2021–22 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Andy Kennedy, and played their home games at the Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama as a member of Conference USA.^[1][2] They finished the season 27–8, 14–4 in C-USA play to finish second in the West Division. As the No. 2 seed out of the West Division, they defeated Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech to win the C-USA tournament. They received the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in the South Region, where they lost in the first round to Houston.

2021–22 UAB Blazers men's basketball
C-USA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	27–8 (14–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Andy Kennedy (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Philip Pearson Ryan Cross Terry Parker
Home arena	Bartow Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Middle Tennessee	13	–	5		.722			26	–	11		.703
Western Kentucky	11	–	7		.611			19	–	13		.594
Florida Atlantic	11	–	7		.611			19	–	15		.559
Charlotte	10	–	8		.556			17	–	14		.548
Old Dominion	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
FIU	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Marshall	4	–	14		.222			12	–	21		.364
West
North Texas	16	–	2		.889			25	–	7		.781
UAB †	14	–	4		.778			27	–	8		.771
Louisiana Tech	12	–	6		.667			24	–	10		.706
UTEP	11	–	7		.611			20	–	14		.588
Rice	7	–	11		.389			16	–	17		.485
UTSA	3	–	15		.167			10	–	22		.313
Southern Miss	1	–	17		.056			7	–	26		.212
† 2022 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2020–21 season 22–7, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in second place in West Division. They defeated Rice in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament before losing to Western Kentucky in the semifinals. Despite winning 22 games, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Tyreek Scott-Grayson	0	G	6'5"	177	Senior	Brick, NJ	Graduate transferred to Northeastern
Koby Jeffies	4	G	6'3"	190	RS Freshman	Olive Branch, MS	Transferred to UT Martin
Jalen Benjamin	5	G	5'10"	140	RS Sophomore	Raleigh, NC	Transferred to Mount St. Mary's
Simeon Kirkland	10	F	6'10"	225	Junior	Ocala, FL	Transferred to New Orleans
Kassim Nicholson	11	G	6'7"	200	Senior	Jackson, MS	Transferred to Tennessee State
Terrell Ard, Jr.	15	F	6'7"	210	Freshman	Acworth, GA	Transferred to Presbyterian
Tobias Rotegaard	33	G	6'7"	210	Freshman	Kongsberg, Norway	Transferred to Long Beach State

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Tyreke Locure	0	G	6'0"	165	Junior	New Orleans, LA	South Alabama
Justin Brown	4	G	6'6"	208	Graduate Student	Atlanta, GA	South Florida
KJ Buffen	5	F	6'7"	230	Senior	Gainesville, GA	Ole Miss
Jordan Walker	10	G	5'11"	170	RS Senior	Port Washington, NY	Tulane
Jamal Johnson	11	G	6'4"	195	RS Senior	Birmingham, AL	Auburn
AD Diedhiou	22	C	6'10"	240	Junior	Dakar, Senegal	Odessa College
Josh LeBlanc Sr.	23	F	6'7"	230	Senior	Baton Rouge, LA	LSU
Elijah Tate	24	G	6'3"	185	Sophomore	Baton Rouge, LA	Odessa College

Recruiting class of 2021

There were no incoming recruiting class of 2021.

Roster

2021–22 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Tyreke Locure 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr South Alabama New Orleans, Louisiana G 2 Michael Ertel 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Louisiana–Monroe Indianapolis, Indiana G 3 Tavin Lovan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Franklin-Simpson High School Franklin, Kentucky G 4 Justin Brown 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) GS South Florida Atlanta, Georgia F 5 KJ Buffen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Ole Miss Gainesville, Georgia G 10 Jordan Walker 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Sr Tulane Port Washington, New York G 11 Jamal Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Auburn Birmingham, Alabama G 12 Tony Toney 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Mae Jeminson High School Huntsville, Alabama G 13 Quan Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Georgia Southern Tallahassee, Florida G 21 Jon Coleman 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Hall High School Little Rock, Arkansas F 22 AD Diedhiou 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Odessa College Dakar, Senegal F 23 Josh LeBlanc Sr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr LSU Baton Rouge, Louisiana G 24 Elijah Tate 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Odessa College Baton Rouge, Louisiana F 25 Rongie Gordon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Jefferson Davis High School Montgomery, Alabama G 30 Ryan Donohoo (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Briarwood Christian School Birmingham, Alabama C 55 Trey Jemison 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Clemson Birmingham, Alabama	Head coach Andy Kennedy (UAB) Assistant coach(es) Philip Pearson (Alabama) Ryan Cross (Buffalo) Terry Parker (Louisiana Tech) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2021* 6:30 p.m.		Auburn Montgomery	W 101–70		19 – Brown	9 – LeBlanc	5 – Locure	Bartow Arena (1,655) Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 6:30 p.m., CUSA.tv		UNC Asheville	W 102–77	1–0	19 – 2 Tied	8 – Jemison	5 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,923) Birmingham, AL
November 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m., CUSA.tv		Morehead State	W 85–71	2–0	23 – Walker	4 – Buffen	7 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,829) Birmingham, AL
November 14, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CUSA.tv		Rhodes	W 98–61	3–0	20 – Ertel	12 – Jemison	4 – 2 Tied	Bartow Arena (2,575) Birmingham, AL
November 18, 2021* 6:00 p.m., SECN+		at South Carolina	L 63–66	3–1	15 – Walker	8 – Jemison	3 – Walker	Colonial Life Arena (8,856) Columbia, SC
November 21, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Alabama A&M	W 86–41	4–1	15 – Johnson	11 – Jemison	8 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,918) Birmingham, AL
November 25, 2021* 6:00 p.m., FS1		vs. New Mexico Las Vegas Invitational semifinals	W 86–73	5–1	26 – Walker	12 – Jemison	6 – Walker	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
November 26, 2021* 10:30 p.m., FS1		vs. San Francisco Las Vegas Invitational finals	L 61–63	5–2	14 – Lovan	7 – Jemison	2 – Lovan	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
December 1, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		East Tennessee State	W 70–56	6–2	20 – Buffen	16 – Buffen	6 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,695) Birmingham, AL
December 4, 2021* 5:30 p.m., BSMW/ESPN+		at Saint Louis	W 77–72	7–2	18 – Walker	11 – Jemison	7 – Walker	Chaifetz Arena (5,743) St. Louis, MO
December 12, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CUSA.tv		Millsaps	W 103–29	8–2	16 – Buffen	11 – Buffen	4 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,578) Birmingham, AL
December 14, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Grambling State	W 79–61	9–2	22 – Walker	7 – LeBlanc	3 – Jackson	Bartow Arena (2,543) Birmingham, AL
December 18, 2021* 4:00 p.m., CBSSN		West Virginia	L 59–65	9–3	13 – Walker	12 – Jemison	4 – Walker	Legacy Arena (4,554) Birmingham, AL
December 22, 2021* 6:30 p.m., CUSA.tv		Mississippi Valley State	W 100–58	10–3	14 – Walker	10 – Buffen	4 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,695) Birmingham, AL
Conference USA regular season
December 30, 2022 6:30 p.m., CUSA.tv		UTEP	W 75–62	11–3 (1–0)	25 – Ertel	6 – Buffen	4 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,795) Birmingham, AL
January 1, 2022 2:00 p.m., CUSA.tv		UTSA	W 87–59	12–3 (2–0)	20 – Buffen	9 – Buffen	6 – Lovan	Bartow Arena (2,730) Birmingham, AL
January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		at North Texas	W 69–63	13–3 (3–0)	17 – Walker	8 – LeBlanc	4 – Lovan	UNT Coliseum (3,207) Denton, TX
January 8, 2022 3:00 p.m.		at Rice	L 80–85	13–4 (3–1)	20 – Walker	6 – Jemison	7 – Walker	Tudor Fieldhouse (500) Houston, TX
January 13, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		FIU	W 84–56	14–4 (4–1)	20 – Walker	11 – Buffen	3 – Jemison	Bartow Arena (2,995) Birmingham, AL
January 15, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Florida Atlantic	W 76–65	15–4 (5–1)	29 – Jackson	10 – Jemison	5 – Walker	Bartow Arena (3,456) Birmingham, AL
January 22, 2022 3:00 p.m., Stadium		at Louisiana Tech	W 83–76	16–4 (6–1)	36 – Walker	13 – Buffen	2 – Tied	Thomas Assembly Center (4,071) Ruston, LA
January 27, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Western Kentucky	W 68–65	17–4 (7–1)	21 – Walker	12 – Jemison	5 – Walker	E. A. Diddle Arena (4,136) Bowling Green, KY
January 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Marshall	L 81–84	17–5 (7–2)	23 – Walker	5 – Tied	8 – Walker	Cam Henderson Center (4,233) Huntington, WV
February 5, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Middle Tennessee	W 97–75	18–5 (8–2)	42 – Walker	10 – Jackson	5 – Jackson	Bartow Arena (4,273) Birmingham, AL
February 10, 2022 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		Southern Miss	W 84–63	19–5 (9–2)	25 – Walker	10 – Jackson	8 – Walker	Bartow Arena (3,638) Birmingham, AL
February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Old Dominion	L 72–81	19–6 (9–3)	20 – Walker	10 – Buffen	7 – Walker	Chartway Arena (3,777) Norfolk, VA
February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., Stadium		Rice	W 92–68	20–6 (10–3)	21 – Jackson	11 – Buffen	12 – Walker	Bartow Arena (2,643) Birmingham, AL
February 19, 2022 3:00 p.m., Stadium		North Texas	L 57–58	20–7 (10–4)	17 – Walker	10 – Jackson	3 – Jackson	Bartow Arena (4,271) Birmingham, AL
February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UTSA	W 68–56	21–7 (11–4)	16 – Buffen	12 – Jemison	3 – Walker	Convocation Center (805) San Antonio, TX
February 26, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UTEP	W 69–66	22–7 (12–4)	22 – Walker	12 – Jemison	7 – Walker	Don Haskins Center (6,100) El Paso, TX
March 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+		at Southern Miss	W 81–68	23–7 (13–4)	21 – Walker	12 – Jemison	6 – Walker	Reed Green Coliseum (2,680) Hattiesburg, MS
March 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., Stadium		Louisiana Tech	W 87–74	24–7 (14–4)	24 – Walker	9 – Jemison	7 – Walker	Bartow Arena (4,547) Birmingham, AL
Conference USA tournament
March 10, 2022 8:30 pm, Stadium	(W2)	vs. (E3) Florida Atlantic Quarterfinals	W 80–66	25–7	26 – Walker	14 – Jackson	3 – Tied	Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
March 11, 2022 2:00 pm, CBSSN	(W2)	vs. (E1) Middle Tennessee Semifinals	W 102–98 3OT	26–7	40 – Walker	10 – Tied	3 – Walker	Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
March 12, 2022 7:30 pm, CBSSN	(W2)	vs. (W3) Louisiana Tech Championship	W 82–73	27–7	27 – Walker	8 – Jemison	4 – Walker	Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2022 8:20 pm, TNT	(12 S)	vs. (5 S) No. 15 Houston First Round	L 68–82	27–8	17 – Walker	11 – Buffen	5 – Walker	PPG Paints Arena (17,410) Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source^[3]

See also

• 2021–22 UAB Blazers women's basketball team

References

1. Dudley, Evan (July 30, 2021). "UAB releases 2021-2022 men's basketball schedule". The Birmingham News. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
2. "UAB Men's Basketball Releases 2021-22 Schedule". University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Athletics. July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
3. "Mens Basketball Schedule 2021-2022". UAB Athletics. Retrieved October 28, 2021.