2021–22 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team

The 2021–22 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by third-year head coach Brian Barone, played their home games at the First Community Arena in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 11–21, 4–13 in OVC play, to finish in eighth place.^[1] They lost in the first round of the OVC tournament to Tennessee State.^[2]

2021–22 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	11–21 (4–14 OVC)
Head coach	Brian Barone (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Charles Wells Troy Pierce Colin Schneider
Home arena	First Community Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 20 Murray State †	18	–	0		1.000			31	–	3		.912
Belmont	15	–	3		.833			25	–	8		.758
Morehead State	13	–	5		.722			23	–	11		.676
Southeast Missouri State	8	–	9		.471			14	–	18		.438
Tennessee State	8	–	10		.444			14	–	18		.438
Austin Peay	8	–	10		.444			12	–	17		.414
Tennessee Tech	7	–	10		.412			11	–	21		.344
SIU Edwardsville	5	–	13		.278			11	–	21		.344
UT Martin	4	–	14		.222			8	–	22		.267
Eastern Illinois	3	–	15		.167			5	–	26		.161
† 2022 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars finished the 2020–21 season 9–17, 7–12 in OVC play, to finish in eighth place.^[3] In the first round of the OVC tournament, they were defeated by Belmont.^[4]

Roster

2021–22 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Zane Butler 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Fr Link Year Prep Paragould, AR F 1 DeeJuan Pruitt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Fr Butler CC Sacramento, CA G 2 Desmond Polk 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Link Year Prep Milwaukee, WI G 3 Ray'Sean Taylor 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Collinsville HS Collinsville, IL G 4 Shamar Wright 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Link Year Prep Memphis, TN G 5 Carlos Curtis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Triton College Milwaukee, WI G 11 Courtney Carter 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr South Suburban College Memphis, TN C 12 Jonathan Kurtas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Lake Norman Christian HS Mooresville, NC G 13 Quani Rudd 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Mt. Vernon HS Mount Vernon, IL G 21 Shaun Jr. Doss 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Arkansas–Pine Bluff Marion, AR F 22 Michael Matas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr London Basketball Academy Oakville, ON C 23 Elochukwu Eze 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS So Asheville Christian Academy Enugu, Nigeria G 24 Cam Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Hazelwood Central HS St. Louis, MO F 55 Lamar Wright 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Link Year Prep Memphis, TN	Head coach Brian Barone (Marquette) Assistant coach(es) Charles Wells (Austin Peay) Troy Pierce (Emporia State) Colin Schneider (Green Bay) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 13, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Quincy	L 61–62	–	22 – Taylor	11 – Taylor	3 – 2 tied	First Community Arena (577) Edwardsville, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:30 p.m., FS2		at Marquette	L 77–88	0–1	16 – Taylor	6 – Pruitt	4 – Curtis	Fiserv Forum (13,013) Milwaukee, WI
November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Chicago State	L 56–67	0–2	21 – Taylor	7 – Doss Jr.	3 – Doss Jr.	Jones Convocation Center (350) Chicago, IL
November 15, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Knox	W 75–37	1–2	16 – Doss Jr.	12 – Doss Jr.	3 – 3 tied	First Community Arena (656) Edwardsville, IL
November 19, 2021* 6:45 pm, ESPN+		vs. Niagara The J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Tournament	L 60–70	1–3	20 – S. Wright	9 – S. Wright	4 – Carter	Covelli Centre (1,625) Youngstown, OH
November 20, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Youngstown State The J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Tournament	W 69–66	2–3	24 – Taylor	7 – Taylor	6 – Carter	Beeghly Center (1,309) Youngstown, OH
November 21, 2021* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		vs. St. Thomas The J. Arnold Wealth Management Company Tournament	L 73–86	2–4	15 – Taylor	10 – S. Wright	4 – Carter	Covelli Centre (1,439) Youngstown, OH
November 27, 2021* 5:00 p.m., FS2		at Creighton	L 65–70	2–5	17 – Taylor	10 – Taylor	7 – Taylor	CHI Health Center Omaha (16,417) Omaha, NE
November 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		at Omaha	W 75–65	3–5	20 – L. Wright	9 – Taylor	12 – Taylor	Baxter Arena (1,033) Omaha, NE
December 4, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Bradley	L 55–80	3–6	22 – Taylor	7 – Doss Jr.	1 – 5 tied	Carver Arena (3,685) Peoria, IL
December 8, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Purdue Fort Wayne	W 80–59	4–6	25 – Taylor	10 – Carter	6 – Taylor	First Community Arena (863) Edwardsville, IL
December 12, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kansas City	W 60–56	5–6	14 – Taylor	11 – Pruitt	4 – Doss Jr.	First Community Arena (687) Edwardsville, IL
December 19, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		William Woods	W 84–29	6–6	21 – Taylor	10 – Carter	4 – 3 tied	First Community Arena (844) Edwardsville, IL
December 21, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at South Alabama	L 69–84	6–7	12 – 2 tied	7 – Pruitt	3 – 3 tied	Mitchell Center (1,794) Mobile, AL
Ohio Valley regular season
January 8, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Murray State	L 69–74	6–8 (0–1)	24 – Taylor	6 – Taylor	5 – Taylor	First Community Arena (537) Edwardsville, IL
January 13, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Eastern Illinois	W 66–53	7–8 (1–1)	17 – Doss Jr.	15 – Pruitt	5 – Carter	Lantz Arena (1,409) Charleston, IL
January 17, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Belmont Rescheduled from December 30	L 64–80	7–9 (1–2)	14 – Pruitt	6 – Pruitt	6 – Taylor	First Community Arena (678) Edwardsville, IL
January 20, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tennessee Tech	L 76–94	7–10 (1–3)	18 – Doss Jr.	16 – Pruitt	5 – 2 tied	Eblen Center (1,644) Cookeville, TN
January 22, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Morehead State	L 74–77	7–11 (1–4)	26 – Taylor	6 – 2 tied	4 – Taylor	Ellis Johnson Arena (1,460) Morehead, KY
January 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UT Martin Rescheduled from January 1	L 70–76	7–12 (1–5)	15 – 2 tied	8 – Doss Jr.	4 – Carter	Skyhawk Arena (1,113) Martin, TN
January 27, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Tennessee State	L 70–75	7–13 (1–6)	26 – Taylor	10 – Carter	9 – Carter	First Community Arena (1,273) Edwardsville, IL
January 29, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeast Missouri State	L 77–85	7–14 (1–7)	25 – Taylor	8 – 2 tied	2 – 3 tied	Show Me Center (935) Cape Girardeau, MO
January 31, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Austin Peay Rescheduled from January 6	L 63–68 2OT	7–15 (1–8)	18 – Doss Jr.	8 – 2 tied	5 – S. Wright	Dunn Center (1,298) Clarksville, TN
February 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Murray State	L 59–79	7–16 (1–9)	18 – Doss Jr.	7 – Kurtas	2 – 2 tied	CFSB Center (5,305) Murray, KY
February 7, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southeast Missouri State Rescheduled from January 15	L 47–76	7–17 (1–10)	13 – Pruitt	10 – Doss Jr.	2 – Doss Jr.	First Community Arena (565) Edwardsville, IL
February 10, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		UT Martin	W 71–63	8–17 (2–10)	16 – Doss	7 – Pruitt	6 – Carter	First Community Arena (441) Edwardsville, IL
February 12, 2022 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Tennessee Tech	W 61–60	9–17 (3–10)	17 – Pruitt	12 – Pruitt	7 – Carter	First Community Arena (627) Edwardsville, IL
February 17, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Tennessee State	L 65–81	9–18 (3–11)	15 – Doss Jr.	7 – Pruitt	3 – Carter	Gentry Complex (3,000) Nashville, TN
February 19, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Belmont	L 62–73	9–19 (3–12)	16 – Doss Jr.	7 – 2 tied	4 – S. Wright	Curb Event Center (2,027) Nashville, TN
February 21, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Illinois Rescheduled from February 3	W 66–52	10–19 (4–12)	13 – S. Wright	10 – Pruitt	3 – 3 tied	First Community Arena (692) Edwardsville, IL
February 24, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Austin Peay	L 64–68 OT	10–20 (4–13)	21 – Carter	6 – S. Wright	5 – Carter	First Community Arena (484) Edwardsville, IL
February 26, 2022 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Morehead State	W 77–70	11–20 (4–14)	21 – S. Wright	6 – 3 tied	6 – Carter	First Community Arena (674) Edwardsville, IL
Ohio Valley tournament
March 2, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	(8)	vs. (5) Tennessee State First round	L 62–77	11–21	16 – Doss Jr.	10 – Doss Jr.	4 – Doss Jr.	Ford Center  Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source:^[1][5][6]