The 2021–22 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by Tommy Lloyd in his 1st season as a head coach. This was the Wildcats' 48th season at the on-campus McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, and 43rd season as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished with a record of 33–4, 18–2 in Pac-12 play to win the regular season and Pac-12 tournament championship. During the season, Arizona was invited and participated in the Roman Main Event in Paradise, Nevada. Arizona defeated Wichita State and Michigan to finish in a championship game. In the postseason, Arizona defeated Stanford, and Colorado and UCLA in the championship game of the 2022 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament in Paradise, Nevada, their 8th overall. The Wildcats were invited and participated in the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where they defeated Wright State and TCU in San Diego, California but lost to Houston in San Antonio, TX in the Sweet Sixteen.
Previous season The Wildcats finished the 2020–21 season 17–9, 11–9 in Pac-12 play to finish in fifth place. Due to a self-imposed one-year NCAA ban, the Wildcats did not participate in the Pac-12 tournament or the NCAA tournament.
On April 7, 2021, after 12 seasons and amid the continuing corruption scandal, the school fired head coach Sean Miller.
Offseason
Coaching changes Miller was fired on April 7, 2021, claiming the program has incredibly high standards to have success on and off the court. Following Sean Miller's departure from Arizona, Arizona hired longtime Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd.
Departures Arizona coaching changes Sean Miller Pittsburgh (1992) Head coach Xavier Danny Peters Ohio State (2010) Assistant coach Assistant coach (Xavier) Jason Terry Arizona (1999) Assistant coach Head coach (Grand Rapids Gold – NBA G League) Justin Coleman Arizona (2019) Graduate assistant Assistant coach (Tennessee Tech) Anthony Richards Le Moyne College (2018) Director of student-athlete development Director of men's basketball operations (Holy Cross) David Miller Arizona (2015) Recruiting coordinator Assistant coach (San Jose State)
Additions to staff Arizona coaching changes Tommy Lloyd Whitman (1998) Associate head coach (Gonzaga) Arizona (head coach) Riccardo Fois Pepperdine (2008) Director of player development (Phoenix Suns) Arizona (assistant coach) Steve Robinson Radford (1981) Assistant coach (North Carolina) Arizona (assistant coach)
Transfers Due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled in October 2020 that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player, thus giving all players the option to return in 2021–22. Additionally, any players who had declared for the 2021 NBA draft—including seniors, who must opt into this year's draft—had the option to return if they made a timely withdrawal from the draft and ended any pre-draft relationships with agents. Thus, separate lists would initially be maintained for confirmed and potential departures.
Outgoing transfers Arizona outcoming transfers Terrell Brown Jr. G 6'3" 185 Graduate senior Seattle, WA Elected to transfer to Washington Ira Lee F 6'8" 245 Senior Los Angeles, CA Graduate transfer to George Washington Matt Weyand F 6'5" 200 Senior Irvine, CA Walk-on; graduate transfer to Concordia Jemarl Baker Jr. G 6'5" 195 Redshirt junior Menifee, CA Elected to transfer to Fresno State Jordan Brown F 6'11" 235 Redshirt junior Roseville, CA Elected to transfer to Louisiana Lafayette James Akinjo G 6'1" 185 Junior Oakland, CA Elected to transfer to Baylor Tibet Görener F 6'9" 200 Freshman Istanbul, Turkey Elected to transfer to San Jose State Daniel Batcho F 6'11" 245 Freshman Paris, France Elected to transfer to Texas TechReference:
Incoming transfers Arizona incoming transfers Oumar Ballo C 7'0" 260 RS freshman Koulikoro, Mali Gonzaga 3 Transfer from Gonzaga in April 2021. Eligible due to an NCAA transfer waiver. Pelle Larsson G 6'5" 215 Freshman Nacka, Sweden Utah 3 Transfer from Utah in May 2021. Eligible due to an NCAA transfer waiver. Justin Kier 6'4" 190 G Grad senior Grottoes, Virginia Georgia 1 Transfer from Georgia in May 2021. Eligible due to an NCAA transfer waiver. Kim Aiken Jr. G 6'7 245 RS senior Redlands, CA Eastern Washington 1 Transfer from Eastern Washington in April 2021Reference:
2021 recruiting class Shane Nowell, originally from Sammamish, WA, was the first commit of the 2021 recruiting class. He verbally committed to Arizona on October 31, 2020, over rivals Montana, Montana State, Oklahoma and Washington. Nowell was a consensus four-star prospect out of Eastside Catholic in Sammamish.
Adama Bal, from Paris, FR, was the third commit of the 2021 recruiting class. He verbally committed to Arizona on May 11, 2021, over Colorado, Cincinnati, Georgia, Marquette, San Francisco and Saint Mary's. Bal was out of INSEP Paris, France.
On April 24, 2021, Will Reeves announced that he would join the Wildcats as a preferred walk-on during the fall as a forward. On June 14, 2021, Addison Arnold announced that he would join the Wildcats as a preferred walk-on during the fall as a guard. On June 24, 2021, Benjamin Ackerley announced that he would join the Wildcats as a preferred walk-on during the fall as a guard.
2022 recruiting class
2023 recruiting class
Personnel
Roster
Source: On December 8, senior forward Kim Aiken Jr. was out due to an undisclosed personal issue. A timeline for his return to the court for the 2021–22 season was undetermined at the time. Since February 23, Aiken had not been listed on the Arizona basketball roster.
Depth chart
Preseason
Lute Olson tribute The University of Arizona men's basketball program held a public tribute at the McKale Center on September 12, 2021 for former head coach Lute Olson. The hall of fame coach spent 25 seasons at Arizona before retiring in 2008. Former players Steve Kerr, Jason Terry, Andre Iguodala and Matt Brase all spoke.
Red and Blue game The annual Red-Blue game took place at McKale Center on October 2, 2021. Christian Koloko, Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry, and Ąžuolas Tubelis participated in the dunk contest, which was won by Terry with a perfect score of 120. The roster was split into two teams, Red versus Blue, with the Red team winning 53−39. Aiken Jr., led the team with 20 points, going 8-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 from the three with four rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis had 14 points, going 7-for-7 with seven rebounds and two assists. Mathurin scored 16 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Koloko finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and four blocks.
Preseason rankings Arizona received a T-4th with Oregon State in the PAC-12 Preseason poll. Arizona received 26 votes in the AP poll but was ranked outside the top 25. Arizona received 8 votes in the Coaches Poll but was ranked outside the top 25.
Preseason awards watchlists Bennedict Mathurin — Jerry West Award Watch List Ąžuolas Tubelis ― Karl Malone Award Watch List
Preseason All Pac-12 teams
Bennedict Mathurin ― 1st Team Ąžuolas Tubelis ― 2nd Team
Schedule and results The Wildcats finalized their schedule in the summer; dates and times were finalized in the fall. Arizona hosted Cal Baptist, NAU, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, Sacramento State, Texas–Rio Grande Valley, and Wyoming at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. Arizona played the 2021 Roman Main Event in Las Vegas with Michigan, UNLV and Wichita State. They played two true road games against Illinois and Tennessee, that were canceled the previous season (including not play against Gonzaga in the 2021–22 season). The Pac-12 continued with its 20-game conference schedule, with 10 home and away games per school. Arizona did not play against Washington State at home and Oregon on the road.
!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=| Regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Pac-12 tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Pac-12 tournament In the Pac-12 tournament as a #1-seed, the Wildcats faced off against #9-seed Stanford, whom they defeated 84-80 in the quarterfinals. They faced off against #4-seed Colorado, whom they defeated 82-72 in the semifinals. They faced off against #2-seed UCLA defeated 84-76 in the title game to win their 8th Pac-12 conference tournament title in Paradise, Nevada.
NCAA tournament Arizona entered the NCAA tournament as a #1-seed (South Region), facing off against #16-seed Wright State. Arizona won 87–70. Furthermore, Arizona’s victory against Wright State marked their first win in the NCAA tournament since 2017. In the round of 32, Arizona faced off against #9-seed TCU, and won 85–80 in the overtime thriller. In the sweet sixteen, Arizona faced off against #5-seed Houston but lost 60–72, ending their season.
Game summaries This section will be filled in as the season progresses.
Source:
Northern Arizona
Texas–Rio Grande Valley
North Dakota State
vs Wichita State
vs No. 4 Michigan
Sacramento State
At Oregon State
Wyoming
At Illinois
Northern Colorado
California Baptist
At Tennessee
Washington
Colorado
Utah
At Stanford
At California
At UCLA
Arizona State
UCLA
USC
At Arizona State
At Washington State
At Washington
Oregon State
Oregon
At Utah
At Colorado
At USC
Stanford
California
Stanford (Pac-12 Quarterfinal)
Colorado (Pac-12 Semifinal)
UCLA (Pac-12 Final)
Wright State (round of 64)
TCU (round of 32)
Houston (Sweet 16)
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.
Player statistics +Individual player statistics (final)MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-throwsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgAPFTOStlBlkBenjamin Ackerley0000.000.0000%000%000%0000.000000Kim Aiken Jr.709613.7355.0132748.1%91656.3%020%816243.4148372Addison Arnold0000.000.0000%000%000%0000.000000Adama Bal2301044.5341.5132748.1%81747.1%020%28100.41010731 Oumar Ballo36055615.42506.99114562.8%000%689770.1%581051634.52157321244 Justin Kier36672320.12496.98819844.4%349535.8%394783.0%111021133.1824749231 Christian Koloko363690925.345612.718128264.2%030%9412873.4%951712667.4491015826100 Kerr Kriisa323095629.93179.99828035.4%7923134.2%404981.6%1565802.51545570193 Pelle Larsson36274420.72587.28317647.2%328936.0%607481.1%28931213.4658956278 Jordan Mains150302.0100.73742.9%030%4666.7%48120.804220 Bennedict Mathurin3636116432.364017.821447045.5%8121837.2%13117077.1%491552045.79164653610 Will Menaugh0000.000.0000%000%000%0000.000000 Shane Nowell190663.5150.861833.3%1520.0%22100.0%015150.869842 Will Reeves0000.000.0000%000%000%0000.000000 Dalen Terry363699127.52807.810922049.5%267435.1%364973.5%391341734.814282484611 Ąžuolas Tubelis353486224.649714.219635555.2%103727.0%9514366.4%681512196.38068733725 Tautvilas Tubelis140241.740.32728.6%030%010%0000.001300 Grant Weitman160251.620.11333.3%020%000%1230.203100Total 36 – 7250 201.4 3047 84.64 1099 2215 49.6% 280 793 35.3% 569 770 73.9% 413 1083 1496 41.6 714 598 483 242 207Opponents 36 – 7250 201.4 2446 67.94 905 2350 38.5% 264 813 32.5% 372 552 67.4% 429 783 1212 33.7 426 677 460 252 101 Legend GP Games played GS Games started Avg Average per game FG Field-goals made FGA Field-goal attempts Off Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds A Assists TO Turnovers Blk Blocks Stl Steals High Team high
Awards and milestones
Season highs
Players Points: A. Tubelis, 32 (Utah) Rebounds: C. Koloko, 13 (Arizona State, California & Wright State) Assists: K. Kriisa, 10 (Colorado & Utah) Steals: B. Mathurin & D. Terry, 5 (Northern Colorado, TCU & Wyoming) Blocks: O. Ballo, 6 (UCLA) Minutes: D. Terry, 42 (TCU)
Team Points: 105 (Sacramento State) Field goals: 39 (Northern Colorado)