The 2021–22 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

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 Wildcats, founding members of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

, played their home games at

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility o ...

and were led by

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

in his 13th season as head coach. The Wildcats finished the season 26–8, 14–4 in SEC play to finish a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the

SEC tournament The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions. Members The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...

, they defeated Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals before losing to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in the semifinals. They received an at large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East region. The Wildcats became just the 10th No. 2 seed to lose in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to No. 15-seeded Saint Peter’s 85–79 in overtime. It also marked the first time Kentucky had suffered a First Round exit under Calipari, and allowed eventual tournament champion

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

to take the all-time record for most wins in Division I men's college basketball history.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

finished the 2020–21 season 9–16, 8–9 in SEC play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the second round of the

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

Offseason

Coaching changes

Departures

Additions to staff

Player departures

Note that all players in the 2020–21 season, regardless of their classification, had the option to return to the program. Due to COVID-19 impacts, the NCAA declared that the 2020–21 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any student-athlete in any of the organization's winter sports, including basketball. This led the NBA and its players union to agree that for the 2021 draft only, players who were seniors in 2020–21 had to declare their eligibility for the draft.

2021 recruiting class

On October 26, 2020, Bryce Hopkins committed to UK over offers from

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Hopkins was the first commitment in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 9 ranked power forward in the 2021 class by 247Sports. He was a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and was ranked No. 38 overall by 247Sports. On October 31, 2020, Daimion Collins committed to UK over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Collins was the second commitment in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 2 ranked power forward in the 2021 class by 247Sports. He was a consensus five-star player by the four main recruiting services and was ranked No. 10 overall by 247Sports. On May 12, 2021, TyTy Washington committed to UK over offers from Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, LSU and Oregon. Washington was the third commitment in the 2021 recruiting class and the No. 1 ranked point guard in the 2021 class by 247Sports. He was a consensus five-star player by the four main recruiting services and was ranked No. 11 overall by 247Sports.

2022 recruiting class

On November 10, 2021, four consensus five-star prospects signed with UK: Skyy Clark, Chris Livingston, Shaedon Sharpe, and Cason Wallace. Clark planned to enroll at UK in the spring 2022 semester, while the others planned to arrive in fall 2022. On March 6, 2022 Clark announced that he would not be attending Kentucky. Kentucky released Clark from his letter of intent, freeing Clark to attend a new school.

2023 recruiting class

On November 20, 2021, Reed Sheppard verbally committed to UK over multiple offers, with

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

among the most active in attempting to recruit him. The son of former UK basketball players Jeff Sheppard and the former Stacey Reed, he was the first commitment to the 2023 recruiting class. At the time of his commitment, he was the No. 3 ranked combo guard in the 2023 class by 247 Sports.

Incoming transfers

Roster

Schedule and results

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Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

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