# 2021–22 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beacons, led by sixth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Formerly nicknamed the Crusaders, the university dropped that name and associated mascot and logos in 2021 because of the "negative connotation and violence associated with the Crusader imagery," and because of its use by certain hate groups. The school announced on August 10, 2021, that its athletic teams would officially be known as Beacons effective immediately.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Valparaiso finished the 2020–21 season 10–18, 7–11 in MVC play to finish a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Missouri State in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Goodnews Kpegeol | 0 | G | 6'5" | 200 | RS Sophomore | St. Paul, MN | Transferred to Gulf Coast State College |
| Sigurd Lorange | 1 | G | 5'11" | 185 | Sophomore | Trondheim, Norway | Transferred to Converse University |
| Zion Morgan | 2 | G | 6'5" | 190 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Steven Helm | 3 | G | 6'2" | 180 | RS Sophomore | Valparaiso, IN | Transferred to Indiana Tech |
| Daniel Sackey | 4 | G | 5'9" | 175 | Junior | Winnipeg, MB | Transferred to New Orleans |
| Donovan Clay | 5 | G/F | 6'7" | 205 | Sophomore | Alton, IL | Transferred to Missouri State |
| Mileek McMillan | 22 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Senior | Merrillville, IN | Transferred to Western Michigan |
| Nick Robinson | 25 | G | 6'5" | 215 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Western Carolina |
| Jacob Ognacevic | 34 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Freshman | Sheboygan, WI | Transferred to Lipscomb |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Trevor Anderson | 21 | G | 6'3" | 205 | RS Senior | Stevens Point, WI | Wisconsin |
| Joe Hedstrom | 32 | C | 7'0" | 240 | RS Junior | Hopkins, MN | Wisconsin |
| Kobe King | 35 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | La Crosse, WI | Wisconsin |
| Thomas Kithier | 0 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Clarkston, MI | Michigan State |
| Kevion Taylor | 12 | G/F | 6'5" | 210 | RS Senior | Milwaukee, WI | Winona State |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Cam Palesse #1 PG | Waukesha, WI | Waukesha West | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Darius DeAveiro #4 PG | Kanata, ON | Orangeville Prep | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Keyondre Young #5 SG | Del City, OK | Del City | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Trey Woodyard #33 SF | London, OH | International Sports Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| 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: ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2021* 6:00 pm | | Ashland | L 78–87 | | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,671) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 4, 2021* 6:00 pm | | Flagler | L 67–70 | | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,567) Valparaiso, IN |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | L 61–69 | 0–1 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,824) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 13, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UIC | L 70–74 $^{OT}$ | 0–2 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,622) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 17, 2021* 7:30 pm, P12N | | at Stanford | L 60–74 | 0–3 | Maples Pavilion (2,722) Stanford, CA |
| November 22, 2021* 8:00 p.m. | | vs. Jacksonville State Nassau Championship quarterfinal | W 78–70 | 1–3 | Baha Mar Convention Center Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Coastal Carolina Nassau Championship semifinal | L 61–64 | 1–4 | Baha Mar Convention Center Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 24, 2021* 4:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Tulane Nassau Championship third place game | W 68–64 | 2–4 | Baha Mar Convention Center Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 27, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Trinity Christian | W 106–69 | 3–4 | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,239) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Drake | L 66–73 | 3–5 (0–1) | Knapp Center (2,560) Des Moines, IA |
| December 5, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 71–60 | 4–5 | University Arena (1,883) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 7, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | East–West | W 101–58 | 5–5 | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,170) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 11, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Charlotte | L 67–68 | 5–6 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,264) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 20, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 67–55 | 6–6 | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,293) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 22, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | William & Mary | W 88–66 | 7–6 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,125) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 28, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Prairie View A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| January 2, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 81–76 $^{OT}$ | 8–6 (1–1) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,267) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 5, 2022 8:00 pm, NBCSCHI | | at Northern Iowa | L 65–92 | 8–7 (1–2) | McLeod Center (1,387) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 8, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | L 60–63 | 8–8 (1–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,321) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 11, 2022 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 74–81 $^{2OT}$ | 8–9 (1–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,193) Chicago, IL |
| January 15, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | Missouri State | L 57–74 | 8–10 (1–5) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,621) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 19, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 83–80 $^{OT}$ | 9–10 (2–5) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,414) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 22, 2022 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 75–73 | 10–10 (3–5) | Hulman Center (2,846) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 26, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 56–71 | 10–11 (3–6) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,220) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 30, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 55–77 | 10–12 (3–7) | Banterra Center (4,254) Carbondale, IL |
| February 5, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 79–72 $^{2OT}$ | 11–12 (4–7) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,908) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 75–78 $^{OT}$ | 11–13 (4–8) | Redbird Arena (2,443) Normal, IL |
| February 12, 2022 3:00 pm, NBCSCHI | | at Missouri State | L 66–84 | 11–14 (4–9) | JQH Arena (4,314) Springfield, MO |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 pm, NBCSCHI+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 69–71 | 11–15 (4–10) | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,208) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 72–56 | 12–15 (5–10) | Ford Center (2,947) Evansville, IN |
| February 21, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 74–69 | 13–15 (6–10) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,107) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 23, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Drake | L 65–71 | 13–16 (6–11) | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,530) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 55–79 | 13–17 (6–12) | Peoria Civic Center (5,660) Peoria, IL |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2022 8:30 pm, MVC TV | (7) | vs. (10) Evansville Opening round | W 81–59 | 14–17 | Enterprise Center (2,904) St. Louis, MO |
| March 4, 2022 6:00 pm, MVC TV | (7) | vs. (2) Missouri State Quarterfinals | L 58–67 | 14–18 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source