# 2021–22 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team

The 2021–22 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team represented DePaul University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by first year head coach Tony Stubblefield and played their home games at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Big East Conference.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Demons finished the 2020–21 season 5–14, 2–13 in Big East play to finish in last place. They defeated Providence in the first round of the Big East tournament before losing to UConn in the quarterfinals.
After finishing in last place in the Big East for a fifth consecutive year, the school fired head coach Dave Leitao on March 15, 2021. On April 1, the school named long-time Oregon assistant Stubblefield the team's new head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

DePaul Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Markese Jacobs | 0 | G | 5'11" | 185 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Transferred |
| Romeo Weems | 1 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Detroit, MI | Declare for 2021 NBA draft |
| Jaylen Butz | 2 | F | 6'9" | 224 | Senior | Fort Wayne, IN | Graduate transferred to Western Kentucky |
| Kobe Elvis | 3 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Freshman | Brampton, ON | Transferred to Dayton |
| Keon Edwards | 5 | F | 6'7" | 185 | Freshman | Pasadena, TX | Transferred to Nebraska |
| Ray Salnave | 10 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Senior | Elmont, NY | Graduate transferred to UMBC |
| Charlie Moore | 11 | G | 5'11" | 180 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduate transferred to Miami (FL) |
| Jason Malonga | 12 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Senior | Bolingbrook, IL | Walk-on; graduated |
| Darious Hall | 13 | F | 6'7" | 205 | RS Junior | Little Rock, AR | Transferred to Central Arkansas |
| Oscar Lopez Jr. | 15 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Sophomore | Cypress, CA | Transferred to Central Michigan |
| Pauly Paulicap | 33 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | Elmont, NY | Graduate transferred to West Virginia |
| Pantelis Xidias | 35 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | Michigan City, IN | Walk-on; graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jalen Terry | 3 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Sophomore | Flint, MI | Oregon |
| Philmon Gebrewhit | 5 | G | 6'7" | 190 | RS Junior | Boston, MA | South Plains College |
| Yor Anei | 10 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Senior | Overland Park, KS | SMU |
| Tyon Grant-Foster | 13 | G | 6'7" | 205 | Senior | Kansas City, KS | Kansas |
| Brandon Johnson | 35 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | Minnesota |
| Shaheed Medlock | 55 | G | 6'5" | 196 | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | Georgia Tech |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ahamad Bynum #17 SG | Chicago, IL | Simeon Career Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 17, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 DePaul Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021. "2021 DePaul Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

DePaul experience positive COVID-19 tests prior to its scheduled game against Northwestern on December 18, 2021, resulting in the cancellation of the game.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:30 p.m. | | Montevallo | W 67–63 | – | 15 – Grant-Foster | 12 – Freeman-Liberty | 4 – Freeman-Liberty | Wintrust Arena (2,340) Chicago, IL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2021* 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Coppin State | W 97–72 | 1–0 | 25 – Freeman-Liberty | 17 – Jones | 8 – Freeman-Liberty | Wintrust Arena (2,662) Chicago, IL |
| November 13, 2021* 5:00 p.m., FS2 | | Central Michigan | W 99–66 | 2–0 | 22 – Freeman-Liberty | 9 – Jones | 7 – Freeman-Liberty | Wintrust Arena (2,466) Chicago, IL |
| November 18, 2021* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | Rutgers Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 73–70 | 3–0 | 22 – Jones | 13 – Johnson | 3 – Johnson | Wintrust Arena (2,844) Chicago, IL |
| November 20, 2021* 7:00 p.m., FS2 | | Western Illinois Blue Demon Classic | W 84–80 | 4–0 | 33 – Freeman-Liberty | 11 – Freeman-Liberty | 4 – Freeman-Liberty | Wintrust Arena (2,642) Chicago, IL |
| November 26, 2021* 4:00 p.m., FS2 | | Northern Kentucky Blue Demon Classic | W 77–68 | 5–0 | 20 – Freeman-Liberty | 12 – Freeman-Liberty | 4 – Terry | Wintrust Arena (2,465) Chicago, IL |
| November 28, 2021* 1:00 p.m., FS1 | | Eastern Michigan Blue Demon Classic | W 101–63 | 6–0 | 22 – Freeman-Liberty | 7 – Johnson | 5 – Jones | Wintrust Arena (2,194) Chicago, IL |
| December 4, 2021* 3:00 p.m., FS1 | | Loyola–Chicago | L 64–68 | 6–1 | 19 – Jones | 9 – Jones | 3 – Gebrewhit | Wintrust Arena (6,774) Chicago, IL |
| December 7, 2021* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | Duquesne | W 87–67 | 7–1 | 25 – Freeman-Liberty | 11 – Anei | 5 – Freeman-Liberty | Wintrust Arena (2,442) Chicago, IL |
| December 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Louisville | W 62–55 | 8–1 | 33 – Jones | 14 – Jones | 2 – 3 Tied | KFC Yum! Center (13,127) Louisville, KY |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 72–66 | 9–1 | 27 – Freeman-Liberty | 9 – Jones | 3 – Freeman-Liberty | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,789) Chicago, IL |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 p.m., BTN | | at Northwestern | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Big East regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2021 4:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Butler | L 59–63 | 9–2 (0–1) | 16 – B. Johnson | 12 – B. Johnson | 5 – Freeman-Liberty | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,655) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 1, 2022 2:00 p.m., FOX | | No. 21 Providence | L 53–70 | 9–3 (0–2) | 22 – Freeman-Liberty | 8 – Jones | 2 – Gebrewhit | Wintrust Arena (2,956) Chicago, IL |
| January 5, 2022 5:30 p.m., FS1 | | at St. John's | L 84–89 | 9–4 (0–3) | 24 – Freeman-Liberty | 8 – Terry | 6 – Terry | Carnesecca Arena (3,429) Queens, NY |
| January 8, 2022 1:00 p.m., FOX | | No. 19 Villanova | L 64–79 | 9–5 (0–4) | 34 – Freeman-Liberty | 10 – Johnson | 4 – Terry | Wintrust Arena (3,839) Chicago, IL |
| January 11, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Marquette | L 76–87 | 9–6 (0–5) | 24 – Freeman-Liberty | 11 – Anei | 4 – Gebrewhit | Fiserv Forum (12,106) Milwaukee, WI |
| January 13, 2022 4:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 20 Seton Hall Rescheduled from December 23 | W 96–92 | 10–6 (1–5) | 28 – Terry | 8 – Anei | 2 – 3 Tied | Wintrust Arena (2,255) Chicago, IL |
| January 19, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 20 Xavier | L 67–68 | 10–7 (1–6) | 26 – Jones | 10 – Anei | 8 – Terry | Wintrust Arena (2,947) Chicago, IL |
| January 22, 2022 4:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Creighton | L 47–60 | 10–8 (1–7) | 12 – Terry | 6 – Terry | 3 – Terry | CHI Health Center Omaha (16,854) Omaha, NE |
| January 25, 2022 4:00 p.m., FS1 | | at No. 14 Villanova | L 43–67 | 10–9 (1–8) | 16 – J. Johnson | 6 – Anei | 3 – Terry | Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA |
| January 29, 2022 5:30 p.m., FS1 | | No. 20 UConn | L 50–57 | 10–10 (1–9) | 18 – J. Johnson | 8 – Tied | 2 – Anei | Wintrust Arena (4,376) Chicago, IL |
| February 5, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | at No. 21 Xavier | W 69–65 | 11–10 (2–9) | 21 – McCauley | 8 – Tied | 3 – McCauley | Cintas Center (10,353) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 9, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Georgetown | W 82–74 | 12–10 (3–9) | 22 – Jones | 14 – Jones | 10 – Jones | Wintrust Arena (2,767) Chicago, IL |
| February 12, 2022 5:30 p.m., FS1 | | at No. 11 Providence | L 73–76 $^{OT}$ | 12–11 (3–10) | 19 – Jones | 10 – Jones | 5 – Terry | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,810) Provdience, RI |
| February 15, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | | Butler | L 71–73 | 12–12 (3–11) | 17 – Jones | 9 – Johnson | 4 – Tied | Wintrust Arena (2,687) Chicago, IL |
| February 17, 2022 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Creighton Rescheduled from December 20 | L 59–71 | 12–13 (3–12) | 18 – Freeman-Liberty | 13 – Freeman-Liberty | 2 – Tied | Wintrust Arena (2,561) Chicago, IL |
| February 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Seton Hall | L 64–66 | 12–14 (3–13) | 22 – Freeman-Liberty | 11 – McCauley | 4 – Freeman-Liberty | Prudential Center (9,695) Newark, NJ |
| February 24, 2022 7:05 p.m., CBSSN | | at Georgetown | W 68–65 | 13–14 (4–13) | 25 – Freeman-Liberty | 10 – Johnson | 6 – Terry | Capital One Arena (4,028) Washington, D.C. |
| February 27, 2022 4:00 p.m., FS1 | | St. John's | W 99–94 | 14–14 (5–13) | 39 – Freeman-Liberty | 10 – Jones | 5 – Jones | Wintrust Arena (3,735) Chicago, IL |
| March 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Marquette | W 91–80 | 15–14 (6–13) | 26 – Freeman-Liberty | 9 – Freeman-Liberty | 5 – Freeman-Liberty | Wintrust Arena (6,024) Chicago, IL |
| March 5, 2022 4:00 p.m., FOX | | at No. 18 UConn | L 68–75 | 15–15 (6–14) | 22 – Freeman-Liberty | 8 – Jones | 4 – Terry | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | (10) | vs. (7) St. John's First round | L 73–92 | 15–16 | 17 – Freeman-Liberty | 8 – Ongenda | 5 – Freeman-Liberty | Madison Square Garden (17,163) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source

## Awards and honors
### Big East Conference honors
#### All-Big East Second Team

* Javon Freeman-Liberty
Source