2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season

2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Teams14
TV partner(s)CBS, ESPN, SEC Network
Regular season
Tournament
VenueAmalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
ChampionsTennessee
  Runners-upTexas A&M
Finals MVPKennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
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 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 9. Conference play started in late December and will end in March, after which 14 member teams will participate in the 2022 SEC men's basketball tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The tournament champion is guaranteed a selection to the 2022 NCAA tournament.

Offseason

The season was initially slated to begin on November 10, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prematurely ended the previous season and continues to affect the current one.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Rankings
Team ESPN[1] Rivals[2] On3 Recruits [3] Scout/247 Sports[4] Signees
Alabama
Arkansas -
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
LSU
Kentucky
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.

Wooden Naismith Robertson Cousy[5] West[6] Erving[7] Malone[8] Abdul-Jabbar[9] Olson

Preseason All-American teams

ESPN CBS[10] USA AP[11] Blue
Ribbon
Athlon
Sports
[12]
NBC
Sports
Street & Smith's Sporting News[13] Sports
Illustrated
[14]

Preseason polls

AP[15] Athlon Sports[16] Blue Ribbon[17] CBS Sports[18] Coaches[19] ESPN[20] KenPom[21] Lindy's
Sports
[22]
Sports
Illustrated
[23]
Sporting
News
[24]
Alabama
Arkansas – –
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State – –
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

SEC Media Day selections

Media poll[25]
1 Kentucky
2 Alabama
3 Arkansas
4 Tennessee
5 Auburn
6 LSU
7 Florida
8 Mississippi State
9 Ole Miss
10 Missouri
11 South Carolina
12 Texas A&M
13 Vanderbilt
14 Georgia

Preseason All-SEC teams

Media First Team [25] Media Second Team
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt Davonte Davis, Arkansas
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama Jabari Smith, Auburn
Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama Keion Brooks Jr., Kentucky
Colin Castleton, Florida Kellan Grady, Kentucky
Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State Darius Days, LSU

Midseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.

John R. Wooden Award Naismith Cousy West Erving Malone Abdul-Jabbar

Final watchlists

Below is a table of notable year end watch lists.

John R. Wooden Award Naismith Play of the Year Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Cousy West Erving Malone Abdul-Jabbar

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Team Tournament Finish
Alabama -
Arkansas -
Auburn -
Florida -
Georgia -
Kentucky -
LSU -
Mississippi State -
Missouri -
Ole Miss -
South Carolina
Tennessee -
Texas A&M -
Vanderbilt

Records against other conferences

2021–22 records against non-conference foes:

Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):

Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference record
Nov 9 No. 10 Kentucky No. 9 Duke Madison Square GardenNew York, NY Champions Classic 71–79 0–1
Nov 20 Villanova Tennessee Mohegan Sun ArenaUncasville, CT Hall of Fame Tip Off 53–71 0–2
Nov 24 UConn Auburn Imperial Arena ● Nassau, Bahamas Battle 4 Atlantis 109–115 0–3
Dec 1 Memphis Georgia Stegeman ColiseumAthens, GA 82–79 1–3
Dec 4 Memphis Ole Miss The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole MissOxford, MS 67–63 2–3
Dec 4 Tennessee Colorado CU Events CenterBoulder, CO 69–54 3–3
Dec 4 Alabama Gonzaga Climate Pledge ArenaSeattle, WA 91-82 4–3
Dec 7 Texas Tech Tennessee Madison Square Garden ● New York, NY 52–57 4–4
Dec 11 Nebraska Auburn State Farm ArenaAtlanta, GA 99–68 5–4
Dec 11 Missouri Kansas Allen FieldhouseLawrence, KS Border War 65–102 5–5
Dec 11 Kentucky Notre Dame Purcell PavilionSouth Bend, IN 62–66 5–6
Dec 11 UConn Alabama Coleman ColiseumTuscaloosa, AL 83–82 6–6
Dec 12 Florida State South Carolina Rock Hill Sports & Event Center ● Rock Hill, SC 66–65 7–6
Dec 12 Florida Maryland Barclays CenterBrooklyn, NY 68–70 7–7
Dec 14 Alabama Memphis FedExForumMemphis, TN 78–92 7–8
Dec 18 Tennessee Memphis Bridgestone ArenaNashville, TN CANCELED
Dec 18 Ohio State Kentucky T-Mobile ArenaLas Vegas, NV CANCELLED
Dec 22 Louisville Kentucky Rupp ArenaLexington, KY POSTPONED
Dec 22 Arizona Tennessee Thompson-Boling ArenaKnoxville, TN 77–73 8–8
Dec 22 Illinois Missouri Enterprise CenterSt. Louis, MO 63-88 8–9

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking

† denotes game was played on neutral site

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

  Alabama Arkansas Auburn Florida Georgia Kentucky LSU Mississippi State Missouri Ole Miss South Carolina Tennessee Texas A&M Vanderbilt
vs. Alabama 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Arkansas 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Auburn 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Florida 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Georgia 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Kentucky 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. LSU 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Miss. State 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Missouri 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Ole Miss 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. South Carolina 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Tennessee 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Texas A&M 0–1 0-1 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Vanderbilt 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Total 9-8 13–4 14–3 9–8 1–16 13–4 8–9 8–9 4–13 4–13 9–8 13–4 8–9 6–11

Points scored

Team For Against Difference
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

Through March 18, 2021[26]

Rankings

    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NV No votes received
  Pre Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Wk
13
Wk
14
Wk
15
Wk
16
Wk
17
Wk
18
Wk
19
Final
Alabama AP RV
C RV
Arkansas AP NV
C NV
Auburn AP NV
C NV
Florida AP RV
C RV
Georgia AP RV
C RV
Kentucky AP RV
C RV
LSU AP NV
C NV
Missouri AP 13
C 12
Mississippi State AP NV
C NV
Ole Miss AP NV
C NV
South Carolina AP 2
C 2
Tennessee AP RV
C RV
Texas A&M AP NV
C NV
Vanderbilt AP NV
C NV

Head coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and SEC records are from time at current school.

Team Head coach Previous job Season at school Overall record SEC record NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Alabama Nate Oats Buffalo 2 16–15 (.516) 8–10 (.444) 0 0 0
Arkansas Eric Musselman Nevada 2 20–12 (.625) 7–11 (.389) 0 0 0
Auburn Bruce Pearl Tennessee 7 125–78 (.616) 52–56 (.481) 2 1 0
Florida Mike White Louisiana Tech 6 108–65 (.624) 54–36 (.600) 3 0 0
Georgia Tom Crean Indiana 3 27–37 (.422) 7–29 (.194) 0 0 0
Kentucky John Calipari Memphis 12 330–77 (.811) 151–41 (.786) 9 4 1
LSU Will Wade VCU 4 64–30 (.681) 35–18 (.660) 1 0 0
Mississippi State Ben Howland UCLA 6 98–67 (.594) 43–47 (.478) 1 0 0
Missouri Cuonzo Martin California 4 50–46 (.521) 22–32 (.407) 1 0 0
Ole Miss Kermit Davis Middle Tennessee 3 35–30 (.538) 16–20 (.444) 1 0 0
South Carolina Frank Martin Kansas State 9 147–119 (.553) 66–78 (.458) 1 1 0
Tennessee Rick Barnes Texas 6 105–64 (.621) 51–39 (.567) 2 0 0
Texas A&M Buzz Williams Virginia Tech 2 16–14 (.533) 10–8 (.556) 0 0 0
Vanderbilt Jerry Stackhouse Memphis Grizzlies (asst.) 2 11–21 (.344) 3–15 (.167) 0 0 0

Postseason

SEC tournament

First round
Wednesday, March 9
SEC Network
Second round
Thursday, March 10
SEC Network
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 11
ESPN/SEC Network
Semifinals
Saturday, March 12
ESPN
Championship
Sunday, March 13
ESPN
1Auburn62
8Texas A&M83OT8Texas A&M67
9Florida808Texas A&M82
4Arkansas64
4Arkansas79
5LSU765LSU67
12Missouri7212Missouri688Texas A&M50
13Ole Miss602Tennessee65
2Tennessee72
7South Carolina5110Mississippi State59
10Mississippi State732Tennessee69
3Kentucky62
3Kentucky77
6Alabama7611Vanderbilt71
11Vanderbilt8611Vanderbilt82
14Georgia51

NCAA tournament

Teams from the conference were selected to participate:

Seed Region School First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship
2 Midwest Auburn Defeated (15) Jacksonville State, 80–61 Lost to (10) Miami (FL), 61–79
DNP
2 East Kentucky Lost to (15) Saint Peter's, 79–85 (OT)
DNP
3 South Tennessee Defeated (14) Longwood, 88–57 Lost to (11) Michigan, 68–76
DNP
4 Arkansas West Defeated (13) Vermont, 75–71 Defeated (12) New Mexico State, 53–48 Defeated (1) Gonzaga, 74–68 Lost to (2) Duke, 69–78
DNP
6 Alabama West Lost to (11) Notre Dame, 64–78
DNP
6 LSU Midwest Lost to (11) Iowa State, 54–59
DNP
Bids W-L (%): 3–3 (.500) 1–2 (.333) 1–0 (1.000) 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) TOTAL: 5–6 (.455)

National Invitation tournament

Number from the conference were selected to participate:

Seed School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
1 Texas A&M Defeated (8) Alcorn State, 74–62 Defeated (5) Oregon, 75–60 Defeated (2) Wake Forest, 67–52 Defeated (4) Washington State, 67–52 Lost to (2) Xavier, 72–73
3 Florida Defeated (6) Iona, 79–74 Lost to (2) Xavier, 56–72
DNP
3 Mississippi State Lost to (6) Virginia, 57–60
DNP
4 Vanderbilt Defeated (5) Belmont, 82–71 Defeated (1) Dayton, 70–68 (OT) Lost to (2) Xavier, 73–75
DNP
W-L (%): 3–1 (.750) 2–1 (.667) 1–1 (.500) 1–0 (1.000) TOTAL: 7–4 (.636)
Index to colors and formatting
SEC member won
SEC member lost

Honors and awards

Players of the Week

Week Player of the Week School Freshman of the Week School Ref.
Nov. 15 Colin Castleton Florida Kennedy Chandler Tennessee [27]
Nov. 22 Darius Days LSU TyTy Washington Kentucky [28]
Nov. 29 Quenton Jackson Texas A&M Jabari Smith Jr. Auburn [29]
Dec. 6 Jaden Shackelford Alabama JD Davison Alabama [30]
Dec. 13 Tari Eason LSU Devin Carter South Carolina [31]
Dec. 20 Sahvir Wheeler Kentucky Wade Taylor IV Texas A&M [32]
Dec. 27 Oscar Tshiebwe
John Fulkerson
Kentucky
Tennessee
TyTy Washington (2) Kentucky [33]
Jan. 3 Walker Kessler Auburn Jabari Smith Jr. (2)
TyTy Washington (3)
Auburn
Kentucky
[34]
Jan. 10 Kobe Brown Missouri TyTy Washington (4) Kentucky [35]
Jan. 17 Iverson Molinar Mississippi State Jabari Smith Jr. (3)
TyTy Washington (5)
Auburn
Kentucky
[36]
Jan. 24 Jaylin Williams
Walker Kessler (2)
Arkansas
Auburn
Jabari Smith Jr. (4) Auburn [37]
Jan. 31 Keion Brooks Jr. Kentucky Daeshun Ruffin Ole Miss [38]
Feb. 7 Wendell Green Jr. Auburn Zakai Zeigler Tennessee [39]
Feb. 14 Walker Kessler (3)
Oscar Tshiebwe (2)
Auburn
Kentucky
JD Davison (2) Alabama [40]
Feb. 21 Jaylin Williams (2)
Scotty Pippen Jr.
Arkansas
Vanderbilt
Jabari Smith Jr. (5) Auburn [41]
Feb. 28 JD Notae Arkansas Kennedy Chandler (2) Tennessee [42]
Mar. 7 Quenton Jackson (2) Texas A&M Jabari Smith Jr. (6) Auburn [43]

Totals per School

School Total
Auburn 10
Kentucky 9
Tennessee 4
Alabama 3
Arkansas 3
Texas A&M 3
LSU 2
Florida 1
Mississippi State 1
Missouri 1
Ole Miss 1
South Carolina 1
Vanderbilt 1
Georgia 0

All-SEC Awards

Coaches

2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards[44]
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Coach of the Year Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Defensive Player of the Year Walker Kessler, Auburn
Freshman of the Year Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn
Scholar-Athlete of the Year Jordan Wright, Vanderbilt
Sixth Man Award Tari Eason, LSU

Players

2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First Team Second Team All-Freshman Team All-Defensive Team
- denotes unanimous selection
Honorable Mention

AP

2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe
Coach of the Year Bruce Pearl
Newcomer of the Year Jabari Smith Jr.
2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First Team Second Team
Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt
JD Notae, Arkansas
Walker Kessler, Auburn
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn
Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee
Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State
Colin Castleton, Florida
Tari Eason, LSU
Jaylin Williams, Arkansas
- denotes unanimous selection
Honorable Mention

All-District

The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named the following from the Pac-12 to their All-District Teams:

District VIII

All-District Team

District IX

Player of the Year

All-District Team

All-American

National awards

PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Player Team Round Pick # Position School Nationality
Jabari Smith Jr. Houston Rockets 1 3 PF Auburn  United States
Shaedon Sharpe Portland Trail Blazers 7 SG Kentucky  Canada
Tari Eason Houston Rockets 17 PF LSU  United States
Walker Kessler Memphis Grizzlies 22 C Auburn  United States
TyTy Washington Jr. Memphis Grizzlies 29 PG Kentucky  United States
Jaylin Williams Oklahoma City Thunder 2 34 PF Arkansas  United States
Kennedy Chandler San Antonio Spurs 38 PG Tennessee  United States
JD Davison Boston Celtics 53 PG Alabama  United States

Home game attendance

Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Game 8 Game 9 Game 10 Game 11 Game 12 Game 13 Game 14 Game 15 Game 16 Game 17 Game 18 Total Average % of Capacity
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
Total

Bold – At or exceed capacity
†Season high

References

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