2021–22 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

2021–22 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
SEC regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 8
Record28–6 (15–3 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaNeville Arena[a]
Seasons
2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Auburn 15 – 3   .833 28 – 6   .824
No. 16 Kentucky 14 – 4   .778 26 – 8   .765
No. 15 Tennessee † 14 – 4   .778 27 – 8   .771
No. 8 Arkansas 13 – 5   .722 28 – 9   .757
LSU 9 – 9   .500 22 – 12   .647
Alabama 9 – 9   .500 19 – 14   .576
South Carolina 9 – 9   .500 18 – 13   .581
Texas A&M 9 – 9   .500 27 – 13   .675
Florida 9 – 9   .500 20 – 14   .588
Mississippi State 8 – 10   .444 18 – 16   .529
Vanderbilt 7 – 11   .389 19 – 17   .528
Missouri 5 – 13   .278 12 – 21   .364
Ole Miss 4 – 14   .222 13 – 19   .406
Georgia 1 – 17   .056 6 – 26   .188
† 2022 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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[a] 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.[1]

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

College recruiting information
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 
Star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96

Roster

2021–22 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 K. D. Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 204 lb (93 kg) So Hargrave Military/Georgia Atlanta, GA
G 1 Wendell Green Jr. 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So La Lumiere School/Eastern Kentucky Detroit, MI
F 2 Jaylin Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Brantley County Nahunta, GA
F 5 Chris Moore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So West Memphis West Memphis, AR
F 10 Jabari Smith Jr. 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Sandy Creek Fayetteville, GA
G 12 Zep Jasper 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Laney High School/College of Charleston Augusta, GA
C 13 Walker Kessler 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Woodward Academy/North Carolina Newnan, GA
G 14 Preston Cook 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Auburn Auburn, AL
G 20 Carter Sobera (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Mountain Brook Birmingham, AL
F 21 Ty Cressman (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Jr Bishop McGuinness Greensboro, NC
G 22 Allen Flanigan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Parkview Magnet Little Rock, AR
C 23 Babatunde Akingbola 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr McEachern Ogun, Nigeria
G 24 Lior Berman (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Mountain Brook Birmingham, AL
G 25 Chandler Leopard (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Athens Athens, AL
G 31 Michael Whitmore (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Woodward Academy Dunwoody, GA
G 33 Chase Maasdorp (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr The Out-of-Door Academy Lakewood Ranch, FL
G 35 Devan Cambridge 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Hillcrest Prep Nashville, TN
C 44 Dylan Cardwell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So McEachern Augusta, GA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: September 21, 2021

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[a] (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.

[2] [3]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP2221192118131211942 (36)1 (45)1 (49)1 (48)2 (4)3548Not released
Coaches2222*222021141211942 (8)2 (13)1т (16)2 (14)2 (2)454 (1)714

*No poll released

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Auburn Arena was renamed Neville Arena on March 4, 2022.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Auburn No. 1 for first time in history of AP poll". ESPN.com. January 24, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "Auburn announces 2021-22 non-conference schedule".
  3. ^ "SEC announces 2021-22 men's basketball league schedule".
  4. ^ "Auburn Arena to be renamed Neville Arena on March 4".