The 2021–22 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles 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 as members of the Pac-12 Conference.

At this time, the team began to play behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions on indoor events implemented by the campus.

[7] The rematch against the Beach, who UCLA defeated earlier in November, was scheduled after the Bruins' original opponents that week, Arizona State and Stanford, needed to postpone due to coronavirus issues in their programs.

[9] UCLA then won six straight conference games,[10] including their sixth consecutive over rival Arizona,[11] to gain sole possession of first place in the Pac-12.

4 in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament, UCLA rallied in the opener for a 57–53 comeback win over 13th-seeded Akron.

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.