2021–22 Longwood Lancers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Longwood Lancers men's basketball team represented Longwood University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lancers, led by fourth-year head coach Griff Aldrich, played their home games at Willett Hall in Farmville, Virginia as members of the Big South Conference. With the reintroduction of divisions for the first time since the 2013–14 season, the Lancers played in the North division.^[1] They finished the regular season 26–6, 15–1 in Big South play, to win the Big South regular-season championship. They defeated North Carolina A&T, USC Upstate and Winthrop to win the Big South tournament championship. As a result, the Lancers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's first-ever trip to the tournament,^[2] as the No. 14 seed in the South Region, where they lost in the first round to Tennessee.

2021–22 Longwood Lancers men's basketball
Big South regular-season, North Division, and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Big South Conference
Division	North Division
Record	26–7 (15–1 Big South)
Head coach	Griff Aldrich (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Marty McGillan Cody Anderson Ronnie Thomas
Home arena	Willett Hall
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big South men's basketball standings

v t e	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

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Lancers finished the 2020–21 season 12–17, 10–10 in Big South play, to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. They defeated UNC Asheville in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament,^[3] before falling to top-seeded Winthrop in the semifinals.^[4] They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational tournament, where they lost to Pepperdine in the quarterfinals.^[5]

Roster

2021–22 Longwood Lancers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 0 Leslie Nkereuwem 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Lawrenceville, GA G 1 Isaiah Wilkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Winston-Salem, NC G 2 Nate Lliteras 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Seward, NE G 3 DeShaun Wade 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Virginia Beach, VA F 4 Zac Watson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Plano, TX G 5 Jaylani Darden 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Norfolk, VA G 10 Justin Hill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Houston, TX G 11 Jordan Perkins 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Greensboro, NC F 13 Prosper Obidiebube 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Houston, TX F 21 Trey Hicks 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Fr Louisville, KY G 22 Ga'Khari LaCount 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Miami, FL G 23 DA Houston 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 212 lb (96 kg) So Houston, TX G 24 Cameron O'Conner 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Roanoke, VA F 25 Michael Christmas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Virginia Beach, VA F 35 Jesper Granlund 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Helsinki, Finland G 44 C.J. Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Chester, VA	Head coach Griff Aldrich (Hampden–Sydney) Assistant coach(es) Marty McGillan (UNC Wilmington) Cody Anderson (Georgia) Ronnie Thomas (Bridgewater) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 1, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 9:00 p.m., BTN+		at Iowa	L 73–106	0–1	19 – Wilkins	8 – Wilkins	6 – tied	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,259) Iowa City, IA
November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Virginia–Lynchburg	W 80–46	1–1	19 – Wilkins	10 – tied	7 – Houston	Willett Hall (1,418) Farmville, VA
November 14, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mid-Atlantic Christian	W 93–47	2–1	14 – Watson	10 – Hill	9 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,208) Farmville, VA
November 19, 2021* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+		American	W 82–42	3–1	15 – Nkereuwem	5 – Wilkins	6 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,340) Farmville, VA
November 20, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		UMBC	W 82–55	4–1	15 – Wilkins	7 – Houston	3 – Perkins	Willett Hall (1,512) Farmville, VA
November 21, 2021* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Western Carolina	L 53–64	4–2	17 – Nkereuwem	9 – Wilkins	3 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,518) Farmville, VA
November 26, 2021* 4:00 p.m.		at Old Dominion	L 61–62	4–3	14 – Hill	4 – Wilkins	2 – Hill	Chartway Arena (4,275) Norfolk, VA
November 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m., FS2		at Georgetown	L 83–91	4–4	21 – Wade	7 – Watson	4 – Perkins	Capital One Arena (2,732) Washington, D.C.
December 4, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Delaware State	W 78–58	5–4	17 – Wilkins	7 – Lliteras	6 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,265) Farmville, VA
December 11, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Morgan State	W 93–55	6–4	21 – Hill	8 – Lliteras	5 – Hill	Willett Hall (944) Farmville, VA
December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Carolina	W 98–56	7–4	17 – Nkereuwem	6 – Darden	4 – Perkins	Willett Hall (612) Farmville, VA
December 19, 2021* 12:30 p.m., ESPN+		at St. Francis Brooklyn	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					Daniel Lynch Gymnasium  Brooklyn, NY
December 22, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Abilene Christian	L 58–74	7–5	10 – Houston	7 – Houston	2 – Houston	Teague Special Events Center (474) Abilene, TX
December 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Maryland Eastern Shore	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					Hytche Athletic Center  Princess Anne, MD
January 5, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Pfeiffer	W 109–69	8–5	21 – Wilkins	6 – Granlund	3 – Hill	Willett Hall (120) Farmville, VA
Big South regular season
January 12, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Radford	W 83–75 OT	9–5 (1–0)	24 – Hill	9 – Wilkins	4 – Hill	Dedmon Center (1,064) Radford, VA
January 15, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Gardner–Webb	W 66–60	10–5 (2–0)	20 – Wilkins	8 – Wilkins	4 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,225) Farmville, VA
January 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Campbell	W 72–64	11–5 (3–0)	14 – Perkins	6 – Wilkins	6 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,650) Farmville, VA
January 22, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Presbyterian	W 71–70	12–5 (4–0)	23 – Hill	5 – Wilkins	2 – Hill	Templeton Physical Education Center (433) Clinton, SC
January 24, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Hampton Rescheduled from January 5	W 73–49	13–5 (5–0)	20 – Hill	6 – Wilkins	2 – Wilkins	Hampton Convocation Center (2,120) Hampton, VA
January 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		North Carolina A&T	W 79–71	14–5 (6–0)	24 – Nkereuwem	5 – tied	6 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,600) Farmville, VA
January 29, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Winthrop	W 92–88	15–5 (7–0)	29 – Hill	7 – Hill	8 – Perkins	Willett Hall (1,900) Farmville, VA
February 2, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN3		at UNC Asheville	W 56–48	16–5 (8–0)	17 – Wade	9 – Lliteras	5 – Hill	Kimmel Arena (507) Asheville, NC
February 5, 2022 5:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Charleston Southern	W 69–67	17–5 (9–0)	19 – Wade	7 – Lliteras	6 – Perkins	Buccaneer Field House (682) North Charleston, SC
February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		USC Upstate	W 85–72	18–5 (10–0)	23 – Wade	7 – Lliteras	6 – Perkins	Willett Hall (1,900) Farmville, VA
February 12, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at North Carolina A&T	L 62–70	18–6 (10–1)	16 – Hill	5 – Wade	3 – Perkins	Corbett Sports Center (1,778) Greensboro, NC
February 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		High Point Rescheduled from January 8	W 70–66	19–6 (11–1)	15 – Hill	5 – tied	4 – Perkins	Willett Hall (1,308) Farmville, VA
February 17, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		at High Point	W 78–71	20–6 (12–1)	18 – Hill	10 – Hill	5 – Hill	Qubein Center (5,647) High Point, NC
February 19, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Hampton	W 76–72	21–6 (13–1)	25 – Wilkins	9 – Wilkins	5 – Hill	Willett Hall (1,814) Farmville, VA
February 23, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Radford	W 71–66	22–6 (14–1)	18 – Hill	5 – Wilkins	4 – tied	Willett Hall (1,900) Farmville, VA
February 26, 2022 4:30 p.m., ESPN3		at Campbell	W 60–55	23–6 (15–1)	20 – Wade	10 – Wilkins	5 – Hill	Gore Arena (1,563) Buies Creek, NC
Big South tournament
March 4, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (9) North Carolina A&T Quarterfinals	W 79–65 OT	24–6	24 – Hill	12 – Wilkins	5 – Hill	Bojangles Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
March 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (4) USC Upstate Semifinals	W 79–70	25–6	18 – tied	9 – Nkereuwem	9 – Hill	Bojangles Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
March 6, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN2	(1)	vs. (2) Winthrop Championship	W 79–58	26–6	19 – Wilkins	8 – tied	5 – Hill	Bojangles Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
NCAA tournament
March 17, 2022 2:45 p.m., CBS	(14 S)	vs. (3 S) No. 5 Tennessee First round	L 56–88	26–7	13 – Hill	4 – Perkins	4 – Perkins	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (15,782) Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Source:^[6]

References

1. "Big South Announces 2021-22 Men's Basketball League Schedule". Big South Conference. September 15, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
2. Chavkin, Daniel (March 6, 2022). "Longwood Secures First NCAA Tournament Appearance With Win Over Winthrop". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
3. "MOVING ON! Longwood Upsets Asheville to Advance to Big South Semifinals". Longwood University Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
4. "#1 Winthrop Returns to Title Game with 82-61 Win over #5 Longwood". Big South Conference. March 4, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
5. "Men's Hoops Beats Longwood at CBI". Pepperdine University Athletics. March 22, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
6. "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". Longwood University Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2021.