2021–22 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the University of California, Riverside in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by second-year head coach Mike Magpayo, played their home games at the on-campus Student Recreation Center Arena^[a] in Riverside, California, and competed as members of the Big West Conference.

2021–22 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	16–12 (9–6 Big West)
Head coach	Mike Magpayo (2nd season)
Associate head coach	Michael Czepil (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Michael Lecak (3rd season) Rob Jones (1st season)
Home arena	SRC Arena (Capacity: 3,168)
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big West men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Long Beach State	12	–	3		.800			20	–	13		.606
Cal State Fullerton †	11	–	4		.733			21	–	11		.656
Hawai'i	10	–	5		.667			17	–	11		.607
UC Irvine	9	–	5		.643			15	–	10		.600
UC Santa Barbara	8	–	5		.615			17	–	11		.607
UC Riverside	9	–	6		.600			16	–	12		.571
UC Davis	5	–	6		.455			13	–	11		.542
UC San Diego*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Cal State Northridge	3	–	13		.188			7	–	23		.233
Cal State Bakersfield	2	–	12		.143			8	–	19		.296
Cal Poly	2	–	12		.143			7	–	21		.250
* ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament and 2022 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings
† 2022 Big West tournament winner

Previous season

Main article: 2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team

UCR finished 14–8, including an 8–4 record in conference play, during Magpayo's first season at the helm in 2020–21. After finishing third in the regular-season Big West Conference standings, the Highlanders defeated Hawaiʻi in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament before being eliminated in the semifinals by UC Irvine. Their .636 winning percentage on the season was UCR's best single-season mark since the program transitioned to Division I in 2001.^[1]

Preseason

Prior to the season, the future of the men's basketball program was placed into doubt, as UC Riverside's leadership were considering cutting the university's entire athletics department in response to financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in May 2021, the university announced that they had decided against eliminating athletics and will continue competing at the NCAA Division I level in all sports,^[2][3] thus saving the men's basketball program from extinction.

Roster

For the second straight season, over half of UC Riverside's roster consists, curiously, of players who are from either Australia or New Zealand.

2021–22 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Dragan Elkaz 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Westfields Sports HS Green Valley, NSW, Australia F 1 J. P. Moorman II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Temple Greensboro, NC G 2 Quinton Ford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Copperas Cove HS Copperas Cove, TX G 3 Kobe Jerome 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Blue Ridge School New Rochelle, NY F 4 Daniel Mading 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr San Jacinto CC Perth, WA, Australia G 5 Zyon Pullin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr College Park HS Pleasant Hill, CA G 10 Jeffrey Ofoedu 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Suzanne Cory HS Melbourne, VIC, Australia G 11 Flynn Cameron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr DePaul Auckland, New Zealand C 12 Jhaylon Martinez 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS Fr UNLV Vallejo, CA G 14 Wil Tattersall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Center of Excellence Melbourne, VIC, Australia G 22 Dominick Pickett (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Rancho Verde HS Moreno Valley, CA F 23 Angus McWilliam 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr TCU Christchurch, New Zealand G 24 Jaylen Cross 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Culver City HS Melbourne, VIC, Australia C 25 Callum McRae 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 295 lb (134 kg) RS Jr Palmerston North Boys HS Palmerston North, New Zealand G/F 40 Niyi Olabode 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Fr Miramonte HS Orinda, CA	Head coach Mike Magpayo (UC Santa Barbara) Assistant coach(es) Michael Czepil (Nicholls) Michael Lecak (Pittsburgh) Rob Jones (Saint Mary's) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: 12 December 2021

Source:^[4]

Schedule and results

On November 11, the Highlanders upset Pac-12 school Arizona State on the road, 66–65. As time expired in the game, forward J. P. Moorman II sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer from past half-court to stun the Sun Devils in what a USA Today opinion piece called "one of college basketball's shining moments" and "perhaps the shot of the year".^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2021* 2:00 p.m.		Cal State Los Angeles	W 90–56	–	17 – Pullin	11 – Pullin	9 – Pullin	SRC Arena (247) Riverside, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., YurView		at San Diego State	L 53–66	0–1	13 – McRae	5 – Tied	4 – Tied	Viejas Arena (11,729) San Diego, CA
November 11, 2021* 5:30 p.m., P12N		at Arizona State	W 66–65	1–1	18 – Cameron	11 – Moorman II	8 – Pullin	Desert Financial Arena (7,594) Tempe, AZ
November 14, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		La Sierra	W 72–54	2–1	18 – Tattersall	12 – McRae	5 – Pullin	SRC Arena (285) Riverside, CA
November 17, 2021* 7:30 p.m., WCC Network		at San Diego	L 62–74	2–2	20 – Pullin	10 – Pullin	4 – McRae	Jenny Craig Pavilion (958) San Diego, CA
November 20, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bethesda Homecoming	W 95–57	3–2	18 – Tied	11 – Martinez	8 – Pullin	SRC Arena (577) Riverside, CA
November 22, 2021* 6:00 p.m., CUSA.tv		at UTEP Golden Turkey Classic	W 52–40	4–2	14 – Moorman II	10 – McRae	2 – Tied	Don Haskins Center (4,037) El Paso, TX
November 26, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Florida A&M Golden Turkey Classic	W 60–49	5–2	17 – Pullin	16 – McRae	5 – Pullin	SRC Arena (212) Riverside, CA
November 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network		at Saint Mary's	L 50–67	5–3	12 – Pullin	6 – Pullin	3 – Pullin	University Credit Union Pavilion (2,594) Moraga, CA
December 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., P12N		at Oregon	L 65–71	5–4	15 – Pickett	7 – Pullin	5 – Pullin	Matthew Knight Arena (5,739) Eugene, OR
December 12, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal Baptist	W 70–54	6–4	19 – Moorman II	14 – McRae	5 – Pullin	SRC Arena (884) Riverside, CA
December 19, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Sacramento State	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					SRC Arena  Riverside, CA
December 22, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+		Idaho	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					SRC Arena  Riverside, CA
Big West regular season
December 28, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Davis	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					University Credit Union Center  Davis, CA
January 1, 2022 10:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Hawaiʻi	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
January 6, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC San Diego	W 59–51	7–4	13 – Cameron	12 – Pickett	3 – Pickett	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
January 8, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Irvine	L 51–68	7–5 (0–1)	16 – Moorman II	6 – McRae	5 – McRae	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
January 13, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal Poly	W 57–46	8–5 (1–1)	13 – Pullin	8 – Cameron	4 – Pullin	Mott Athletics Center (1,263) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 15, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	W 65–64	9–5 (2–1)	18 – Pickett	10 – McRae	5 – Pickett	Icardo Center (486) Bakersfield, CA
January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Santa Barbara	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols					The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at CSUN	W 77–67	10–5 (3–1)	22 – Tattersall	7 – Pullin	8 – Pullin	Matadome (0) Northridge, CA
January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Long Beach State	L 62–68	10–6 (3–2)	23 – Pullin	11 – McRae	5 – Pullin	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
January 29, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	W 67–54	11–6 (4–2)	18 – Pickett	8 – McRae	3 – Pullin	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
February 1, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Davis	L 60–65	11–7 (4–3)	12 – Pickett	9 – Tattersall	3 – Pickett	SRC Arena (415) Riverside, CA
February 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		Hawaiʻi	W 64–59	12–7 (5–3)	19 – Pullin	9 – Pullin	3 – McRae	SRC Arena (1,117) Riverside, CA
February 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Irvine	L 56–66	12–8 (5–4)	14 – Pickett	8 – McRae	3 – Pickett	Bren Events Center (1,364) Irvine, CA
February 12, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC San Diego	L 62–85	12–9	18 – Pickett	5 – Pickett	3 – Cameron	RIMAC Arena (724) La Jolla, CA
February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	W 79–69	13–9 (6–4)	21 – Pickett	7 – McRae	7 – McRae	SRC Arena (635) Riverside, CA
February 19, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal Poly	W 78–58	14–9 (7–4)	19 – Pullin	10 – McRae	7 – McRae	SRC Arena (427) Riverside, CA
February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		CSUN	W 79–57	15–9 (8–4)	15 – Elkaz	13 – McRae	5 – Pullin	SRC Arena (576) Riverside, CA
February 26, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Santa Barbara	L 90–97 ^2OT	15–10 (8–5)	32 – McRae	11 – McRae	6 – Pullin	SRC Arena (1,004) Riverside, CA
March 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Cal State Fullerton	W 75–72	16–10 (9–5)	15 – Pullin	6 – Pullin	8 – Pullin	Titan Gym (1,050) Fullerton, CA
March 5, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Long Beach State	L 72–73 ^OT	16–11 (9–6)	24 – Pullin	10 – McRae	7 – Pullin	Walter Pyramid (1,824) Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
March 10, 2022 8:30 p.m., ESPN+	(6)	vs. (3) Hawaiʻi Quarterfinals	L 67–68	16–12	23 – Pullin	6 – Tied	5 – Pullin	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific.

Sources:^[5][6]

Notes

1. The arena is part of a larger athletics complex called the UC Riverside Student Recreation Center, commonly known as "The SRC."

References

1. "UC-Riverside Highlanders School History". sports-reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
2. Medcalf, Myron (May 6, 2021). "UC Riverside won't cut sports, will remain at Division I level despite pandemic". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
3. Wolken, Dan (November 12, 2021). "Opinion: From brink of program elimination, UC-Riverside authors one of college basketball's shining moments". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
4. "2021-22 Men's Basketball Roster". University of California, Riverside. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
5. "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of California, Riverside. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
6. "UC Riverside Highlanders Schedule 2021-22". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.