# 2021–22 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach was Bruce Pearl in his eighth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 28–6, 15–3 in SEC play to finish as regular season champions. As the No. 1 seed, they were defeated by No. 8 seed Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, where they defeated Jacksonville State in the First Round before being upset by Miami in the Second Round.
On January 24, 2022, the team was voted first in the AP poll for the first time in program history, in the midst of a nineteen-game winning streak.

## Previous season

The 2020–21 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team finished the 2020–21 season 13–14, 7–11 in SEC play. Due to a self-imposed postseason ban following former assistant coach Chuck Person's involvement in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal, the Tigers were ineligible to compete in the SEC tournament and the NCAA tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Auburn lost five players from the 2020–21 team. Freshmen Sharife Cooper and JT Thor were selected in the NBA draft, and Javon Franklin, Jamal Johnson, and Justin Powell transferred.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jamal Johnson | 1 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Junior | Birmingham, AL | Transferred to UAB |
| Sharife Cooper | 2 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Freshman | Powder Springs, GA | Declared for NBA draft; selected 48th overall by the Atlanta Hawks. |
| Javon Franklin | 4 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Little Rock, AR | Transferred to South Alabama |
| JT Thor | 10 | F | 6'10" | 205 | Freshman | Anchorage, AK | Declared for NBA draft; selected 37th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. |
| Justin Powell | 24 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Freshman | Prospect, KY | Transferred to Tennessee |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| K. D. Johnson | 0 | G | 6'0" | 204 | Sophomore | Atlanta, GA | Transferred from Georgia |
| Wendell Green Jr. | 1 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Sophomore | Detroit, MI | Transferred from Eastern Kentucky |
| Zep Jasper | 12 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Senior | Augusta, GA | Transferred from College of Charleston |
| Walker Kessler | 13 | F/C | 7'1" | 245 | Sophomore | Newnan, GA | Transferred from North Carolina |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jabari Smith Jr. PF | Fayetteville, GA | Sandy Creek (GA) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 9, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 5, 2021* 7:00 pm | No. 22 | Southern Indiana | W 68–54 | – | 13 – Cambridge | 11 – Smith | 4 – Johnson | Auburn Arena (7,649) Auburn, AL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 22 | Morehead State | W 77–54 | 1–0 | 19 – Green Jr. | 7 – Smith | 4 – Smith | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 22 | Louisiana–Monroe | W 93–65 | 2–0 | 23 – Smith | 10 – Smith | 6 – Jasper | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| November 19, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 21 | at South Florida | W 58–52 | 3–0 | 15 – Johnson | 10 – Smith | 3 – Tied | Amalie Arena (4,040) Tampa, FL |
| November 24, 2021* 1:30 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | vs. No. 22 UConn Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 109–115 $^{2OT}$ | 3–1 | 27 – Johnson | 10 – Kessler | 5 – Green Jr. | Imperial Arena (1,174) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 25, 2021* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | vs. Loyola Chicago Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round | W 62–53 | 4–1 | 14 – Smith | 10 – Kessler | 6 – Jasper | Imperial Arena (804) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 26, 2021* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | vs. Syracuse Battle 4 Atlantis 5th place game | W 89–68 | 5–1 | 22 – Smith | 7 – Williams | 7 – Green Jr. | Imperial Arena (1,136) Nassau, Bahamas |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 21 | UCF | W 85–68 | 6–1 | 20 – Smith | 14 – Kessler | 4 – Tied | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| December 4, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | Yale | W 86–64 | 7–1 | 19 – Johnson | 10 – Cambridge | 6 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| December 11, 2021* 10:30 am, ESPN2 | No. 18 | vs. Nebraska Holiday Hoopsgiving | W 99–68 | 8–1 | 21 – Smith | 7 – Kessler | 6 – Green Jr. | State Farm Arena (8,557) Atlanta, GA |
| December 14, 2021* 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 13 | North Alabama | W 70–44 | 9–1 | 14 – Kessler | 10 – Smith | 6 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| December 18, 2021* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 13 | at Saint Louis | W 74–70 | 10–1 | 19 – Kessler | 9 – Kessler | 8 – Green Jr. | Chaifetz Arena (8,012) Saint Louis, MO |
| December 22, 2021* 5:00 pm, SECN | No. 12 | Murray State | W 71–58 | 11–1 | 13 – Tied | 10 – Tied | 3 – Smith | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| December 29, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | No. 16 LSU | W 70–55 | 12–1 (1–0) | 16 – Tied | 10 – Kessler | 3 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 4, 2022 5:30 pm, SECN | No. 9 | at South Carolina | W 81–66 | 13–1 (2–0) | 22 – Green Jr. | 10 – Kessler | 5 – Green Jr. | Colonial Life Arena (8,528) Columbia, SC |
| January 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | Florida | W 85–73 | 14–1 (3–0) | 23 – Johnson | 8 – Kessler | 4 – Tied | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 11, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | at No. 24 Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball | W 81–77 | 15–1 (4–0) | 25 – Smith | 8 – Johnson | 4 – Green Jr. | Coleman Coliseum (13,474) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 15, 2022 7:30 pm, SECN | No. 4 | at Ole Miss | W 80–71 | 16–1 (5–0) | 20 – Kessler | 10 – Kessler | 7 – Green Jr. | SJB Pavilion (8,657) Oxford, MS |
| January 19, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 2 | Georgia | W 83–60 | 17–1 (6–0) | 15 – Kessler | 7 – Smith | 11 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 22, 2022 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 2 | No. 12 Kentucky | W 80–71 | 18–1 (7–0) | 19 – Kessler | 7 – Tied | 5 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 25, 2022 7:30 pm, SECN | No. 1 | at Missouri | W 55–54 | 19–1 (8–0) | 17 – Johnson | 12 – Kessler | 3 – Green Jr. | Mizzou Arena (10,004) Columbia, MO |
| January 29, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | Oklahoma Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 86–68 | 20–1 | 23 – Smith | 12 – Smith | 4 – Flanigan | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| February 1, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | Alabama Iron Bowl of Basketball | W 100–81 | 21–1 (9–0) | 23 – Green Jr. | 12 – Kessler | 6 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| February 5, 2022 12:00 pm, SECN | No. 1 | at Georgia | W 74–72 | 22–1 (10–0) | 20 – Johnson | 9 – Kessler | 3 – Green Jr. | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| February 8, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | at Arkansas | L 76–80 $^{OT}$ | 22–2 (10–1) | 20 – Smith | 19 – Kessler | 5 – Green Jr. | Bud Walton Arena (20,327) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 12, 2022 11:00 am, ESPN | No. 1 | Texas A&M ESPN College GameDay | W 75–58 | 23–2 (11–1) | 16 – Flanigan | 11 – Tied | 5 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| February 16, 2022 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 2 | Vanderbilt | W 94–80 | 24–2 (12–1) | 31 – Smith | 7 – Tied | 9 – Green Jr. | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | at Florida | L 62–63 | 24–3 (12–2) | 28 – Smith | 7 – Smith | 5 – Green Jr. | O'Connell Center (11,255) Gainesville, FL |
| February 23, 2022 7:30 pm, SECN | No. 3 | Ole Miss | W 77–64 | 25–3 (13–2) | 15 – Tied | 10 – Kessler | 5 – Smith | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| February 26, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | at No. 17 Tennessee | L 62–67 | 25–4 (13–3) | 27 – Smith | 8 – Smith | 4 – Kessler | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| March 2, 2022 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | at Mississippi State | W 81–68 $^{OT}$ | 26–4 (14–3) | 27 – Smith | 10 – Tied | 7 – Green Jr. | Humphrey Coliseum (9,637) Starkville, MS |
| March 5, 2022 12:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | South Carolina | W 82–71 | 27–4 (15–3) | 21 – Smith | 6 – Tied | 7 – Green Jr. | Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2022 11:00 am, ESPN | (1) No. 4 | vs. (8) Texas A&M Quarterfinals | L 62–67 | 27–5 | 17 – Smith | 9 – Tied | 4 – Smith | Amalie Arena (16,094) Tampa, FL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2022* 11:40 am, truTV | (2 MW) No. 8 | vs. (15 MW) Jacksonville State First Round | W 80–61 | 28–5 | 20 – Smith | 14 – Smith | 7 – Smith | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (14,255) Greenville, SC |
| March 20, 2022* 6:45 pm, truTV | (2 MW) No. 8 | vs. (10 MW) Miami (FL) Second Round | L 61–79 | 28–6 | 12 – Tied | 15 – Smith | 5 – Green Jr. | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (14,316) Greenville, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 22 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 2 (36) | 1 (45) | 1 (49) | 1 (48) | 2 (4) | 3 | 5 | 4 | 8 | Not released |
| Coaches | 22 | 22* | 22 | 20 | 21 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 2 (8) | 2 (13) | 1т (16) | 2 (14) | 2 (2) | 4 | 5 | 4 (1) | 7 | 14 |
*No poll released