# 2021–22 VCU Rams men's basketball team

The 2021–22 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They are led by fifth-year head coach is Mike Rhoades and played their home games at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 22–10, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the A-10 tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Richmond. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Princeton in the first round before losing to Wake Forest.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Rams finished the 2020–21 season 19–7, 10–4 in A-10 play to finish in second place. In the A-10 tournament, they defeated Dayton and Davidson to advance to the championship game where they lost to St. Bonaventure. VCU received an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region. Due to several positive COVID-19 tests in the VCU program prior to their First Round game against Oregon, the game was declared a no-contest and Oregon advanced to the second round, making VCU the first team ever to forfeit a game in the NCAA tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Bones Hyland | 5 | G | 6'3" | 173 | Sophomore | Wilmington, Delaware | Declared for NBA draft; selected 26th overall by the Denver Nuggets |
| Corey Douglas Jr. | 13 | F | 6'8" | 210 | RS Senior | Louisville, Kentucky | Graduated |
| Brendan Medley-Bacon | 34 | C | 7'1" | 240 | Junior | Baltimore, Maryland | Transferred to McNeese State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Marcus Tsohonis | 5 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Portland, Oregon | Transferred from Washington |
| Jimmy Nichols Jr. | 55 | F | 6'8" | 225 | RS Junior | Conway, South Carolina | Transferred from Providence |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jalen DeLoach PF | Savannah, GA | The Skill Factory | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Nick Kern Jr. SF | St. Louis, MO | Vashon High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Jayden Nunn PG | Flint, MI | Dream City Christian | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 18, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| 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: "VCU 2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020. ||||||

## Preseason
### A-10 media poll

The Atlantic 10 men's basketball media poll will be released in October or November 2021.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Virginia State Exhibition | W 74–55 | | 14 – Tied | 9 – Stockard III | 6 – Tsohonis | Siegel Center (5,573) Richmond, VA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 6:00 p.m., MASN2/ESPN+ | | Saint Peter's | W 57–54 | 1–0 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Ward | 4 – Williams Jr. | Siegel Center (7,017) Richmond, VA |
| November 13, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MASN2/ESPN+ | | Wagner | L 44–58 | 1–1 | 12 – Curry | 6 – Ward | 5 – Tsohonis | Siegel Center (7,412) Richmond, VA |
| November 17, 2021* 8:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Vanderbilt | W 48–37 | 2–1 | 14 – Williams Jr. | 8 – Ward | 3 – Tsohonis | Memorial Gymnasium (5,768) Nashville, TN |
| November 20, 2021* 4:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 54–56 | 2–2 | 21 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Williams Jr. | 2 – Nunn | Siegel Center (7,202) Richmond, VA |
| November 24, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Syracuse Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals | W 67–55 | 3–2 | 15 – Stockard III | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Imperial Arena (1,281) Paradise Island, BS |
| November 25, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPN | | vs. No. 6 Baylor Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals | L 61–69 | 3–3 | 17 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Tied | 5 – Williams Jr. | Imperial Arena (929) Paradise Island, BS |
| November 26, 2021* 1:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 22 UConn Battle 4 Atlantis 3rd Place Game | L 63–70 $^{OT}$ | 3–4 | 21 – Nunn | 8 – Nunn | 2 – Tied | Imperial Arena (673) Paradise Island, BS |
| December 4, 2021* 4:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 65–61 | 4–4 | 14 – Williams Jr. | 8 – Williams Jr. | 5 – Williams Jr. | Siegel Center (7,321) Richmond, VA |
| December 8, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 66–52 | 5–4 | 20 – Nunn | 8 – Stockard III | 3 – Williams Jr. | Siegel Center (6,621) Richmond, VA |
| December 11, 2021* 8:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Old Dominion ServPro Interstate Rivalry | W 75–66 | 6–4 | 16 – Tied | 9 – Williams Jr. | 5 – Baldwin Jr. | Chartway Arena (7,919) Norfolk, VA |
| December 15, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | W 66–46 | 7–4 | 13 – Curry | 8 – Williams Jr. | 9 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (6,907) Richmond, VA |
| December 18, 2021* 3:30 p.m., NBCSN | | Penn State | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MASN2/ESPN+ | | New Hampshire | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| Atlantic 10 regular season |||||||||
| January 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Dayton | W 53–52 | 8–4 (1–0) | 13 – Williams Jr. | 11 – Williams Jr. | 7 – Baldwin Jr. | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 p.m., USA | | at La Salle | W 85–66 | 9–4 (2–0) | 17 – Tsohonis | 7 – DeLoach | 6 – Baldwin Jr. | Tom Gola Arena (1,721) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 p.m., MASN2/ESPN+ | | George Washington | W 84–57 | 10–4 (3–0) | 16 – Baldwin Jr. | 10 – Lindo Jr. | 3 – Freeman | Siegel Center (6,327) Richmond, VA |
| January 14, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | at St. Bonaventure | L 53–73 | 10–5 (3–1) | 14 – Tsohonis | 4 – Williams Jr. | 5 – Baldwin Jr. | Reilly Center (3,512) Olean, NY |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Davidson Rescheduled from January 2 | L 61–63 | 10–6 (3–2) | 16 – Williams Jr. | 7 – Williams Jr. | 7 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (7,091) Richmond, VA |
| January 22, 2022 2:30 p.m., USA | | Saint Joseph's | W 70–54 | 11–6 (4–2) | 21 – Williams Jr. | 7 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (7,391) Richmond, VA |
| January 26, 2022 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at No. 25 Davidson | W 70–68 | 12–6 (5–2) | 16 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Williams Jr. | 3 – Nunn | John M. Belk Arena (3,575) Davidson, NC |
| January 29, 2022 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Richmond Capital City Classic | W 64–62 | 13–6 (6–2) | 22 – Williams Jr. | 10 – Ward | 8 – Williams Jr. | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| February 2, 2022 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Dayton | L 52–82 | 13–7 (6–3) | 12 – Baldwin Jr. | 8 – Ward | 4 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (6,724) Richmond, VA |
| February 5, 2022 4:00 p.m., MASN2/ESPN+ | | Duquesne | W 71–62 | 14–7 (7–3) | 13 – Ward | 10 – Ward | 7 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (7,293) Richmond, VA |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Rhode Island | W 73–64 | 15–7 (8–3) | 28 – Curry | 10 – Ward | 7 – Williams Jr. | Siegel Center (6,624) Richmond, VA |
| February 12, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at George Mason Rivalry | W 85–70 | 16–7 (9–3) | 18 – Baldwin Jr. | 6 – Nunn | 10 – Baldwin Jr. | EagleBank Arena (6,333) Fairfax, VA |
| February 15, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Fordham | W 66–61 | 17–7 (10–3) | 21 – Curry | 7 – Williams Jr. | 7 – Baldwin Jr. | Rose Hill Gymnasium (876) Bronx, NY |
| February 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Richmond Capital City Classic | W 77–57 | 18–7 (11–3) | 15 – Williams Jr. | 7 – Brown-Jones | 5 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, MASN/CBS6/ESPN+ | | George Mason Rivalry/Rescheduled from December 30 | W 72–66 | 19–7 (12–3) | 18 – Baldwin Jr. | 7 – Baldwin Jr. | 4 – Baldwin Jr. | Siegel Center (7,411) Richmond, VA |
| February 26, 2022 4:30 p.m., USA | | at UMass | W 77–62 | 20–7 (13–3) | 18 – Curry | 6 – Ward | 9 – Baldwin Jr. | Mullins Center (2,758) Amherst, MA |
| March 1, 2022 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | St. Bonaventure | W 74–51 | 21–7 (14–3) | 14 – Curry | 7 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Williams Jr. | Siegel Center (7,509) Richmond, VA |
| March 5, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Saint Louis | L 65–69 | 21–8 (14–4) | 26 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Baldwin Jr. | 6 – Baldwin Jr. | Chaifetz Arena (9,125) St. Louis, MO |
| Atlantic 10 tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2022 8:30 pm, USA | (3) | vs. (6) Richmond Quarterfinals/Capital City Classic | L 64–75 | 21–9 | 18 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 7 – Baldwin Jr. | Capital One Arena (7,420) Washington, D.C. |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 15, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) | (6) Princeton First Round – Texas A&M Bracket | W 90–79 | 22–9 | 23 – Curry | 11 – Williams Jr. | 6 – Williams Jr. | Siegel Center (2,743) Richmond, VA |
| March 19, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | at (2) Wake Forest Second Round – Texas A&M Bracket | L 74–80 | 22–10 | 27 – Williams Jr. | 8 – 2 tied | 4 – Baldwin Jr. | LJVM Coliseum (4,341) Winston-Salem, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||