# 2021–22 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by fifth-year head coach Joe Pasternack, played their home games at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 17–11, 8–5 in Big West play to finish in fifth place. They defeated UC Irvine in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament before losing to Long Beach State in the semifinals.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Gauchos finished the season 22–5, 13–3 in Big West play to win the Big West regular season championship. They defeated Long Beach State, UC Davis, and UC Irvine to win the Big West tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to Creighton.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 10, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | San Francisco State | W 119–65 | 1–0 | The Thunderdome (3,037) Santa Barbara, CA |
| November 15, 2021* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington State | L 65–73 | 1–1 | Beasley Coliseum (2,928) Pullman, WA |
| November 20, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Chicago State Cerebro Sports Cali Jam | W 81–50 | 2–1 | The Thunderdome (824) Santa Barbara, CA |
| November 24, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff Cerebro Sports Cali Jam | W 86–58 | 3–1 | The Thunderdome (702) Santa Barbara, CA |
| November 29, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | L 62–70 | 3–2 | The Thunderdome (483) Santa Barbara, CA |
| December 3, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Pepperdine | W 86–74 | 4–2 | The Thunderdome (2,211) Santa Barbara, CA |
| December 5, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | California Lutheran | W 87–66 | 5–2 | The Thunderdome (432) Santa Barbara, CA |
| December 11, 2021* 3:00 pm, WCCN | | at Saint Mary's (CA) | L 59–80 | 5–3 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,019) Moraga, CA |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 pm, WCCN | | at Pacific | L 71–80 $^{OT}$ | 5–4 | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,162) Stockton, CA |
| December 19, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida A&M | W 73–62 | 6–4 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA |
| December 22, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 56–43 | 7–4 | The Thunderdome (526) Santa Barbara, CA |
| Big West regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC San Diego | L 83–85 $^{OT}$ | 7–5 | RIMAC Arena (0) La Jolla, CA |
| January 1, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Irvine | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal Poly | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Bakersfield | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Long Beach State | L 58–65 | 7–6 (0–1) | Walter Pyramid (812) Long Beach, CA |
| January 15, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Fullerton | L 73–79 | 7–7 (0–2) | Titan Gym (290) Fullerton, CA |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Riverside | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 22, 2022 1:00 pm, Spectrum SportsNet | | UC Davis | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at CSUN | W 72–45 | 8–7 (1–2) | Matadome (103) Northridge, CA |
| January 29, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Hawaiʻi | L 62–65 | 8–8 (1–3) | Stan Sheriff Center (3,735) Honolulu, HI |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Irvine | L 52–53 | 8–9 (1–4) | The Thunderdome (999) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 5, 2022* 1:00 pm, Spectrum SportsNet | | UC San Diego | W 84–48 | 9–9 | The Thunderdome (999) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Bakersfield | W 74–62 | 10–9 (2–4) | Icardo Center (1,307) Bakersfield, CA |
| February 12, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal Poly | W 69–64 | 11–9 (3–4) | Mott Athletics Center (2,117) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Fullerton | L 58–67 | 11–10 (3–5) | The Thunderdome (1,012) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 19, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Long Beach State | W 84–71 | 12–10 (4–5) | The Thunderdome (1,342) Santa Barbara, CA |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Davis | W 76–69 $^{OT}$ | 13–10 (5–5) | University Credit Union Center (1,383) Davis, CA |
| February 26, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Riverside | W 97–90 $^{2OT}$ | 14–10 (6–5) | SRC Arena (1,004) Riverside, CA |
| March 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | CSUN | W 70–61 | 15–10 (7–5) | The Thunderdome (2,300) Santa Barbara, CA |
| March 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hawaiʻi | W 67–60 | 16–10 (8–5) | The Thunderdome (2,764) Santa Barbara, CA |
| Big West tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2022 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) UC Irvine Quarterfinals | W 78–69 | 17–10 | Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV |
| March 11, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (1) Long Beach State Semifinals | L 64–67 | 17–11 | Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific. ||||||
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