Jump to content

2021–22 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2021–22 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
ConferenceBig South Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Record17–15 (8–8 Big South)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Neil Dixon
  • Woody Taylor
  • Justin Levine
Home arenaKimmel Arena
Seasons
2021–22 Big South men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North
Longwood 15 1   .938 26 7   .788
Campbell 8 8   .500 16 13   .552
High Point 7 9   .438 14 18   .438
Radford 7 9   .438 11 18   .379
North Carolina A&T 6 10   .375 12 20   .375
Hampton 5 11   .313 9 19   .321
South
Winthrop 14 2   .875 23 9   .719
Gardner–Webb 11 5   .688 18 13   .581
USC Upstate 10 6   .625 15 17   .469
UNC Asheville 8 8   .500 17 15   .531
Presbyterian 4 12   .250 12 20   .375
Charleston Southern 1 15   .063 6 25   .194
2022 Big South tournament winner

The 2021–22 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Asheville in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Mike Morrell, played their home games at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, North Carolina, as members of the Big South Conference. With the reintroduction of divisions for the first time since the 2013–14 season, the Bulldogs played in the South division.[1] They finished the regular season 16–13, 8–8 in Big South play which resulted in a fourth place in the South division. As the No. 5 seed in the Big South tournament, they lost to Charleston Southern in the first round.

The Bulldogs participated in the College Basketball Invitational as a No. 13 seed, where they defeated No. 4 Stephen F. Austin in the first round before losing to No. 12 Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

[edit]

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the 2020–21 season 10–10, 9–5 in Big South play to finish in fourth place. They were defeated by Longwood in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament.[2]

Preseason

[edit]

The Bulldogs were picked to finish in second place in the South division in a preseason poll.[3] The team returned six of their top seven scorers from the prior season, including guard Tajion Jones who entered the season as the Big South's active leader in career points (1,058).[4]

Roster

[edit]
2021–22 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Trent Stephney 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Knoxville, Tennessee
F 1 Jamon Battle 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Richmond, Virginia
F 2 LJ Thorpe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr West Palm Beach, Florida
G 3 Tajion Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Oak Ridge, Tennessee
G 4 Martin Kawa 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Stafford, Virginia
F 5 Silas Mason 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Greensboro, North Carolina
F 10 Evan Clayborne 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 228 lb (103 kg) GS Dayton, Ohio
F 11 BJ Marable 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Knoxville, Tennessee
G 13 Quay Kimble 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) GS Shelby, North Carolina
F 14 Luke Lawson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Coeburn, Virginia
G 15 Dean Gabrelcik 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr East Lake, Florida
G 21 Jordan Hairston 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Centreville, Virginia
F 22 Coty Jude 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Fort Gay, West Virginia
G 30 Deacon Heath 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Banner Elk, North Carolina
F 55 Drew Pember 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Knoxville, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 27, 2021

Schedule and results

[edit]

During the non-conference half of the season, the Bulldogs used a balanced attack (Tajion Jones, Drew Pember, and LJ Thorpe all averaging 10-15 points per game) to begin the conference half with the best record in either division of the Big South.[5]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021*
7:30 pm, CUSAtv
at UAB L 77–102  0–1
Bartow Arena (2,923)
Birmingham, AL
November 11, 2021*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Brevard W 101–44  1–1
Kimmel Arena (1,290)
Asheville, NC
November 14, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Chattanooga
Coke Zero Sugar Classic
L 45-75  1–2
McKenzie Arena (2,250)
Chattanooga, TN
November 18, 2021*
6:00 pm
vs. Tennessee Tech
Coke Zero Sugar Classic
W 61–55  2–2
McKenzie Arena (412)
Chattanooga, TN
November 23, 2021*
7:00 pm, ACCNX
at North Carolina L 53–72  2–3
Dean Smith Center (15,710)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 28, 2021*
4:30 pm, ESPN+
St. Andrews W 106–36  3–3
Kimmel Arena (659)
Asheville, NC
December 1, 2021*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
The Citadel W 65–58  4–3
Kimmel Arena (751)
Asheville, NC
December 4, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
North Carolina Central W 82–66  5–3
Kimmel Arena (580)
Asheville, NC
December 8, 2021*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Chattanooga L 73–78  5–4
Kimmel Arena (405)
Asheville, NC
December 11, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Western Carolina W 73–72  6–4
Ramsey Center (2,418)
Cullowhee, NC
December 14, 2021*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Martin L 68–79  6–5
Skyhawk Arena (1,041)
Martin, TN
December 18, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
East Tennessee State W 79–64  7–5
Kimmel Arena (767)
Asheville, NC
December 21, 2021*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Milligan W 114–54  8–5
Kimmel Arena (641)
Asheville, NC
December 29, 2021*
7:00 pm, BTN
at Indiana Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
Big South regular season
January 5, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Campbell W 60–54  9–5
(1–0)
Gore Arena (0)
Buies Creek, NC
January 8, 2022
4:30 pm, ESPN+
Charleston Southern W 82–59  10–5
(2–0)
Kimmel Arena (175)
Asheville, NC
January 12, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Winthrop L 80–86 OT 10–6
(2–1)
Winthrop Coliseum (1,698)
Rock Hill, SC
January 15, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
USC Upstate L 73–76  10–7
(2–2)
Kimmel Arena (85)
Asheville, NC
January 19, 2022
6:30 pm, ESPN+
North Carolina A&T L 71–73  10–8
(2–3)
Kimmel Arena (441)
Asheville, NC
January 22, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Radford W 78–74 OT 11–8
(3–3)
Dedmon Center (1,181)
Radford, VA
January 27, 2022
6:30 pm, ESPNU
Gardner–Webb L 55–61  11–9
(3–4)
Kimmel Arena (614)
Asheville, NC
January 29, 2022
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Presbyterian W 68–67  12–9
(4–4)
Templeton Physical Education Center (594)
Clinton, SC
February 2, 2022
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Longwood L 48–56  12–10
(4–5)
Kimmel Arena (507)
Asheville, NC
February 5, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at High Point L 83–91 OT 12–11
(4–6)
Qubein Center (4,698)
High Point, NC
February 9, 2022
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Hampton W 69–53  13–11
(5–6)
Kimmel Arena (572)
Asheville, NC
February 12, 2022
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at USC Upstate W 83–56  14–11
(6–6)
G. B. Hodge Center (267)
Spartanburg, SC
February 16, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Charleston Southern W 85–66  15–11
(7–6)
Buccaneer Field House (619)
North Charleston, SC
February 19, 2022
4:30 pm, ESPN3
Winthrop L 79–84  15–12
(7–7)
Kimmel Arena (1,505)
Asheville, NC
February 23, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Gardner–Webb L 59–60  15–13
(7–8)
Paul Porter Arena (687)
Boiling Springs, NC
February 26, 2022
4:30 pm, ESPN+
Presbyterian W 98–96 OT 16–13
(8–8)
Kimmel Arena (1,691)
Asheville, NC
Big South tournament
March 2, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
(5) vs. (12) Charleston Southern
First round
L 78–79  16–14
Bojangles Coliseum 
Charlotte, NC
CBI
March 19, 2022
2:30 pm, FloSports
(13) vs. (4) Stephen F. Austin
First Round
W 80–68  17–14
Ocean Center (588)
Daytona Beach, FL
March 21, 2022
3:30 pm, FloSports
(13) vs. (12) Northern Colorado
Quarterfinals
L 84–87  17–15
Ocean Center (706)
Daytona Beach, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Big South Announces 2021-22 Men's Basketball League Schedule". Big South Conference. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  2. ^ "Men's basketball returns after layoff, falls in Big South Quarterfinals". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "Campbell, Winthrop Earn Top Spot in 2021-22 Men's Basketball Preseason Polls". Big South Sports. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "2021-22 Big South Media Guide" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Big South Conference Statistics". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved October 27, 2021.