The Highlanders, led by second-year head coach Mike Magpayo, played their home games at the on-campus Student Recreation Center Arena[a] in Riverside, California as members of the Big West Conference.

[3] Prior to the season, the future of the men's basketball program was placed into doubt, as UC Riverside's leadership were considering cutting the university's entire athletics department in response to financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in May 2021, the university announced that they had decided against eliminating athletics and would continue competing at the NCAA Division I level in all sports,[4][5] thus saving the men's basketball program from extinction.

Roster Last update: December 12, 2021 On November 11, the Highlanders upset Pac-12 school Arizona State on the road, 66–65.

As time expired in the game, forward J. P. Moorman II sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer from past half-court to stun the Sun Devils in what a USA Today opinion piece called "one of college basketball's shining moments" and "perhaps the shot of the year".