2021–22 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 12th-year head coach Russell Turner.

2021–22 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	15–10 (9–5 Big West)
Head coach	Russell Turner (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Ryan Badrtalei Michael Wilder Alex Young
Captains	Collin Welp Ofure Ujadughele
Home arena	Bren Events Center (Capacity: 5,000)
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

See also: 2020–21 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The team finished the season with an 18–9 (10–4) record finishing 2nd place in the standings and advanced to the 2021 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament where they were defeated by UC Santa Barbara 63–79. The Anteaters continued their success finishing 1st or 2nd for 7 straight seasons in the Big West Conference and 4 straight Big West tournament Championship games (the 2020 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The school set a new scoring record and the largest margin of victory (80) on November 28, 2020 over NCCAA opponent Bethesda University by the score of 135–55. Also new school records broken in that game were assists (31) and FGs made (56). New Bren Events Center records broken were the most points scored in a first half (70) and game FG % (0.691).^[1]

Roster

2021–22 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 JC Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr The Prairie School Racine, Wisconsin G 1 Dawson Baker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Capistrano Valley High School Coto de Caza, California G 2 Justin Hohn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Tea High Sioux Falls, South Dakota G 3 Devin Tillis   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Windward High Los Angeles, California G 4 Andre Henry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Saint Francis High School La Cañada Flintridge, California G 5 Isaiah Lee 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Australian Institute of Sport Sydney, NSW, Australia G 10 Ofure Ujadughele (W,C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Chino Hills High School Chino Hills, California F 11 Hunter Ruck 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Rancho Solano Prep Scottsdale, Arizona G 13 Austin Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Link Year Prep/Wheeler High School Marietta, Georgia C 15 Bent Leuchten 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 258 lb (117 kg) Fr Josef-Effner Gymnasium Karlsfeld, Bavaria, Germany G 21 Langston Redfield (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Capistrano Valley High School Mission Viejo, California G 22 DJ Davis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Riverside Polytechnic High School Moreno Valley, California F 25 Emmanuel Tshimanga 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) RS So Bella Vista Prep Scottsdale, Arizona F 31 Dean Keeler 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Marina High School Westminster, California F 40 Collin Welp (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Seattle Preparatory School Seattle, Washington F 43 Akiva McBirney-Griffin   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr St John's College, Hamilton Hamilton, New Zealand	Head coach Russell Turner (Hampden–Sydney) Assistant coach(es) Ryan Badrtalei (UCLA) Michael Wilder (UC Irvine) Alex Young (UC Irvine) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: 23 September 2021

Source^[2]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 05, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Dominguez Hills	W 84–59	–	15 – Davis	6 – Johnson	6 – Hohn	Bren Events Center (1,114) Irvine, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 09, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at New Mexico State	L 51–62	0–1	13 – Welp	7 – Hohn	1 – Tied	Pan American Center (5,056) Las Cruces, NM
November 13, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Boise State	W 58–50	1–1	11 – Welp	8 – Johnson	6 – Welp	Bren Events Center (2,197) Irvine, CA
November 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		La Verne	W 100–41	2–1	18 – Butler	7 – Ujadughele	8 – Lee	Bren Events Center (987) Irvine, CA
November 20, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Pepperdine	W 82–48	3–1	19 – Baker	7 – Johnson	4 – Welp	Bren Events Center (1,641) Irvine, CA
November 27, 2021* 4:30 pm, WCC Network		at Santa Clara	W 69–64	4–1	17 – Welp	10 – Welp	4 – Hohn	Leavey Center (834) Santa Clara, CA
December 03, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Bethesda	W 86–54	5–1	15 – Henry	12 – Johnson	3 – Henry	Bren Events Center (866) Irvine, CA
December 11, 2021* 4:00 pm, MW Network		at Fresno State	L 55–63	5–2	16 – Davis	8 – Johnson	3 – Tied	Save Mart Center (4,501) Fresno, CA
December 15, 2021* 6:00 pm, P12N		at No. 10 USC	L 61–66	5–3	24 – Welp	9 – Johnson	2 – Davis	Galen Center (3,253) Los Angeles, CA
December 19, 2021* 10:00 am		vs. Duquesne	L 54–76	5–4	14 – Tshimanga	4 – Tied	5 – Hohn	LeBron James Arena (211) Akron, OH
December 21, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN3		at Buffalo	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues.					Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY
Big West regular season
December 30, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		CSUN	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.					Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
January 01, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Santa Barbara	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.					Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
January 06, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Davis	Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.					University Credit Union Center  Davis, CA
January 08, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Riverside	W 68–51	6–4 (1–0)	30 – Welp	8 – Welp	4 – Davis	SRC Arena (0) Riverside, CA
January 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UC San Diego	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.					Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
January 13, 2022 10:00 pm, Spectrum OC16, ESPN+		at Hawaiʻi	L 56–72	6–5 (1–1)	11 – Welp	8 – Welp	2 – Welp	Stan Sheriff Center (3,245) Honolulu, HI
January 20, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	L 63–65	6–6 (1–2)	19 – Davis	9 – Johnson	6 – Lee	Bren Events Center (931) Irvine, CA
January 22, 2022* 1:00 pm, SNLA, ESPN+		at Long Beach State	L 67–73	6–7 (1–3)	20 – Welp	11 – Welp	3 – Hohn	Walter Pyramid (982) Long Beach, CA
January 27, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	W 57–52	7–7 (2–3)	11 – Johnson	5 – Tied	3 – Hohn	Bren Events Center (790) Irvine, CA
January 29, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal Poly	W 72–48	8–7 (3–3)	13 – Hohn	6 – Tshimanga	2 – Welp	Bren Events Center (1,532) Irvine, CA
February 03, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Santa Barbara	W 53–52	9–7 (4–3)	17 – Welp	8 – Welp	4 – Butler	The Thunderdome (999) Santa Barbara, CA
February 05, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at CSUN	W 75–70	10–7 (5–3)	24 – Baker	9 – Welp	3 – Ujadughele	Matadome (300) Northridge, CA
February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Riverside	W 66–56	11–7 (6–3)	15 – Welp	13 – Welp	3 – Davis	Bren Events Center (1,364) Irvine, CA
February 12, 2022 7:30 pm, ESPN+		UC Davis	Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.					Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
February 15, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC San Diego	W 56–50	12–7	14 – Davis	9 – Johnson	4 – Welp	RIMAC Arena (1,753) La Jolla, CA
February 19, 2022 1:00 pm, SNLA ESPN+		Hawaiʻi	W 77–52	13–7 (7–3)	18 – Welp	13 – Welp	2 – Tied	Bren Events Center (1,529) Irvine, CA
February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Fullerton	L 64–66	13–9 (7–4)	17 – Welp	5 – Tied	3 – Baker	Titan Gym (1,013) Fullerton, CA
February 26, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPNU		Long Beach State	W 77–72	14–8 (8–4)	18 – Baker	7 – Welp	7 – Hohn	Bren Events Center (2,480) Irvine, CA
March 03, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal Poly	L 54–65	14–9 (8–5)	18 – Baker	5 – Lee	3 – Davis	Mott Athletics Center (1,868) San Luis Obispo, CA
March 05, 2022 1:00 pm, SNLA, ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	W 66–61	15–9 (9–5)	24 – Davis	8 – Johnson	2 – Tied	Icardo Center (1,323) Bakersfield, CA
Big West tournament
March 10, 2022 2:30 pm, ESPN+	(4)	vs. (5) UC Santa Barbara Quarterfinals	L 69–78	15–10	17 – Welp	8 – Welp	2 – Tied	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source^[3]

References

1. "2020–21 MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
2. "2021–22 Men's Basketball Roster". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
3. "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved September 23, 2021.