Year: | 2021–22 |
Ac1 Year: | 3rd |
Prev Year: | 2020–21 |
Tourney: | NIT |
Tourney Result: | Quarterfinals |
Stadium: | Marriott Center (Capacity: 18,987) |
Ac3 Year: | 3rd |
Asst Coach3: | Nick Robinson |
Ac2 Year: | 3rd |
Asst Coach2: | Cody Fueger |
Asst Coach1: | Chris Burgess |
Team: | BYU Cougars |
Hc Year: | 3rd |
Head Coach: | Mark Pope |
Conference: | West Coast Conference |
Short Conf: | WCC |
Record: | 24–11 |
Conf Record: | 9–6 |
Sport: | Basketball |
Next Year: | 2022–23 |
The 2021–22 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was head coach Mark Pope's third season as BYU's head coach and the Cougars eleventh season as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC). The Cougars played their home games at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. They finished the season 24-11, 9-6 in WCC Play to finish in 5th place. They defeated Loyola Marymount in the Second Round of the WCC tournament before losing in the Third Round to San Francisco. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Long Beach State and Northern Iowa to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Washington State.
See main article: 2020–21 BYU Cougars men's basketball team. The Cougars finished the 2020–21 season 20–7, 10–3 in West Coast Conference play to finish in second place. As the Number 2 seed in the WCC Tournament, they lost to Gonzaga in the finals.[1] BYU received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a Number 6 seed.[2] UCLA defeated BYU in the first round of the tournament 73–62.[3]
Matt Haarms and Brandon Averette waived their additional season of eligibility due to coronavirus and joined professional teams in Europe. Wyatt Lowell, Kolby Lee and Connor Harding all transferred to other Utah colleges and universities. Due to injuries, Jesse Wade graduated early and decided to forgo additional years of college eligibility and end his college basketball career. In mid-July, media reports indicated that Brandon Warr had decided to leave the team to focus on school and that Cameron Pearson had decided to transfer from BYU.
Wyatt Lowell | 1 | F | 6'10" | 205 | Junior | Gilbert, Arizona | Transferred to Snow College[4] [5] | |
Brandon Warr | 2 | F | 6'5" | 210 | Senior | Salt Lake City, Utah | Left team to focus on school[6] | |
Matt Haarms | 3 | C | 7'3" | 250 | Senior | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Joined professional club in Germany Skyliners Frankfurt[7] | |
Brandon Averette | 4 | G | 5'11" | 185 | Senior | Richardson, Texas | Joined professional club in Cyprus AEL Limassol B.C.[8] | |
Jesse Wade | 10 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Sophomore | Kaysville, Utah | Graduated early[9] | |
Cameron Pearson | 15 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Redshirt Sophomore | Lakewood, Colorado | Graduated | |
Kolby Lee | 40 | F | 6'9" | 260 | Junior | Meridian, Idaho | Transferred to Dixie State and then retired in August[10] [11] | |
Connor Harding | 44 | G | 6"6" | 185 | Junior | Pocatello, Idaho | Transferred to Utah Valley[12] |
Two players joined the roster after entering the transfer portal during the offseason. Te'Jon Lucas was recruited by Utah, Nevada, DePaul and New Mexico State but committed to BYU on May 19. He is a redshirt senior and has one year of eligibility due to COVID-19 eligibility extension.[13] On July 19, Seneca Knight announced he had committed to BYU after two full seasons at San Jose State and transferring to LSU mid-season. He is a junior and was also considering transferring to Georgia Southern and Idaho.[14] On September 24, Knight received a waiver from the NCAA is will be eligible to play for the 2021–22 season.[15]
Te'Jon Lucas | 3 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Redshirt Senior | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Wisconsin, Milwaukee & Illinois | 1 | October 1, 2021 | Scholarship | 3-star | 3-star | 3-star | 79 | |
Seneca Knight | 24 | G | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Lafayette, Louisiana | LSU & San Jose State | 2 | October 1, 2021 | Scholarship | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Four returned missionaries were added to the roster for the 2021–22 season. Nate Hansen and Trey Stewart will hold scholarship positions while Casey Brown and Jeremy DowDell will join as preferred walk-ons. Each of the four players have four years of eligibility remaining.[16] [17]
Trey Stewart | 1 | G | 6'3" | 195 | 2019–20 & 2020–21 | England & Washington[18] | American Fork, UT | American Fork | 4 | 2019 | N/A | N/A | 4-star | 80 | |
Jeremy DowDell | 2 | G | 6'3" | 180 | 2019–20 & 2020–21 | Argentina & Houston[19] | Salt Lake City, UT | Olympus | 4 | 2019 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Nate Hansen | 10 | G | 6'3" | 165 | 2019–20 & 2020–21 | Arkansas | Provo, UT | Timpview | 4 | 2019 | 3-star | 3-star | N/A | N/A | |
Casey Brown | 55 | G | 6'3" | 175 | 2019–20 & 2020–21 | Argentina & San Jose[20] | Pleasant Grove, UT | Pleasant Grove | 4 | 2019 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Six players committed to BYU are completing missionary service during the 2021–22 season. Four of these players - Dallin Hall, Tanner Hayhurst, Richie Saunders and Tanner Toolson will complete their service during the season and will join the roster for the 2022–23 season. Townsend Tripple delayed his missionary assignment to Argentina and was part of the roster during the 2020–21 season.[21] Jake Wahlin was part of the 2021 recruiting class and plans to complete a mission trip and join the team for the 2023–24 season.
Dallin Hall | – | G | 6'3" | 180 | 2020–21 & 2021–22 | Philippines[22] | Ogden, Utah | Fremont High School | 4 | 2020 | 3-star | 3-star | N/A | N/A | |
Tanner Hayhurst | – | G | 6'6" | 175 | 2020–21 & 2021–22 | Louisiana[23] | Eagle, Idaho | Eagle High School | 4 | 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Richie Saunders | – | G | 6'5" | 180 | 2020–21 & 2021–22 | Washington & Madagascar[24] | Mount Pleasant, Utah | Wasatch Academy | 4 | 2020 | 3-star | 3-star | N/A | N/A | |
Tanner Toolson | – | G | 6'5" | 185 | 2020–21 & 2021–22 | Florida[25] | Vancouver, Washington | Union High School | 4 | 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Townsend Tripple | 24 | F | 6'8" | 200 | 2021–22 & 2022–23 | Argentina[26] | Meridian, Idaho | Rocky Mountain High School | 4 | 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Jake Wahlin | – | F | 6'8" | 195 | 2021–22 & 2022–23 | Lithuania[27] | Provo, Utah | Timpview High School | 4 | 2021 | 3-star | 3-star | 3-star | 75 |
Jake Wahlin committed to BYU in early September and officially signed on November 11, 2020.[28] Wahlin was recruited by Arizona State, San Diego State and New Mexico as well as other schools.[29] He plans to complete a mission trip and join the team for the 2023–24 season. In addition, forward Fousseyni Traore from Wasatch Academy signed with the Cougars on November 19, over schools such as Seton Hall and Utah State. He will join the program for the 2021–22 season.[30] Atiki Ally Atiki, from the London Basketball Academy in Ontario, Canada, verbally committed to BYU on February 15, 2021, and will also join the program for the 2021–22 season.[31] On August 8, 2021, Paora Winitana, from American Heritage School in Utah, committed to BYU as a walk-on. He plans to complete a mission after one year on the team.[32]
Collin Chandler committed and signed with BYU on November 10, 2021.[33] Chandler was recruited by Utah, Arizona, Stanford, and Utah State. He will go on a mission and enroll at BYU in 2024. He is the highest ranked BYU recruit since Eric Mika in 2013.[34] Adam Stewart committed to BYU after being recruited since 7th grade. He will be a walk-on starting with the 2024–25 season after completing a mission to Paris, France.[35] Braeden Moore committed to BYU after he had originally committed in 2021 to play at Rutgers. He was recruited by Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Arizona State, Houston, San Diego State, and Auburn.[36]
Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant return to call men's basketball for the 2021–22 season. Jason Shepherd will act as the host for most games, though Ben Bagley will fill-in for Shepherd when he has women's soccer, baseball, or college basketball duties. Terry Nashif will fill-in for Durrant on a select number of games. Jarom Jordan filled-in for Wrubell Nov. 20 against Central Methodist when Wrubell had football duties, and Shepherd filled-in against Missouri State (Dec. 4) and Weber State (Dec. 18) when Greg had College Cup and Independence Bowl duties. Tyson Jex filled in for Durrant against Creighton (Dec. 11) after weather conditions prevented Durrant from making it to South Dakota.
Affiliates:[37]
In September 2019, the West Coast Conference (WCC) agreed to a multi-year deal through the 2026–27 season with ESPN and the CBS Sports Network to broadcast numerous basketball games each year. Previously, the WCC had an agreement with ESPN, but the new agreement adds additional television coverage of basketball games through the CBS Sports Network. Games broadcast on the CBS Sports Network are carried on channel 158 on the Dish Network, channel 221 on DirecTV and channel 269 on Xfinity. Under the terms of the deal, ESPN will broadcast 17 games during the regular season and the CBS Sports Network will broadcast a minimum of 9 games. ESPN will continue to broadcast the quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship game of the WCC tournament.[38] BYU maintains the rights to broadcast home games on BYUtv (11.1 in Salt Lake City, Utah, channel 374 on the Dish Network, and channel 4369/9403 on DirecTV).[39] Meanwhile, Stadium broadcasts will be simulcast on KJZZ or KMYU. The broadcasts became even more important after Sinclair sold KSTU, causing Stadium to leave the Digital 3 station.
Series Histories are adjusted for the second consecutive season. On the series history the 47 wins the NCAA had BYU forfeit during the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons aren't indicated. The forfeits are not added to the loss column. They are merely struck from the win column.[40] All rankings are from the AP poll unless specifically indicated otherwise.
----Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: First Meeting
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 49–26
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Oregon leads 14–9
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Sean Farnham
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: First Meeting
Broadcasters: Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 3–0
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 132–129
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Don MacLean
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 4–1
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Series even 1–1
Broadcasters: John Sadak & Tim Doyle
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 143–92
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 6–3
Broadcasters: Telly Hughes & Shon Morris
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 33–11
Broadcasters: Dave Fox, Lance Allred, & Tim LaComb
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 1–0
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Corey Williams
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Vanderbilt leads 1–0
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Corey Williams
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 6–3
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Corey Williams
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 1–0
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Kristen Kozlowski & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 12–6
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Series even 16–16
Broadcasters: Eric Rothman & Sean Farnham
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Gonzaga leads 21–5
Broadcasters: Dave Flemming & Jay Bilas
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 21–9
Broadcasters: Chris Lewis & Steve Lappas
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 15–6
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 21–2
Broadcasters: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler, & Spencer Linton
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 28–6
Broadcasters: Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 13–6
Broadcasters: Eric Rothman & Richie Schueler
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 22–9
Broadcasters: John Sadak & Bob Wenzel
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Gonzaga leads 22–5
Broadcasters: Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham, & Molly McGrath
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 14–4
Broadcasters: Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 16–10
Broadcasters: Rich Waltz & Steve Wolf
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 17–16
Broadcasters: Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 15–4
Broadcasters: John Sadak, Chris Walker, & John Hollinger
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 17–10
Broadcasters: Eric Rothman & Dane Bradshaw
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 16–4
Broadcasters: Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 22–10
Broadcasters: Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 6–5
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Corey Williams
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: BYU leads 1–0
Broadcasters: Roxy Bernstein & Corey Williams
Starting Lineups:
----Series History: Series even 5–5
Broadcasters: Dave Feldman & Perry Clark
Starting Lineups:
See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
^The Coaches poll did not release a week 1 ranking.
For the upcoming 2022–23 season, BYU is scheduled to play the following non-conference opponents:
For additional BYU sports info,
See also: 2021 BYU Cougars football team, 2021 BYU Cougars women's volleyball team, 2021 BYU Cougars women's soccer team, 2021–22 BYU Cougars women's basketball team, 2022 BYU Cougars men's volleyball team, 2022 BYU Cougars baseball team and 2022 BYU Cougars softball team.