2021–22 Michigan Tech Huskies men's basketball team

The Huskies finished 12–6 in the GLIAC and overall in the 2020–21 season[1] prior to the GLIAC Tournament

The Huskies ended the regular were the 3-seed in the GLIAC Tournament. They defeated then 6-seed Purdue Northwest[2] in the first round and Grand Valley State in the second round.[3] During the GLIAC championship, the huskies trailed Ashland University 44–42 at halftime, and was outscored 41–35 in the second half. This made Ashland University the champions of the GLIAC 2020–21 season.[4] Michigan Tech got into the NCAA (DII) Tournament as a 2-seed, in the field of 48, meaning they got a one-game bye.[5] The Huskies got to go against Southern Indiana, and won 81–69.[6] They went on to lose to then 1-seed Truman St in the next round, ending their run in the NCAA Tournament.[7]

Kevin Luke, who has been head coach for Michigan Tech's men's basketball team for 27 seasons and has been part of the Huskies program for another 7 years, has retired on April 15, 2021.[8] On April 16, 2021, Associate Coach Josh Buettner had been promoted to become the new head coach of the Huskies program. Buettner has been Associate Head Coach for 13 seasons leading up to the promotion.[9] On June 23rd, Michigan Tech alum Ben Stelzer was hired as an assistant coach under head coach Josh Buettner after playing professionally overseas.[10]

Around March 30, 2021, Dawson Nordgaard, a Forward from De Pere, Wisconsin signed his letter of intent to attend the Michigan Tech program in the 2021-22 season. Nordgaard's parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents all were college athletes.[11]

In the Pre-season rankings for the GLIAC North, Michigan Tech was narrowly projected to finish first, just ahead of Ferris State.[12]

While the Huskies didn't receive any votes in the primary D2SIDA poll for the Top 25, The Huskies are number 7 in the Midwest rankings.[13]

On November 3rd, Michigan Tech visited Division I opponent Ball State.

The game was tied at 31 at the end of the first half. The Huskies outscored the Cardinals 31-14 over the next 13 minutes and 27 seconds to make it a 62-45 lead. In the ensuing 15 minutes and 43 seconds, Ball State's crew managed to tie the game at 69 a piece. Following a shooting foul on Ball State's T. Cochran, Owen White would make 1 of 2 free throws. Ball State would end up missing their next two 2-point attempts, giving the Huskies a 70-69 victory against Ball State.

Tech scoring was lead by Trent Bell with 17 points and Eric Carl with 13. Rebounding was lead by Owen White with 8 and Carter Johnston with 7.[14]

On November 12th, the Huskies travelled to Romeoville, Illinois to play McKendree in Day 1 of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge. The Huskies weren't able to keep the game super close in the first half, trailing by as much as 11 with 7:29 left in the first half, and ending the first half behind 27-37. Despite the Huskies' best attempts to cut into McKendree's second-half lead, McKendree wound up winning by 15, outscoring Tech 37-32 in the second half. Hobson and White lead the Huskies in scoring, getting a combined 33 points of Tech's 59 points. White also recorded 7 rebounds and tied with three other players in assists, recording 2 of the Huskies' eight assists. They fell to 0-1 in the season.[15][16]

The day after losing to McKendree, the Huskies participated in Day 2 of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge, playing against Lewis.[12] Shooting 48% from the field, the Huskies trailed by as much as 8 to Lewis, as Lewis scored 8 of the first 10 points of the game. Tech eventually cut into the deficit to trail 28-30 at the half. The Huskies continued this trend to outscore Lewis 36-26 in the second half, winning 64-56. White and Carl led the Huskies with 22 points each, shooting a combined 15-of-26 from the field, and 8-of-18 from beyond the arc. Bell led rebounding for the Huskies with 12. Johnston lead with 5 assists. The Huskies are now 1-1 under their new head coach.[17][18]

There was a 1-week interval between playing against Lewis at a neutral site and playing Minnesota Crookston. The Huskies had control of the score since the first basket was made 42 seconds into the game, starting the game on a 10-0 run through 16:47, when Crookston got their first pair of points. Led by Owen White and Trent Bell, Michigan Tech would outscore Minnesota Crookston 54-31 in the first half, which was their biggest lead of the half. Over the first 11 minutes and 23 seconds of the second half, Crookston outscored Michigan Tech 29-13. Led by a varying group of players, Michigan Tech weren't able to grow that 9-point lead by much over the remaining eight minutes, eventually winning by 11, 83-72. Owen White led scoring with 24 points, with Eric Carl providing an additional 20 points. Trent Bell led rebounding, getting seven throughout the game. 10 of the 17 assists were split between Johnston and Carl, with both getting 5 assists.[19]

Minnesota-Duluth visited Michigan Tech and found their way to a 34-point victory through Drew Blair's first career Double-Double with 15 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-13 shooting. The Huskies were limited to a 29.6% shooting percentage during the game as no Tech player reached double digits in points, Owen White being the closest at a team-high nine points. The team had several issues they hope to fix when St. Cloud State visits on November 28th.[20][21]

The Huskies hoped to rebound a day after their 34-point loss to Minnesota Duluth,[22] and were able to do so against St. Cloud State, winning 90-76, despite being down 46-39 at the half, with Trent Bell's double-double, his first of the season. Bell had 19 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and a steal. Owen White led the Huskies in scoring with 25 points. The team shot 52.5% from the field and went 13-for-14 from the Free Throw Line, while limiting St. Cloud State to 48.1% from the field and 5-for-19 from beyond the arc.[23]

In hopes to continue their win streak, Michigan Tech visited Northwood to try and get a win; the Huskies did just that and more. After the game was tied at 15-all early in the first half, the Huskies found their way to a 16-point, 51-35 lead at the half. En route to extending their win streak, and starting conference play on a good note, Owen White lead the Huskies with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. Tech went 54.5% from beyond the arc and 39-65 (60%) overall, besting Northwood in every category, except for Free Throw Percentage (66%-78%) and blocks, both teams blocking one goal.[24]

During rivalry games, the away team always want to try and keep the game close, and that's what Northern Michigan were able to do during the second-half of this game's matchup. Tech shot 49.1% from the field, with three players in double-digits, in a game that they one by one point. After leading 36-29 at the half, the Huskies were outscored 47-41 in the second half to narrowly beat the Wildcats 77-76, thanks to a made free throw made between a pair of Wildcat three-pointers in the last couple seconds of the game. Adam Hobson lead all players with a career-high 22 points, along with 4 rebounds and a block.[25]