 | L 68–81 | 8–13 (3–7) | 16 – Scott | 6 – Scott | 4 – Farrakhan | Convocation Center (3,121) Athens, OH |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Kent State | L 71–90 | 8–14 (3–8) | 20 – Spottsville | 7 – Scott | 4 – McBride | MAC Center (1,943) Kent, OH |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Buffalo | L 64–102 | 8–15 (3–9) | 12 – McBride | 4 – Tied | 3 – McBride | Alumni Arena (3,146) Buffalo, NY |
| February 12, 2022 3:30 p.m., ESPN3 | Ohio | L 56–74 | 8–16 (3–10) | 12 – Spottsville | 7 – Scott | 2 – Scott | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,208) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 15, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 75–70 | 9–16 (4–10) | 24 – Farrakhan | 5 – Tied | 4 – Farrakhan | McGuirk Arena (1,253) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 17, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Buffalo Rescheduled from January 1 | L 69–83 | 9–17 (4–11) | 14 – Farrakhan | 7 – Tied | 4 – Savicevic | George Gervin GameAbove Center (500) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 19, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Akron | L 48–67 | 9–18 (4–12) | 21 – Farrakhan | 8 – Scott | 2 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,584) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Northern Illinois | W 74–72 | 10–18 (5–12) | 31 – Farrakhan | 11 – Spottsville | 7 – Scott | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,294) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 26, 2022 3:30 p.m., ESPN3 | at Ball State | L 64–75 | 10–19 (5–13) | 27 – Farrakhan | 8 – Scott | 3 – Spottsville | Worthen Arena (4,576) Muncie, IN |
| March 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 60–71 | 10–20 (5–14) | 12 – Rice | 10 – Spottsville | 5 – Spottsville | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,311) Kalamazoo, MI |
| March 4, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Miami (OH) | L 63–76 | 10–21 (5–15) | 16 – Nije | 10 – Nije | 5 – Savicevic | Millett Hall (3,331) Oxford, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. |||||||||

## Awards

* Dec. 13, 2021 Bryce McBride (MAC Player of the Week)
* Mo Njie (MAC All-Freshman)