2021–22 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies were led by first-year head coach Rashon Burno, played their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 9–21, 6–14 in MAC play to finish a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

2021–22 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record9–21 (6–14 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Steve Christinsen
  • Drew Gladstone
  • Branden McDonald
Home arenaConvocation Center
Seasons
2021–22 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Toledo173 .850268 .765
Kent State164 .8002311 .676
Ohio146 .7002510 .714
Akron146 .7002410 .706
Buffalo136 .6841911 .633
Ball State910 .4741417 .452
Miami (OH)812 .4001418 .438
Central Michigan612 .333723 .233
Bowling Green614 .3001318 .419
Northern Illinois614 .300921 .300
Eastern Michigan515 .2501021 .323
Western Michigan416 .200823 .258
2022 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Huskies finished the 2020–21 season 3–16, 2–12 in MAC play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament which had been limited to provide that the bottom four finishers would not be eligible.[1] The MAC also announced the removal of divisions in cost-cutting measure partly attributed to COVID-19.[1]

On January 3, 2021, it was announced that head coach Mark Montgomery had been relieved of his duties after the team's 1–7 start to the season. Associate head coach Lamar Chapman was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[2] On March 6, the school named Arizona State assistant Rashon Burno the new head coach.

Roster

2021–22 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G0Keshawn Williams6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg)SoTulsaChicago Heights, IL
G1Trendon Hankerson6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)SrNovi HSNovi, MI
G2Kaleb Thornton6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg)JrIowa Western CCBolingbrook, IL
G3Noah Kon6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg)FrHouston Christian HSHouston, TX
F4Montavious Myrick6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg)FrNorth Atlanta HSAtlanta, GA
F5Chris Osten6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg)SrArizona StateCrowley, LA
G10Zion Russell6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)FrNational Christian AcademyUpper Marlboro, MD
F11Chinedu Kingsley Okanu6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg)SrVincennesLynwood, IL
F12Zool Kueth6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg)SrPratt CCGallatin, TN
C13Adong Makuoi6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg)SrDaytona State CollegeEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
G22Edward Manuel6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg)JrNavarro CollegeLake Charles, LA
G24Darweshi Hunter6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg)JrWeber StateCincinnati, OH
F25Drew Wiemers6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)JrBenedictineCoal Valley, IL
G50Anthony Crump6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg)SrMiddle TennesseeInkster, MI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2021*
1:00 pm
St. FrancisW 80–57 
Convocation Center (103)
DeKalb, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021*
7:00 pm, P12N
at WashingtonW 71–64 1–0
Alaska Airlines Arena (6,356)
Seattle, WA
November 12, 2021*
6:00 pm, BTN+
at IndianaL 49–85 1–1
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222)
Bloomington, IN
November 18, 2021*
7:00 pm, SECN+
at Missouri
Jacksonville Classic campus game
L 37–54 1–2
Mizzou Arena (6,302)
Columbia, MO
November 21, 2021*
11:00 am
vs. Boston University
Jacksonville Classic (Jax Bracket) semifinal
L 58–76 1–3
UNF Arena (450)
Jacksonville, FL
November 22, 2021*
10:00 am
vs. Little Rock
Jacksonville Classic (Jax Bracket) consolation
L 60–67 1–4
UNF Arena (180)
Jacksonville, FL
November 27, 2021*
7:00 pm, FS2
at MarquetteL 66–80 1–5
Fiserv Forum (13,272)
Milwaukee, WI
December 1, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Eastern IllinoisW 55–45 2–5
Convocation Center (1,153)
DeKalb, IL
December 4, 2021*
1:00 pm, BSOH/ESPN+
at DaytonL 41–79 2–6
UD Arena (13,407)
Dayton, OH
December 13, 2021*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Chicago StateW 70–59 3–6
Jones Convocation Center (262)
Chicago, IL
December 19, 2021*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at UICL 60–61 3–7
Credit Union 1 Arena (2148)
Chicago, IL
December 22, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Indiana StateCanceled due to COVID-19 protocolsConvocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
MAC regular season
January 8, 2022
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at ToledoL 63–94 3–8
(0–1)
Savage Arena (3,780)
Toledo, OH
January 11, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Kent StateW 65–63 4–8
(1–1)
MAC Center (1,423)
Kent, OH
January 15, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN3
Eastern MichiganW 77–70 5–8
(2–1)
Convocation Center (1,035)
DeKalb, IL
January 18, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Bowling GreenL 83–92 5–9
(2–2)
Convocation Center (553)
DeKalb, IL
January 22, 2022
2:30 pm, ESPN3
at Miami (OH)L 82–85 OT5–10
(2–3)
Millett Hall (1,214)
Oxford, OH
January 25, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at OhioL 62–74 5–11
(2–4)
Convocation Center (4,783)
Athens, OH
January 27, 2022
8:00 pm, ESPN3
Ball State
Rescheduled from December 29
L 67–74 5–12
(2–5)
Convocation Center (613)
DeKalb, IL
January 29, 2022
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Central MichiganL 63–69 5–13
(2–6)
Convocation Center (773)
DeKalb, IL
February 1, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Western MichiganW 75–56 6–13
(3–6)
University Arena (1,217)
Kalamazoo, MI
February 5, 2022
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Bowling GreenL 65–87 6–14
(3–7)
Stroh Center (1,995)
Bowling Green, OH
February 8, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
AkronL 64–70 6–15
(3–8)
Convocation Center (653)
DeKalb, IL
February 12, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN+
ToledoL 72–100 6–16
(3–9)
Convocation Center (1,141)
DeKalb, IL
February 15, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Ball StateW 64–58 7–16
(4–9)
Worthen Arena (2,918)
Muncie, IN
February 17, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Akron
Rescheduled from January 1
W 66–63 8–16
(5–9)
Rhodes Arena (2,076)
Akron, OH
February 19, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN+
Miami (OH)L 75–78 8–17
(5–10)
Convocation Center (1,507)
DeKalb, IL
February 22, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Eastern MichiganL 72–74 8–18
(5–11)
George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,294)
Ypsilanti, MI
February 24, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Buffalo
Rescheduled from January 4
L 68–79 8–19
(5–12)
Convocation Center (521)
DeKalb, IL
February 26, 2022
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at BuffaloL 60–70 8–20
(5–13)
Alumni Arena (4,990)
Buffalo, NY
March 1, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Kent StateL 55–63 8–21
(5–14)
Convocation Center (706)
DeKalb, IL
March 4, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
OhioW 58–57 9–21
(6–14)
Convocation Center (794)
DeKalb, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

References