# 2021–22 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team represented Oral Roberts University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Eagles, led by fifth-year head coach Paul Mills, played their home games at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as members of the Summit League.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Eagles finished the 2020–21 season 18–11, 10–5 in Summit League play to finish in fourth place. In the Summit League tournament, they defeated North Dakotas and top-seeded South Dakota State to advance to the championship game. There they defeated North Dakota State to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 15 seed in the South region, the school's first appearance since 2008. In the First Round, they upset No. 2-seeded Ohio State in overtime, becoming the first No. 15 seed since 2016, and just the ninth overall, to win a first-round game. In the Second Round, they defeated Florida, becoming just the second No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16, the other being Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. In the Sweet 16, they matched up against Arkansas for their second meeting of the season, having played each other in the regular season, an Arkansas win. After a potential game-winning three missed at the buzzer, Arkansas came away with the win, preventing Oral Roberts from becoming the first-ever No. 15 to advance to the Elite Eight.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 8:30 pm, Stadium | | at Colorado State | L 80–109 | 0–1 | Moby Arena (7,287) Fort Collins, CO |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Southwestern Christian | W 121–50 | 1–1 | Mabee Center (3,714) Tulsa, OK |
| November 18, 2021* 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Haskell | W 89–46 | 2–1 | Mabee Center (3,112) Tulsa, OK |
| November 20, 2021* 3:15 pm, ORUSN | | at Central Arkansas | L 67–70 | 2–2 | Farris Center (685) Conway, AR |
| November 23, 2021* 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Rogers State | W 91–31 | 3–2 | Mabee Center (2,974) Tulsa, OK |
| November 26, 2021* 3:00 pm, ORUSN | | Oklahoma State | L 77–78 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | Mabee Center (6,094) Tulsa, OK |
| November 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Tulsa PSO Mayor's Cup | W 87–80 | 4–3 | Mabee Center (1,016) Tulsa, OK |
| December 2, 2021* 7:00 pm, Big 12 Now | | at TCU | L 63–71 | 4–4 | Schollmaier Arena (5,023) Fort Worth, TX |
| December 4, 2021* 7:00 pm | | at Houston Baptist | W 85–67 | 5–4 | Sharp Gymnasium (1,000) Houston, TX |
| December 11, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | L 60–69 | 5–5 | JQH Arena (4,002) Springfield, MO |
| December 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | UT Arlington | W 71–62 | 6–5 | Mabee Center (3,238) Tulsa, OK |
| Summit League regular season ||||||
| December 20, 2021 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | at South Dakota | W 82–73 | 7–5 (1–0) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,516) Vermillion, SD |
| December 22, 2021 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+ | | at South Dakota State | L 76–82 | 7–6 (1–1) | Frost Arena (1,955) Brookings, SD |
| December 30, 2021 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Denver | W 83–66 | 8–6 (2–1) | Mabee Center (2,896) Tulsa, OK |
| January 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Omaha | W 107–62 | 9–6 (3–1) | Mabee Center (2,136) Tulsa, OK |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 pm | | at St. Thomas | W 81–66 | 10–6 (4–1) | Schoenecker Arena (1,241) St. Paul, MN |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 pm | | at Western Illinois | W 87–86 | 11–6 (5–1) | Western Hall (1,022) Macomb, IL |
| January 15, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Kansas City | W 84–72 | 12–6 (6–1) | Swinney Recreation Center (766) Kansas City, MO |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | North Dakota | W 80–76 | 13–6 (7–1) | Mabee Center (3,819) Tulsa, OK |
| January 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | North Dakota State | L 71–72 | 13–7 (7–2) | Mabee Center (4,233) Tulsa, OK |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Omaha | W 100–88 | 14–7 (8–2) | Baxter Arena (1,688) Omaha, NE |
| January 29, 2022 3:00 pm | | at Denver | W 89–80 | 15–7 (9–2) | Hamilton Gymnasium (839) Denver, CO |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Western Illinois | L 85–90 | 15–8 (9–3) | Mabee Center (4,136) Tulsa, OK |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | St. Thomas | W 88–66 | 16–8 (10–3) | Mabee Center (4,412) Tulsa, OK |
| February 12, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | Kansas City | W 91–86 | 17–8 (11–3) | Mabee Center (4,453) Tulsa, OK |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Dakota State | L 59–77 | 17–9 (11–4) | Scheels Center (2,601) Fargo, ND |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 pm | | at North Dakota | W 87–73 | 18–9 (12–4) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,400) Grand Forks, ND |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | South Dakota State | L 102–106 $^{OT}$ | 18–10 (12–5) | Mabee Center (4,894) Tulsa, OK |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ORUSN | | South Dakota | L 87–92 | 18–11 (12–6) | Mabee Center (5,364) Tulsa, OK |
| Summit League tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2022 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) Western Illinois Quarterfinals | W 80–68 | 19–11 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (7,364) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 7, 2022 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (2) North Dakota State Semifinals | L 72–92 | 19–12 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (10,418) Sioux Falls, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources