2021–22 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team

The 2021–22 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by fifth-year head coach Joe Pasternack, played their home games at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 17–11, 8–5 in Big West play to finish in fifth place. They defeated UC Irvine in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament before losing to Long Beach State in the semifinals.

2021–22 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	17–11 (8–5 Big West)
Head coach	Joe Pasternack (5th season)
Associate head coach	John Rillie
Assistant coaches	Larry Lewis Ben Tucker
Home arena	The Thunderdome
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big West men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Long Beach State	12	–	3		.800			20	–	13		.606
Cal State Fullerton †	11	–	4		.733			21	–	11		.656
Hawai'i	10	–	5		.667			17	–	11		.607
UC Irvine	9	–	5		.643			15	–	10		.600
UC Santa Barbara	8	–	5		.615			17	–	11		.607
UC Riverside	9	–	6		.600			16	–	12		.571
UC Davis	5	–	6		.455			13	–	11		.542
UC San Diego*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Cal State Northridge	3	–	13		.188			7	–	23		.233
Cal State Bakersfield	2	–	12		.143			8	–	19		.296
Cal Poly	2	–	12		.143			7	–	21		.250
† 2022 Big West tournament winner * ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament and 2022 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Gauchos finished the season 22–5, 13–3 in Big West play to win the Big West regular season championship. They defeated Long Beach State, UC Davis, and UC Irvine to win the Big West tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to Creighton.

Roster

2021–22 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Sékou Touré 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Prolific Prep Academy Conakry, Guinea F 1 Jay Nagle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Will C. Wood HS Vacaville, CA G 2 Josh Pierre-Louis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Temple Plainfield, NJ G 3 Ajare Sanni 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Pacific Houston, TX G 4 Cole Anderson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Clovis West HS Fresno, CA F 5 Miles Norris 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Brewster Academy San Diego, CA G 10 Calvin Wishart 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Georgia Southern Delano, MN G 11 Zach Harvey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Cincinnati Overland Park, KS F 12 Amadou Sow 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Prolific Prep Academy Bamako, Mali G 13 Ajay Mitchell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Limburg United Ans, Liège, Belgium F 14 Jakov Kukic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So La Lumiere School Split, Croatia F 23 Ariel Bland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Golden State Prep Eden Prairie, MN F 24 Robinson Idehen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Trinity Valley CC Tudela, Navarre, Spain F 40 David Pickles 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Mercer Island HS Seattle, WA G 50 Gage Gomez 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Arroyo Grande HS Arroyo Grande, CA G 51 Henry Hartwell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr El Camino HS Oceanside, CA G 53 Max Sheldon 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr San Marcos HS Santa Barbara, CA	Head coach Joe Pasternack (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) John Rillie (Gonzaga) Larry Lewis (Morehouse) Ben Tucker (Arizona) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 20, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		San Francisco State	W 119–65	1–0	The Thunderdome (3,037) Santa Barbara, CA
November 15, 2021* 8:00 pm, P12N		at Washington State	L 65–73	1–1	Beasley Coliseum (2,928) Pullman, WA
November 20, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Chicago State Cerebro Sports Cali Jam	W 81–50	2–1	The Thunderdome (824) Santa Barbara, CA
November 24, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Arkansas–Pine Bluff Cerebro Sports Cali Jam	W 86–58	3–1	The Thunderdome (702) Santa Barbara, CA
November 29, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		UT Arlington	L 62–70	3–2	The Thunderdome (483) Santa Barbara, CA
December 3, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Pepperdine	W 86–74	4–2	The Thunderdome (2,211) Santa Barbara, CA
December 5, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		California Lutheran	W 87–66	5–2	The Thunderdome (432) Santa Barbara, CA
December 11, 2021* 3:00 pm, WCCN		at Saint Mary's (CA)	L 59–80	5–3	University Credit Union Pavilion (3,019) Moraga, CA
December 14, 2021* 7:00 pm, WCCN		at Pacific	L 71–80 OT	5–4	Alex G. Spanos Center (1,162) Stockton, CA
December 19, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida A&M	W 73–62	6–4	The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
December 22, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Idaho State	W 56–43	7–4	The Thunderdome (526) Santa Barbara, CA
Big West regular season
December 30, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC San Diego	L 83–85 OT	7–5	RIMAC Arena (0) La Jolla, CA
January 1, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Irvine	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols		Bren Events Center  Irvine, CA
January 6, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal Poly	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols		The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols		The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 13, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Long Beach State	L 58–65	7–6 (0–1)	Walter Pyramid (812) Long Beach, CA
January 15, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Fullerton	L 73–79	7–7 (0–2)	Titan Gym (290) Fullerton, CA
January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Riverside	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols		The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 22, 2022 1:00 pm, Spectrum SportsNet		UC Davis	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols		The Thunderdome  Santa Barbara, CA
January 25, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at CSUN	W 72–45	8–7 (1–2)	Matadome (103) Northridge, CA
January 29, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN+		at Hawaiʻi	L 62–65	8–8 (1–3)	Stan Sheriff Center (3,735) Honolulu, HI
February 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Irvine	L 52–53	8–9 (1–4)	The Thunderdome (999) Santa Barbara, CA
February 5, 2022* 1:00 pm, Spectrum SportsNet		UC San Diego	W 84–48	9–9	The Thunderdome (999) Santa Barbara, CA
February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	W 74–62	10–9 (2–4)	Icardo Center (1,307) Bakersfield, CA
February 12, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal Poly	W 69–64	11–9 (3–4)	Mott Athletics Center (2,117) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	L 58–67	11–10 (3–5)	The Thunderdome (1,012) Santa Barbara, CA
February 19, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Long Beach State	W 84–71	12–10 (4–5)	The Thunderdome (1,342) Santa Barbara, CA
February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Davis	W 76–69 OT	13–10 (5–5)	University Credit Union Center (1,383) Davis, CA
February 26, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Riverside	W 97–90 2OT	14–10 (6–5)	SRC Arena (1,004) Riverside, CA
March 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		CSUN	W 70–61	15–10 (7–5)	The Thunderdome (2,300) Santa Barbara, CA
March 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Hawaiʻi	W 67–60	16–10 (8–5)	The Thunderdome (2,764) Santa Barbara, CA
Big West tournament
March 10, 2022 2:30 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (4) UC Irvine Quarterfinals	W 78–69	17–10	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
March 11, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (1) Long Beach State Semifinals	L 64–67	17–11	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific.

Source^[1]