# 2021–22 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by second-year head coach Steve Smiley, played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2020–21 season 11–11, 6–8 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the #8 seed in the Big Sky tournament, they defeated #9 seed Sacramento State in the first round, before falling to top seeded Southern Utah in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 10, 2021* 7:30 pm | | vs. Pacific Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic | W 67–65 | 1–0 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| November 11, 2021* 10:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Hawaii Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic | W 81–78 | 2–0 | Stan Sheriff Center (2,110) Honolulu, HI |
| November 13, 2021* 7:30 pm | | vs. Hawaii–Hilo Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic | L 79–87 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| November 15, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Colorado College | W 93–53 | 3–1 | Bank of Colorado Arena (890) Greeley, CO |
| November 17, 2021* 6:30 pm, LHN | | at No. 8 Texas Abe Lemons Classic | L 49–62 | 3–2 | Frank Erwin Center (11,083) Austin, TX |
| November 21, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at California Baptist Abe Lemons Classic | L 70–74 | 3–3 | CBU Events Center (2,229) Riverside, CA |
| November 23, 2021* 8:00 pm | | at San Jose State Abe Lemons Classic | L 74–75 | 3–4 | Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,257) San Jose, CA |
| November 27, 2021* 12:00 pm, KCDO | | at Colorado State | L 79–88 | 3–5 | Moby Arena (4,328) Fort Collins, CO |
| December 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana State | W 77–75 | 4–5 (1–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,191) Greeley, CO |
| December 4, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana | W 78–75 | 5–5 (2–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,178) Greeley, CO |
| December 7, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Dakota | W 74–69 | 6–5 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,115) Greeley, CO |
| December 15, 2021* 7:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 8 Arizona | L 76–101 | 6–6 | McKale Center (11,943) Tucson, AZ |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington State | L 56–82 | 6–7 | Beasley Coliseum (2,438) Pullman, WA |
| December 21, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern New Mexico | W 90–54 | 7–7 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,293) Greeley, CO |
| January 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Utah | W 91–81 | 8–7 (3–0) | America First Event Center (865) Cedar City, UT |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | L 71–85 | 8–8 (3–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,204) Greeley, CO |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho | W 87–70 | 9–8 (4–1) | Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (1,069) Moscow, ID |
| January 22, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | W 87–83 | 10–8 (5–1) | Reese Court (1,102) Cheney, WA |
| January 27, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Weber State | L 76–85 | 10–9 (5–2) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,629) Greeley, CO |
| January 31, 2022 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Portland State Rescheduled from January 10 | L 76–79 | 10–10 (5–3) | Viking Pavilion (989) Portland, OR |
| February 3, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Portland State | L 99–106 | 10–11 (5–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena (888) Greeley, CO |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 74–71 | 11–11 (6–4) | Walkup Skydome (1,239) Flagstaff, AZ |
| February 7, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona Rescheduled from January 15 | W 82–60 | 12–11 (7–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena (802) Greeley, CO |
| February 10, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | W 79–61 | 13–11 (8–4) | Hornets Nest (916) Sacramento, CA |
| February 14, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Utah | W 100–95 | 14–11 (9–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,024) Greeley, CO |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | L 58–61 | 14–12 (9–5) | Reed Gym (1,088) Pocatello, ID |
| February 19, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Weber State | W 83–79 $^{OT}$ | 15–12 (10–5) | Dee Events Center (5,543) Ogden, UT |
| February 21, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho State Rescheduled from January 29 | W 77–70 | 16–12 (11–5) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,136) Greeley, CO |
| February 24, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | L 76–85 | 16–13 (11–6) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,004) Greeley, CO |
| February 26, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 98–94 | 17–13 (12–6) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,421) Greeley, CO |
| March 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana | W 75–66 | 18–13 (13–6) | Dahlberg Arena (3,278) Missoula, MT |
| March 5, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana State | L 85–87 | 18–14 (13–7) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (4,217) Bozeman, MT |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) Eastern Washington Quarterfinals | W 68–67 | 19–14 | Idaho Central Arena (2,022) Boise, ID |
| March 11, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (7) Portland State Semifinals | W 86–79 | 20–14 | Idaho Central Arena (3,037) Boise, ID |
| March 12, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) | vs. (1) Montana State Championship | L 66–87 | 20–15 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| March 20, 2022 12:30 pm, FloHoops | (12) | vs. (5) Florida Atlantic First Round | W 74–71 | 21–15 | Ocean Center (762) Daytona Beach, FL |
| March 21, 2022 3:30 pm, FloHoops | (12) | vs. (13) UNC Asheville Quarterfinals | W 87–84 | 22–15 | Ocean Center (706) Daytona Beach, FL |
| March 22, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | (12) | vs. (9) UNC Wilmington Semifinals | L 64–80 | 22–16 | Ocean Center (633) Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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