The 2021–22 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

in the

2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2021 and concluded on March 13, 2022. The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 15 and concluded on April 4 with the c ...

. The Bearcats were led by first-year head coach

Wes Miller Warren Weston Miller (born January 28, 1983) is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, he played at the collegiate level for Jame ...

. The team played their home games at

Fifth Third Arena Fifth Third Arena is an indoor arena in Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the con ...

as members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. They finished the season 18–15, 7–11 in AAC play to finish in seventh place.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Bearcats finished the 2019–20 season 12–11, 8–6 in AAC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated SMU and

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

in the AAC tournament before losing to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in the championship game. The season was the first time since

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

that the Bearcats did not make the NCAA tournament. On April 3, 2021, the school placed head coach

John Brannen John Brannen may refer to: * John Brannen (basketball) (born 1974), American basketball coach * John Brannen (singer) John Brannen (born March 19, 1952) is an American roots rock/ heartland rock, singer-songwriter whose song "Somebody" appea ...

on paid leave pending an investigation after six Bearcats players decided to transfer following the season. A week later, the school fired Brannen following an investigation into his conduct. On April 14, the school named

UNC Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the Southern Association of College ...

head coach Wes Miller the team's new head coach.

Offseason

Two days after the conference tournament championship, the Bearcats saw six players enter the transfer portal. On March 26, Athletic Director John Cunningham announced the university would begin investigating allegations against the program. On April 3, it was announced that head coach

was placed on indefinite leave. On April 9, the school announced Brannen had been relieved of his duties effective immediately along with assistants Jayson Gee and Sean Dwyer. Tim Morris was announced as the interim head coach. In the next few days, both Mike Saunders Jr. and Mason Madsen withdrew from the transfer portal after Miller's hiring.

Departures

Incoming transfers

Recruiting classes

2021 recruiting class

There was no 2021 recruiting class.

2022 recruiting class

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 13, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards

Preseason Awards

* AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team - Jeremiah Davenport

Roster

Schedule and results

The Bearcats game vs

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

scheduled for December 18, 2021 was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Tigers program. The Bearcats replaced the Texas Southern game with a game against Division II Ashland. , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, AAC Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, AAC Tournament Source

Awards and honors

American Athletic Conference honors

All-AAC Third Team

* David DeJulius

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball seasons

Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball program represents the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team competes in NCAA Division I as part of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats are currently coached by Wes Miller. Wit ...