# 2021–22 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies were led by first-year head coach Rashon Burno, played their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 9–21, 6–14 in MAC play to finish a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Huskies finished the 2020–21 season 3–16, 2–12 in MAC play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament which had been limited to provide that the bottom four finishers would not be eligible. The MAC also announced the removal of divisions in cost-cutting measure partly attributed to COVID-19.
On January 3, 2021, it was announced that head coach Mark Montgomery had been relieved of his duties after the team's 1–7 start to the season. Associate head coach Lamar Chapman was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On March 6, the school named Arizona State assistant Rashon Burno the new head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2021* 1:00 pm | St. Francis | W 80–57 | – | Convocation Center (103) DeKalb, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, P12N | at Washington | W 71–64 | 1–0 | Alaska Airlines Arena (6,356) Seattle, WA |
| November 12, 2021* 6:00 pm, BTN+ | at Indiana | L 49–85 | 1–1 | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| November 18, 2021* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | at Missouri Jacksonville Classic campus game | L 37–54 | 1–2 | Mizzou Arena (6,302) Columbia, MO |
| November 21, 2021* 11:00 am | vs. Boston University Jacksonville Classic (Jax Bracket) semifinal | L 58–76 | 1–3 | UNF Arena (450) Jacksonville, FL |
| November 22, 2021* 10:00 am | vs. Little Rock Jacksonville Classic (Jax Bracket) consolation | L 60–67 | 1–4 | UNF Arena (180) Jacksonville, FL |
| November 27, 2021* 7:00 pm, FS2 | at Marquette | L 66–80 | 1–5 | Fiserv Forum (13,272) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Eastern Illinois | W 55–45 | 2–5 | Convocation Center (1,153) DeKalb, IL |
| December 4, 2021* 1:00 pm, BSOH/ESPN+ | at Dayton | L 41–79 | 2–6 | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| December 13, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Chicago State | W 70–59 | 3–6 | Jones Convocation Center (262) Chicago, IL |
| December 19, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | at UIC | L 60–61 | 3–7 | Credit Union 1 Arena (2148) Chicago, IL |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Indiana State | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Convocation Center DeKalb, IL |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| January 8, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Toledo | L 63–94 | 3–8 (0–1) | Savage Arena (3,780) Toledo, OH |
| January 11, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Kent State | W 65–63 | 4–8 (1–1) | MAC Center (1,423) Kent, OH |
| January 15, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | Eastern Michigan | W 77–70 | 5–8 (2–1) | Convocation Center (1,035) DeKalb, IL |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Bowling Green | L 83–92 | 5–9 (2–2) | Convocation Center (553) DeKalb, IL |
| January 22, 2022 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | at Miami (OH) | L 82–85 $^{OT}$ | 5–10 (2–3) | Millett Hall (1,214) Oxford, OH |
| January 25, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Ohio | L 62–74 | 5–11 (2–4) | Convocation Center (4,783) Athens, OH |
| January 27, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | Ball State Rescheduled from December 29 | L 67–74 | 5–12 (2–5) | Convocation Center (613) DeKalb, IL |
| January 29, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Central Michigan | L 63–69 | 5–13 (2–6) | Convocation Center (773) DeKalb, IL |
| February 1, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Western Michigan | W 75–56 | 6–13 (3–6) | University Arena (1,217) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 5, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Bowling Green | L 65–87 | 6–14 (3–7) | Stroh Center (1,995) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Akron | L 64–70 | 6–15 (3–8) | Convocation Center (653) DeKalb, IL |
| February 12, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | Toledo | L 72–100 | 6–16 (3–9) | Convocation Center (1,141) DeKalb, IL |
| February 15, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Ball State | W 64–58 | 7–16 (4–9) | Worthen Arena (2,918) Muncie, IN |
| February 17, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Akron Rescheduled from January 1 | W 66–63 | 8–16 (5–9) | Rhodes Arena (2,076) Akron, OH |
| February 19, 2022 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | Miami (OH) | L 75–78 | 8–17 (5–10) | Convocation Center (1,507) DeKalb, IL |
| February 22, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Eastern Michigan | L 72–74 | 8–18 (5–11) | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,294) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Buffalo Rescheduled from January 4 | L 68–79 | 8–19 (5–12) | Convocation Center (521) DeKalb, IL |
| February 26, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Buffalo | L 60–70 | 8–20 (5–13) | Alumni Arena (4,990) Buffalo, NY |
| March 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Kent State | L 55–63 | 8–21 (5–14) | Convocation Center (706) DeKalb, IL |
| March 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Ohio | W 58–57 | 9–21 (6–14) | Convocation Center (794) DeKalb, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||