# 2021–22 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represented Southern Utah University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds, led by sixth-year head coach Todd Simon, played their home games at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 14–6 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament to Portland State. They received an invitation to The Basketball Classic tournament where they defeated Kent State, UTEP, and Portland to advance to the tournament semifinals. There they lost to Fresno State.
The season was the program's last as members of the Big Sky with the school announcing that the Thunderbirds will join the Western Athletic Conference in 2022.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunderbirds finished the 2020–21 season 20–4, 12–2 in Big Sky play to finish as Big Sky regular season champions. They defeated Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament, before being upset in overtime in the semifinals by Montana State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bethesda | W 116–74 | 1–0 | America First Event Center (1,300) Cedar City, UT |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Dixie State | L 76–83 | 1–1 | Burns Arena (4,105) St. George, UT |
| November 15, 2021* 8:00 pm | | at Saint Mary's | L 51–70 | 1–2 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,031) Moraga, CA |
| November 18, 2021* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at California Fort Myers Tip-Off campus game | L 68–75 $^{2OT}$ | 1–3 | Haas Pavilion (3,977) Berkeley, CA |
| November 23, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Yale Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Semifinals | W 88–85 $^{OT}$ | 2–3 | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (573) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 24, 2021* 1:30 pm | | vs. Bowling Green Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Championship Game | W 87–73 | 3–3 | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (388) Fort Myers, FL |
| December 2, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | W 89–76 | 4–3 (1–0) | Reese Court (1,344) Cheney, WA |
| December 4, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho | W 81–75 | 5–3 (2–0) | Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (1,043) Moscow, ID |
| December 8, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Utah Valley | W 60–56 | 6–3 | America First Event Center (2,053) Cedar City, UT |
| December 11, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Katherine | W 100–61 | 7–3 | America First Event Center (977) Cedar City, UT |
| December 18, 2021* 5:00 pm, BTN | | at Michigan | L 50–87 | 7–4 | Crisler Center (12,445) Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 22, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Dixie State | W 87–59 | 8–4 | America First Event Center (2,638) Cedar City, UT |
| December 30, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | W 64–51 | 9–4 (3–0) | America First Event Center (1,261) Cedar City, UT |
| January 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Colorado | L 81–91 | 9–5 (3–1) | America First Event Center (865) Cedar City, UT |
| January 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Portland State Rescheduled from January 6 | W 86–76 | 10–5 (4–1) | America First Event Center (1,811) Cedar City, UT |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 86–74 | 11–5 (5–1) | America First Event Center (1,033) Cedar City, UT |
| January 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Weber State | L 84–92 | 11–6 (5–2) | America First Event Center (3,133) Cedar City, UT |
| January 27, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Portland State | W 85–82 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (6–2) | Viking Pavilion (784) Portland, OR |
| January 31, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona Rescheduled from January 8 | W 78–66 | 13–6 (7–2) | America First Event Center (1,239) Cedar City, UT |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 75–59 | 14–6 (8–2) | America First Event Center (2,033) Cedar City, UT |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | W 84–72 | 15–6 (9–2) | America First Event Center (1,876) Cedar City, UT |
| February 7, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana Rescheduled from January 13 | L 67–78 | 15–7 (9–3) | Dahlberg Arena (2,947) Missoula, MT |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | W 83–57 | 16–7 (10–3) | Hornets Nest (503) Sacramento, CA |
| February 14, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Colorado | L 95–100 | 16–8 (10–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,024) Greeley, CO |
| February 19, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana State | L 71–76 | 16–9 (10–5) | America First Event Center (1,360) Cedar City, UT |
| February 21, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 79–48 | 17–9 (11–5) | Walkup Skydome (903) Flagstaff, AZ |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana | W 82–74 | 18–9 (12–5) | America First Event Center (1,817) Cedar City, UT |
| March 1, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana State Rescheduled from January 15 | L 53–69 | 18–10 (12–6) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,288) Bozeman, MT |
| March 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | W 79–71 | 19–10 (13–6) | Reed Gym (1,334) Pocatello, ID |
| March 5, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Weber State | W 80–70 | 20–10 (14–6) | Dee Events Center (6,166) Ogden, UT |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2022 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (7) Portland State Quarterfinals | L 65–77 | 20–11 | Idaho Central Arena (2,096) Boise, ID |
| The Basketball Classic ||||||
| March 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kent State First Round | W 83–79 | 21–11 | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT |
| March 22, 20222 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UTEP Second Round | W 82–69 | 22–11 | Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX |
| March 26, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Portland Quarterfinals | W 77–66 | 23–11 | America First Event Center (1,504) Cedar City, UT |
| March 28, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Fresno State Semifinals | L 48–67 | 23–12 | Save Mart Center Fresno, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
Sources