The 2021–22 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Will Wade, in his fifth (and final) season at LSU. They played their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 22–12, 9–9 in SEC Play to finish a five-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Missouri in the Second Round, before losing in the quarterfinals to Arkansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, where they were upset in the First Round by Iowa State.
Following the team's loss in the SEC Tournament, the school fired head coach Will Wade after receiving notification of significant NCAA violations by Wade. Assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry coached the team in their NCAA Tournament game. On March 21, 2022, the school named Murray State head coach Matt McMahon the team's new head coach.
Previous season In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers finished the season 19–10, 11–6 in SEC play to finish in third place. They defeated Ole Miss and Arkansas in the SEC tournament to advance to the championship game where they lost to Alabama. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the East Region where they defeated St. Bonaventure in the first round before losing to Michigan in the second round.
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Javonte Smart 1 G 6'4" 205 Junior Baton Rouge, LA Declared for the 2021 NBA draft Trendon Watford 2 F 6'9" 240 Sophomore Birmingham, AL Declared for the 2021 NBA draft Jalen Cook 3 G 6'0" 205 Freshman Walker, LA Transferred to Tulane Josh LeBlanc Sr. 11 G 6'7" 230 Junior Baton Rouge, LA Transferred to UAB Aundre Hyatt 15 F 6'6" 225 RS Sophomore The Bronx, NY Transferred to Rutgers Charles Manning Jr. 21 G 6'5" 205 Junior Riverhead, NY Transferred to South Alabama Bryan Penn-Johnson 22 C 7'0" 260 Sophomore Long Beach, CA Transferred to East Los Angeles College Cameron Thomas 24 G 6'4" 210 Freshman Chesapeake, VA Declared for the 2021 NBA draft Josh Gray 34 C 6'11" 255 Freshman Brooklyn, NY Transferred to South Carolina
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Xavier Pinson 1 G 6'2" 154 Senior Chicago, IL Missouri Tari Eason 13 F 6'8" 216 Sophomore Seattle, WA Cincinnati Adam Miller 44 G 6'2" 185 Sophomore Peoria, IL Illinois
2021 recruiting class
2022 Recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=|Regular season
!colspan=12 style=| SEC Tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Schedule Source
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll
See also 2021–22 LSU Tigers women's basketball team
References