# 2021–22 Baylor Bears men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Baylor Bears men's basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Bears' 116th basketball season. The Bears, members of the Big 12 Conference, played their home games at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. They were led by 19th-year head coach Scott Drew. They finished the season 27–7, 14–4 in Big 12 Play to finish a tie for the regular season championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to Oklahoma. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East Region, where they defeated Norfolk State in the First Round before getting upset in the Second Round by North Carolina.
This was the first season in which the terms "men's" and "women's" are needed to distinguish Baylor's basketball teams. Before this season, Baylor women's basketball had used the nickname "Lady Bears", but on September 3, 2021, the school announced that basketball, soccer, and volleyball, the last three Baylor women's sports still using "Lady", would use only "Bears" from that point forward.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bears finished the 2020–21 season 28–2, 13–1 in Big 12 play to win the regular season championship. In the Big 12 tournament, they defeated Kansas State in the quarterfinals before losing to Oklahoma State in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the South region. The Bears defeated Hartford and Wisconsin to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. They defeated Villanova and Arkansas to advance to the school's first Final Four since 1950. In the Final Four, they defeated Houston to advance to the school's first national championship game. In the championship, they defeated No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga to win the school's first national championship.

## Offseason
### Departures

All players listed as "graduated" had the option to return in 2021–22. The NCAA ruled that the 2020–21 season, dramatically impacted by COVID-19, would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player. Also, declaration for the NBA draft does not necessarily lead to loss of college eligibility. Junior guard Mathew Mayer declared for the NBA draft, but withdrew his name from consideration and returned to Baylor.
Baylor Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Mark Vital | 11 | F/G | 6'5" | 250 | Senior | Lake Charles, LA | Graduated, declared for NBA draft |
| Jared Butler | 12 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Junior | Reserve, LA | Declared for NBA draft |
| MaCio Teague | 31 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduated, declared for NBA draft |
| Mark Paterson | 35 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Graduate Student | Dallas, TX | Graduated |
| Davion Mitchell | 45 | G | 6'2" | 205 | Junior | Hinesville, GA | Declared for NBA draft |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Langston Love SG | Universal City, TX | Montverde Academy (FL) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | Jul 15, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Jeremy Sochan PF | Milton Keynes, EN | OrangeAcademy (GE) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 217 lb (98 kg) | Jul 16, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Kendall Brown SF | Cottage Grove, MN | Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jul 20, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 14 247Sports: 10 ||||||
| 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: "Baylor 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021. "2021 Baylor Bears Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 12, 2021* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 8 | Incarnate Word | W 87–60 | 1–0 | 14 – Mayer | 10 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 6 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (8,895) Waco, TX |
| November 15, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | No. 9 | Nicholls | W 89–60 | 2–0 | 20 – Cryer | 9 – Brown | 10 – Brown | Ferrell Center (9,307) Waco, TX |
| November 17, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 9 | Central Arkansas | W 92–47 | 3–0 | 20 – Cryer | 12 – Sochan | 10 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (6,667) Waco, TX |
| November 20, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 9 | Stanford | W 86–48 | 4–0 | 21 – Cryer | 7 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 11 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (7,048) Waco, TX |
| November 24, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 6 | vs. Arizona State Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinal | W 75–63 | 5–0 | 15 – Cryer | 9 – Sochan | 7 – Akinjo | Imperial Arena (843) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 25, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | vs. VCU Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal | W 69–61 | 6–0 | 15 – Mayer | 8 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 2 – Tied | Imperial Arena (929) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 26, 2021* 10:00 a.m., ESPN | No. 6 | vs. Michigan State Battle 4 Atlantis championship | W 75–58 | 7–0 | 15 – Akinjo | 7 – Mayer | 5 – Tied | Imperial Arena (1,305) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| December 4, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 4 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 99–54 | 8–0 | 20 – Cryer | 13 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 3 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (6,207) Waco, TX |
| December 12, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ABC | No. 2 | No. 6 Villanova Big East–Big 12 Battle | W 57–36 | 9–0 | 16 – Akinjo | 10 – Sochan | 5 – Tied | Ferrell Center (10,264) Waco, TX |
| December 18, 2021* 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | at Oregon | W 78–70 | 10–0 | 17 – Brown | 7 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 6 – Akinjo | Matthew Knight Arena (7,682) Eugene, OR |
| December 20, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 1 | Alcorn State | W 94–57 | 11–0 | 16 – Tied | 9 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 7 – Tied | Ferrell Center (6,923) Waco, TX |
| December 28, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 1 | Northwestern State | W 104–68 | 12–0 | 27 – Akinjo | 11 – Sochan | 11 – Flagler | Ferrell Center (6,516) Waco, TX |
| January 1, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 1 | at No. 8 Iowa State | W 77–72 | 13–0 (1–0) | 16 – Akinjo | 7 – Sochan | 4 – Flagler | Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA |
| January 4, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | Oklahoma | W 84–74 | 14–0 (2–0) | 27 – Akinjo | 6 – Tied | 5 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (7,523) Waco, TX |
| January 8, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 1 | at TCU | W 76–64 | 15–0 (3–0) | 22 – Flagler | 6 – Mayer | 8 – Akinjo | Schollmaier Arena (5,562) Fort Worth, TX |
| January 11, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | No. 19 Texas Tech | L 62–65 | 15–1 (3–1) | 17 – Tied | 10 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 6 – Brown | Ferrell Center (8,569) Waco, TX |
| January 15, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | Oklahoma State | L 54–61 | 15–2 (3–2) | 18 – Cryer | 8 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 3 – Brown | Ferrell Center (8,861) Waco, TX |
| January 18, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 5 | at West Virginia | W 77–68 | 16–2 (4–2) | 25 – Cryer | 8 – Thamba | 7 – Flager | WVU Coliseum (12,692) Morgantown, WV |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 5 | at Oklahoma | W 65–51 | 17–2 (5–2) | 16 – Flagler | 10 – Thamba | 4 – Akinjo | Lloyd Noble Center (11,339) Norman, OK |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 4 | Kansas State | W 74–49 | 18–2 (6–2) | 14 – Cryer | 12 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 5 – Flager | Ferrell Center (8,062) Waco, TX |
| January 29, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | at Alabama Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 78–87 | 18–3 | 17 – Sochan | 8 – Sochan | 7 – Akinjo | Coleman Coliseum (14,474) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 31, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | West Virginia | W 81–77 | 19–3 (7–2) | 25 – Akinjo | 9 – Sochan | 4 – Tied | Ferrell Center (8,226) Waco, TX |
| February 5, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | at No. 10 Kansas | L 59–83 | 19–4 (7–3) | 16 – Flagler | 8 – Brown | 3 – Tied | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 10 | at Kansas State | W 75–60 | 20–4 (8–3) | 21 – Tchamwa Tchatchoua | 7 – Sochan | 8 – Akinjo | Bramlage Coliseum (6,236) Manhattan, KS |
| February 12, 2022 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 | No. 10 | No. 20 Texas | W 80–63 | 21–4 (9–3) | 20 – Flagler | 11 – Thamba | 7 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (10,284) Waco, TX |
| February 16, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 7 | at No. 11 Texas Tech | L 73–83 | 21–5 (9–4) | 18 – Akinjo | 10 – Sochan | 7 – Akinjo | United Supermarkets Arena (14,923) Lubbock, TX |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 7 | TCU | W 72–62 | 22–5 (10–4) | 17 – Sochan | 8 – Thamba | 8 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (10,072) Waco, TX |
| February 21, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 10 | at Oklahoma State | W 66–64 $^{OT}$ | 23–5 (11–4) | 29 – Flagler | 7 – Tied | 4 – Akinjo | Gallagher-Iba Arena (8,701) Stillwater, OK |
| February 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 10 | No. 5 Kansas | W 80–70 | 24–5 (12–4) | 18 – Thamba | 12 – Mayer | 6 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (10,628) Waco, TX |
| February 28, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | at No. 21 Texas | W 68–61 | 25–5 (13–4) | 19 – 2 tied | 8 – Akinjo | 7 – Akinjo | Frank Erwin Center (16,450) Austin, TX |
| March 5, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | Iowa State | W 75–68 | 26–5 (14–4) | 20 – Akinjo | 10 – Brown | 6 – Akinjo | Ferrell Center (9,385) Waco, TX |
| Big 12 Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) No. 3 | vs. (7) Oklahoma Quarterfinals | L 67–72 | 26–6 | 16 – Akinjo | 9 – Sochan | 4 – Flagler | T-Mobile Center (15,805) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2022 1:00 p.m., TBS | (1 E) No. 4 | vs. (16 E) Norfolk State First Round | W 85–49 | 27–6 | 22 – Mayer | 7 – Sochan | 9 – Akinjo | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 19, 2022 11:10 a.m., CBS | (1 E) No. 4 | vs. (8 E) North Carolina Second Round | L 86–93 $^{OT}$ | 27–7 | 27 – Flagler | 11 – Sochan | 5 – Akinjo | Dickies Arena (13,300) Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 (61) | 1 (60) | 1 (61) | 1 (61) | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 3 (4) | 3 (3) | 4 | Not released |
| Coaches | 8 | 8^ | 5 | 4 (1) | 2 (3) | 1 (30) | 1 (32) | 1 (32) | 1 (32) | 6 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 4 (1) | 3 (2) | 4 | 9 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings. ^Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.