# 2021–22 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by first-year head coach Desmond Oliver, played their home games at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 15–17, 7–11 in SoCon play, to finish in eighth place. They lost to The Citadel in the first round of the SoCon tournament.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Buccaneers finished the 2020–21 season 13–12 overall, 8–7 in SoCon play, to finish in fifth place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated Chattanooga in the quarterfinals, before losing to UNC Greensboro in the semifinals.
On March 30, 2021, Jason Shay resigned after one season as head coach following his support of his players kneeling during the national anthem as protest of social injustice. He joined former ETSU head coach Steve Forbes as an assistant coach at Wake Forest. On April 5, the school named Tennessee assistant coach Desmond Oliver as the team's new head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 5, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Catawba | W 91–58 | | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,701) Johnson City, TN |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| November 12, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | L 67–69 | 0–1 | Holmes Center (3,401) Boone, NC |
| November 14, 2021* 12:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 18 Tennessee | L 62–94 | 0–2 | Thompson-Boling Arena (16,564) Knoxville, TN |
| November 18, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | W 56–43 | 1–2 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,036) Johnson City, TN |
| November 22, 2021* 5:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Murray State Naples Invitational first round | W 66–58 | 2–2 | Community School of Naples (317) Naples, FL |
| November 23, 2021* 8:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Missouri State Naples Invitational semifinals | W 77–76 | 3–2 | Community School of Naples (317) Naples, FL |
| November 24, 2021* 8:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Kent State Naples Invitational championship | W 57–51 | 4–2 | Community School of Naples (237) Naples, FL |
| November 27, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lees-McRae | W 92–74 | 5–2 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,818) Johnson City, TN |
| December 1, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UAB | L 56–70 | 5–3 | Bartow Arena (2,695) Birmingham, AL |
| December 4, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lenoir-Rhyne | W 90–66 | 6–3 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,524) Johnson City, TN |
| December 11, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 82–75 | 7–3 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,100) Johnson City, TN |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | North Carolina A&T | L 67–69 | 7–4 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2789) Johnson City, TN |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 p.m. | | at UNC Asheville | L 64–79 | 7–5 | Kimmel Arena (767) Asheville, NC |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | at Georgia | W 86–84 | 8–5 | Stegeman Coliseum (6,418) Athens, GA |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Chattanooga | L 52–84 | 8–6 (0–1) | McKenzie Arena (3,025) Chattanooga, TN |
| January 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | VMI | W 80–79 | 9–6 (1–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,922) Johnson City, TN |
| January 8, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | L 57–68 | 9–7 (1–2) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,708) Johnson City, TN |
| January 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Carolina Rescheduled from Jan. 1 | W 87–69 | 10–7 (2–2) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,522) Johnson City, TN |
| January 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 69–78 | 10–8 (2–3) | Timmons Arena (1,532) Greenville, SC |
| January 15, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Samford | W 88–85 | 11–8 (3–3) | Pete Hanna Center (1,033) Homewood, AL |
| January 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 72–64 | 12–8 (4–3) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,270) Johnson City, TN |
| January 22, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | L 73–75 | 12–9 (4–4) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,425) Johnson City, TN |
| January 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 76–80 | 12–10 (4–5) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,402) Johnson City, TN |
| January 29, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VMI | L 79–83 | 12–11 (4–6) | Cameron Hall (2,245) Lexington, VA |
| February 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | L 84–87 | 12–12 (4–7) | Ramsey Center (1,086) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Wofford | L 60–62 | 12–13 (4–8) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,118) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 7, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Furman | W 75–71 | 13–13 (5–8) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,324) Johnson City, TN |
| February 12, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford | L 73–77 | 13–14 (5–9) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,502) Johnson City, TN |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Mercer | L 56–65 | 13–15 (5–10) | Hawkins Arena (2,649) Macon, GA |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 77–67 | 14–15 (6–10) | McAlister Field House (929) Charleston, SC |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 77–83 | 14–16 (6–11) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,610) Johnson City, TN |
| February 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UNC Greensboro | W 73–69 | 15–16 (7–11) | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (9) The Citadel First round | L 76–84 $^{OT}$ | 15–17 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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