The 2021–22 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I season. The Bruins were led by third-year head coach Mick Cronin and they played their home games at

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men ...

as members of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. All ten players from last year's Final Four team returned.

Johnny Juzang Jonathan Anh Juzang (; born March 17, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. He began his college ...

earned third-team All-American honors, and he was named first-team all-conference along with Tyger Campbell and

Jaime Jaquez Jr. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (, ; born February 18, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. He was named a consensus second-team All-American and voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2023. ...

Jaquez, Jaylen Clark and

Myles Johnson Myles Johnson (born March 18, 1999) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the UCLA Bruins. He was named to the all-defensive team in both the Big Ten Conference with Rutgers and ...

were also voted to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team. New this season is that the team's footwear, apparel, and equipment are provided by

Jordan Brand Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 and ...

and

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

. UCLA began the season 5–0 before facing Gonzaga in a rematch of the Final Four from the 2021 NCAA tournament. However, the No. 2 Bruins suffered their first defeat in an 83–63 blowout to the No. 1 Bulldogs. The UCLA team experienced a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

outbreak starting on December 15, 2021, causing them to cancel three nonconference games and postpone two Pac-12 games. The Bruins resumed play on January 6, 2022, against Long Beach State. At this time, the team began to play behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions on indoor events implemented by the campus. The rematch against the Beach, who UCLA defeated earlier in November, was scheduled after the Bruins' original opponents that week,

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, needed to postpone due to coronavirus issues in their programs. It was the first time UCLA faced a nonconference opponent twice in the same regular season since 1982–83, when they faced Notre Dame in a home and away series. The Bruins lost in overtime to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

on January 13, their first defeat since late November. UCLA then won six straight conference games, including their sixth consecutive over

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, to gain sole possession of first place in the Pac-12. However, the Bruins lost their third game in four contests after falling to their crosstown rivals,

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. It was their fifth straight loss to the Trojans, their longest drought in

the series ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

since the 1940s. UCLA ended the regular season winning six of their last seven games. They won their regular-season finale against USC to claim the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 tournament, breaking their tie with the Trojans for second place in the conference. It was the Bruins' first win in the series since February 2019, and their first under Cronin. UCLA advanced to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, where they lost to Arizona. It was the Bruins' first appearance in the title game since their win in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

over the Wildcats. Seeded No. 4 in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament, UCLA rallied in the opener for a 57–53 comeback win over 13th-seeded

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

. Campbell scored eight of the Bruins' final 10 points, and he finished with a team-high 16. The Bruins defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary's 72–56 to advance to the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons for the first time since

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. UCLA was eliminated in the semifinals in a 73–66 loss to eighth-seeded

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The Bruins led by three points with two minutes remaining in a game that featured 14 lead changes and eight ties. On March 25, assistant coach

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to ''Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He ...

was named as head coach of Ball State basketball team.

Previous season

The Bruins are coming off of a season in which they made an improbable run in the NCAA tournament to the Final Four, where their upset bid against top-ranked Gonzaga in the National Semifinal fell just short in overtime, 93–90. UCLA, which had begun the tournament in the

First Four The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field, and two games contested between the four lowest-seeded "a ...

, became just the fifth 11-seed to ever advance to the Final Four. They finished the season with a 22–10 overall record.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2021 recruiting class

Preseason

* September 14, 2021 – Nan Wooden, daughter of former UCLA men's basketball Coach John Wooden and long time supporter of the basketball team, died.

Preseason rankings

* October 13, 2021 – The Bruins are picked as the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 media poll.

Preseason All-Americans

* Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are named to the Athlon Sports' pre-season All-America list, first and third team respectively.

Preseason award watchlists

* Tyger Campbell named to the

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award presented by The College of the Holy Cross (or Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award) is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. ...

's watch list (Top point guard) * Johnny Juzang named to the

Jerry West Award The Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate shooting guard. The award is named after former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, ...

's watch list (Top shooting guard) * Jaime Jaquez Jr. named to the

Julius Erving Award The Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate small forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarde ...

's watch list (Top small forward) * Myles Johnson named to the

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate center. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded sinc ...

's watch list (Top center) * Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang are named to the

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball. The award has been given since the 1974–75 season to National Collegiate Athl ...

watch list * Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang:

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

watch list

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, Pac-12 Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA Tournament

Rankings

''*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.''
^''Coaches poll was not released for Week 2.''

Statistics

Awards and honors

* December 7, 2021 – Jules Bernard and Myles Johnson were named as candidates for the men's basketball

Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

* January 5, 2022 – Jaime Jaquez and Johnny Juzang were named to the

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

Midseason Top 25 watchlist. * January 31, 2022 – Tyger Campbell selected to the

10-person watch list * January 31, 2022 – Johnny Juzang named to the

20-person late season watch list * February 1, 2022 – Johnny Juzang is named to the

10-person watch list, honoring the nation's top shooting guard * February 2, 2022 – Jaime Jaquez Jr. is listed on the

10-person watch list, presented to the nation's top small forward. * March 15, 2022 – Johnny Juzang, Tyger Campbell, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are named to the NABC All-District 19 teams * Juzang was named a third-team All-American by the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team UCLA Bruins men's basketball seasons

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

UCLA Bruins basketball, men UCLA Bruins basketball, men UCLA Bruins basketball, men UCLA Bruins basketball, men