2021–22 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team represented Saint Louis University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach is Travis Ford in his sixth season at Saint Louis. The team played their home games at Chaifetz Arena as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 12–6 in A-10 Play to finish in fifth place. They defeated La Salle and St. Bonaventure to advance to the semifinals of the A-10 tournament where they lost to Davidson. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Northern Iowa.

2021–22 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball
Cancún Challenge champions
NIT, First Round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	23–12 (12–6 A–10)
Head coach	Travis Ford (6th season)
Associate head coach	Corey Tate
Assistant coaches	Ray Giacoletti Phil Forte
Home arena	Chaifetz Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Davidson	15	–	3		.833			27	–	7		.794
Dayton	14	–	4		.778			24	–	11		.686
VCU	14	–	4		.778			22	–	10		.688
St. Bonaventure	12	–	5		.706			23	–	10		.697
Saint Louis	12	–	6		.667			23	–	12		.657
Richmond †	10	–	8		.556			24	–	13		.649
George Washington	8	–	9		.471			12	–	18		.400
Fordham	8	–	10		.444			16	–	16		.500
George Mason	7	–	9		.438			14	–	16		.467
UMass	7	–	11		.389			15	–	17		.469
Rhode Island	5	–	12		.294			15	–	16		.484
La Salle	5	–	13		.278			11	–	19		.367
Saint Joseph's	5	–	13		.278			11	–	19		.367
Duquesne	1	–	16		.059			6	–	24		.200
† 2022 A-10 tournament winner

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Billikens finished the 2020–21 season 14–7, 6–4 in A-10 play to finish in a tie fourth place. They defeated UMass in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament before losing to St. Bonaventure in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid of the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Mississippi State in the first round.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jordan Goodwin	0	G	6'3"	200	Senior	Centreville, IL	Graduated/went undrafted in 2021 NBA draft
Phillip Russell	4	G	5'10"	165	Freshman	St. Louis, MO	Walk-on; transferred to Southeast Missouri State
Joshua Hightower	10	G	6'3"	175	Senior	Cooksville, MD	Walk-on; graduated
Hasahn French	11	F	6'7"	240	Senior	Middletown, NY	Graduated/went undrafted in 2021 NBA draft
Demarius Jacobs	15	G	6'2"	185	Junior	Chicago, IL	Transferred to Ball State
Jimmy Bell Jr.	32	F	6'10"	270	Sophomore	Saginaw, MI	Transferred to Moberly Area CC

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Rashad Williams	11	G	6'2"	184	Senior	Detroit, MI	Oakland
Jordan Nesbitt	15	G	6'6"	185	Freshman	St. Louis, MO	Memphis
DeAndre Jones	55	G	5'11"	160	Senior	Boise, ID	Central Arkansas

Recruiting classes

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Lassina Traore F	Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Victory Rock Prep	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Aug 10, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    (n/a)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Nick Kramer SG	Saint Louis, MO	Saint Louis University High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jun 22, 2021
	Recruit ratings: (NR)
Kellen Thames SG	Maryland Heights, MO	Pattonville High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jul 8, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    (NR)
Sincere Parker SG	Rockford, IL	AZ Compass Prep/Moberly Area Community College	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 20, 2021
	Recruit ratings: (NR)
Larry Hughes Jr. SG	Saint Louis, MO	Christian Brothers College High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Apr 12, 2022
	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:    (NR)
Mouhamadou Cisse C	Dakar, Senegal	Putnam Science Academy	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	May 19, 2022
	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Preseason

In a poll of the league's head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Billikens were picked to finish in third place in the A-10. Javonte Perkins was selected Preseason First Team All-Conference selection while Yuri Collins is a Third Team Preseason honoree.^[1] In the preseason game against Rockhurst, Perkins suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and will miss the remainder of the 2021–22 season.^[2]

Roster

2021–22 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Yuri Collins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So St. Mary’s St. Louis, MO G/F 2 Markhi Strickland 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Victory Rock Prep Miami, FL G/F 3 Javonte Perkins  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Miller Career Academy Southwestern Illinois College St. Louis, MO F 5 Francis Okoro 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Normal West Oregon Imo, Nigeria G 11 Rashad Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Wayne Memorial Oakland Detroit, MI F 12 Marten Linssen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Schloss-Gymnasium Benrath Valparaiso/UNC Wilmington Düsseldorf, Germany F 13 Andre Lorentsson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr RIG Mark Kinna Gothenburg, Sweden G 15 Jordan Nesbitt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr St. Louis Christian Academy Memphis St. Louis, MO G 20 Fred Thatch Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Sikeston Sikeston, MO F 22 Terrence Hargrove Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So East St. Louis East St. Louis, IL F 23 Lassina Traore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Victory Rock Prep Abidjan, Ivory Coast G 24 Gibson Jimerson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Montverde Academy Richmond, VA G 30 Brandon Courtney (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Wesclin Trenton, IL G 55 DeAndre Jones 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Sr Borah Central Arkansas Boise, ID	Head coach Travis Ford (Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Corey Tate (Missouri) Ray Giacoletti (Minot State University) Phil Forte (Oklahoma State) 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
October 26, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		Rockhurst	W 84–42		14 – Jimerson	8 – Hargrove Jr.	7 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
October 31, 2021* 3:00 p.m.		Lindenwood	W 89–66		17 – Collins	8 – Hargrove Jr.	11 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BSMW+		Central Arkansas	W 96–61	1–0	17 – Jimerson	7 – Tied	12 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,805) St. Louis, MO
November 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BSMW		Harris–Stowe	W 127–54	2–0	21 – Jimerson	9 – Nesbitt	10 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (3,574) St. Louis, MO
November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BSMW		Eastern Illinois	W 86–44	3–0	18 – Jimerson	12 – Okoro	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (5,433) St. Louis, MO
November 16, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 11 Memphis	L 74–90	3–1	20 – Hargrove Jr.	13 – Okoro	7 – Collins	FedExForum (13,302) Memphis, TN
November 20, 2021* 4:00 p.m., BSMW		Mercer Cancún Challenge campus site game	W 75–58	4–1	20 – Thatch Jr.	11 – Hargrove Jr.	7 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,725) St. Louis, MO
November 23, 2021* 7:30 p.m., CBSSN		vs. Illinois State Cancún Challenge Riviera semifinal	W 82–76	5–1	19 – Jimerson	10 – Okoro	8 – Collins	Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (103) Cancún, Mexico
November 24, 2021* 7:30 p.m., CBSSN		vs. Stephen F. Austin Cancún Challenge Riviera championship	W 79–68	6–1	19 – Tied	8 – Linssen	4 – Collins	Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (461) Cancún, Mexico
November 30, 2021* 8:00 p.m., Stadium		at Boise State	W 86–82 OT	7–1	21 – Jimerson	8 – Nesbitt	3 – Jimerson	ExtraMile Arena (6,765) Boise, ID
December 4, 2021* 5:30 p.m., BSMW		UAB	L 72–77	7–2	17 – Jones	6 – Hargrove Jr.	7 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (5,743) St. Louis, MO
December 7, 2021* 7:00 p.m., NBC Digital		Belmont	L 59–64	7–3	21 – Jimerson	7 – Linssen	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,521) St. Louis, MO
December 11, 2021* 4:00 p.m., NBCSN		Boston College	W 79–68	8–3	19 – Jimerson	6 – Tied	19 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (6,123) St. Louis, MO
December 18, 2021* 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		No. 13 Auburn	L 70–74	8–4	17 – Hargrove Jr.	12 – Collins	8 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (8,012) St. Louis, MO
December 22, 2021* 2:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Drake Las Vegas Showcase	Canceled due to COVID-19					South Point Arena  Enterprise, NV
January 2, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBSSN		Richmond	W 76–69	9–4 (1–0)	24 – Collins	8 – Okoro	8 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,825) St. Louis, MO
January 8, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Iona	W 68–67	10–4	15 – Nesbitt	14 – Okoro	3 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,107) St. Louis, MO
January 11, 2022 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Dayton	L 63–68	10–5 (1–1)	23 – Jimerson	8 – Okoro	9 – Collins	UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH
January 15, 2022 1:30 p.m., USA		Fordham	W 63–45	11–5 (2–1)	19 – Jimerson	10 – Tied	9 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,486) St. Louis, MO
January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m., BSMW/ESPN+		at UMass Rescheduled from December 30	L 85–91	11–6 (2–2)	23 – Jimerson	7 – Okoro	9 – Collins	Mullins Center (1,665) Amherst, MA
January 23, 2022 1:30 p.m., USA		UMass	W 90–59	12–6 (3–2)	31 – Jimerson	12 – Nesbitt	12 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (5,136) St. Louis, MO
January 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., BSMW/ESPN+		George Washington	W 80–67	13–6 (4–2)	28 – Jimerson	11 – Okoro	12 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,238) St. Louis, MO
January 29, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Duquesne	W 77–53	14–6 (5–2)	14 – Okoro	8 – Okoro	10 – Collins	UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (2,421) Pittsburgh, PA
February 2, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at George Mason	W 92-90 2OT	15–6 (6–2)	35 – Collins	9 – Okoro	13 – Collins	EagleBank Arena (2,664) Fairfax, VA
February 5, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		Dayton Arch Baron Cup	W 72–61	16–6 (7–2)	17 – Linssen	8 – Collins	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (9,411) St. Louis, MO
February 8, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at La Salle	W 75–57	17–6 (8–2)	19 – Okoro	10 – Thatch Jr.	8 – Collins	Tom Gola Arena (1,121) Philadelphia, PA
February 11, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		St. Bonaventure	L 61–68	17–7 (8–3)	18 – Collins	7 – Thatch Jr.	7 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (7,924) St. Louis, MO
February 14, 2022 4:00 p.m., CBSSN		at St. Bonaventure Rescheduled from January 8	L 79–83	17–8 (8–4)	18 – Nesbitt	13 – Thatch Jr.	10 – Collins	Reilly Center (3,418) Olean, NY
February 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., BSMW+/ESPN+		La Salle Rescheduled from January 5	W 90–64	18–8 (9–4)	21 – Thatch Jr.	7 – Thatch Jr.	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,671) St. Louis, MO
February 19, 2022 2:30 p.m., CBSSN		at Davidson	L 58–79	18–9 (9–5)	10 – Collins	11 – Okoro	6 – Thatch Jr.	John M. Belk Arena (4,039) Davidson, NC
February 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., BSMW		Saint Joseph's	W 72–61	19–9 (10–5)	17 – Collins	10 – Okoro	6 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (4,435) St. Louis, MO
February 25, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Richmond	L 66–68	19–10 (10–6)	23 – Okoro	15 – Okoro	4 – Collins	Robins Center (6,750) Richmond, VA
March 2, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Rhode Island	W 80–74	20–10 (11–6)	22 – Jimerson	13 – Thatch Jr.	9 – Collins	Ryan Center (4,611) Kingston, RI
March 5, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		VCU	W 69–65	21–10 (12–6)	19 – Jimerson	6 – Okoro	7 – Collins	Chaifetz Arena (9,125) St. Louis, MO
A-10 tournament
March 10, 2022 2:30 p.m., USA	(5)	vs. (12) La Salle Second Round	W 71–51	22–10	19 – Jimerson	13 – Okoro	4 – Thatch Jr.	Capital One Arena (4,309) Washington, D.C.
March 11, 2022 2:30 p.m., USA	(5)	vs. (4) St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals	W 57–56	23–10	20 – Jimerson	12 – Okoro	9 – Collins	Capital One Arena  Washington, D.C.
March 12, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBSSN	(5)	vs. (1) Davidson Semifinals	L 69–84	23–11	14 – Hargrove Jr.	6 – Hargrove Jr.	7 – Collins	Capital One Arena  Washington, D.C.
NIT
March 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(3)	Northern Iowa First Round – SMU Bracket	L 68–80	23–12	20 – Jimmerson	13 – Okoro	5 – Thatch Jr.	Chaifetz Arena (3,521) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[3][4]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
Coaches	—			—	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings