The first games of the 2021-22 Division I men's college basketball season tip off in November, and after reading through the for the 2021-22 season, several team and individual records could fall next spring.
Here are six DI men's basketball records that could be broken (or tied) this season.
Consecutive games scoring in double figures in a career
Record: 115 games
Record-holders: Lionel Simmons (La Salle), Chris Clemons (Campbell)
Detroit's Antoine Davis, the country's second-leading returning scorer, has never scored fewer than 10 points in 82 career games. That means Davis needs 33 more games in a row while scoring in double figures to tie the record and 34 to break it.
The challenge for Davis is likely Detroit playing that many games, rather than him continuing to score at least 10 points in each game. Detroit played 30 games in both Davis' freshman and sophomore seasons (although his second season was the 2019-20 season that ended early), so he likely needs his team to make a run in the Horizon League tournament and potentially play in a postseason tournament after that.
Davis' current streak has been in jeopardy on a few occasions over the last two seasons. He scored just 10 points in a loss to Wright State last season, although he had 18 shot attempts, so he still commands the shot volume to score in double figures each game. Last season, Davis played 38.5 minutes per game, which ranked fifth nationally per , and when he was on the floor, he took 34.1 percent of his team's shots, which ranked 12th nationally.
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Next season, Detroit's non-conference schedule includes road games at Louisville (44th in defensive efficiency in 2021, per kenpom.com) and Mississippi State (54th), so those are two matchups to watch in terms of potentially difficult opponents for Davis.
Career games played
Record: 157 games
Record-holder: David Lighty (Ohio State)
Thanks to the 2020-21 season not counting against college players' eligibility, numerous returning fifth and sixth-year seniors could have the opportunity to break Lighty's record. There are too many potential players to name who could break this record but take, for example, a player like Michigan's Eli Brooks, who returned for a fifth season after having played 125 games in his first four seasons in Ann Arbor, and you have the type of player that's worth discussing.
Brooks has been a rotation player or starter for four seasons for some very good Michigan teams. In those four years, the Wolverines earned a No. 3 seed in 2018, a No. 2 seed in 2019, Michigan was on pace to make the canceled 2020 NCAA tournament after going 19-12 and the Wolverines earned a No. 1 seed last season. All of those tournament seeds mean that Michigan was positioned to make deep runs in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, leading to more games for Brooks, and all a player like him would need to break Lighty's record is one more season where Michigan has strong showings in the postseason.
Consecutive 25-win seasons
Record: 15 seasons
Record-holder: Kansas (2006-20)
Kansas went 21-9 last season, marking the second time in three seasons that the Jayhawks didn't win at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title after they won at least a share for 14 consecutive seasons prior to that. With Kansas' streak now over, that opens the door for Gonzaga to potentially tie the record this season and then break it in the 2022-23 season. The 'Zags have won at least 25 games in each of their last 14 seasons, dating back to the 2008 season, and they've often cleared that bar with ease.
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They've won at least 31 games in each of the last five seasons and that's despite the last two seasons being shorter than usual. The Bulldogs should once again be among the nation's premier teams thanks to the return of All-American forward Drew Timme and the addition of a talented freshman class that's headlined by 7-footer Chet Holmgren.
Frankly, barring multiple significant injuries, it would be a surprise if Gonzaga was in danger of winning fewer than 25 games in the 2022 season.
Consecutive 20-win seasons
Record: 31 seasons
Record-holders: North Carolina (1971-2001), Kansas (1990-2021)
While Kansas' streak of 25-win seasons ended in 2021, the program's run of 20-win seasons remains alive, even if barely, after the Jayhawks had a 21-9 campaign last season. They're now tied with North Carolina as DI men's basketball programs that have won at least 20 games in 31 consecutive seasons.
With one more 20-win season, which should be even more possible than last season thanks to the return of normal scheduling for the 2021-22 season, Kansas can take sole possession of the record. That should be a mark that Kansas reaches with ease as the Jayhawks return four starters and their top three scorers, while adding a few notable transfers, namely former Arizona State guard Remy Martin.
Most-improved team
Record: +17.5 wins
Record-holder: Towson (1-31 in 2012, 18-13 in 2013)
It's not an overstatement to say that Kentucky's 2021 season was one of the worst in program history. It was the Wildcats' first losing season since 1989, their fewest wins since 1927 (when they played just 16 games) and their .360 win percentage ranked 110th out of 118 seasons in program history.
Since the end of last season, Kentucky has overhauled its roster, namely through the addition of transfers Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia), Sahvir Wheeler (Georgia), Kellan Grady (Davidson) and CJ Fredrick (Iowa), plus the Wildcats have a talented freshman guard in TyTy Washington Jr. If Kentucky's win total reaches the low-to-mid 30s – say, with a record like 33-4 or 34-5 – with its new-look but talented roster, it could have the biggest year-to-year turnaround in DI men's basketball history.
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With so many new players, Kentucky's roster could take some time to develop, as have several Kentucky teams in recent memory, but John Calipari has led the Wildcats to seven seasons with at least 28 wins, so it's not necessarily an unreasonable target, either. Note that Kentucky wouldn't have to just win 18 more games than last season in order to potentially break the record; the total number of games played in a season affects the equation, which is why Towson's record is a 17.5-win improvement since it played one more game in 2012 than it did in 2013.
Most all-time wins
Record: 2,327 wins
Record-holder: Kentucky
We've already highlighted both Kansas and Kentucky — two of the most successful programs in DI men's basketball history. Entering the 2021-22 season, Kentucky holds just a four-win advantage over Kansas in terms of its all-time win total — 2,327 to 2,323. Both teams could be better next season than last season (and should clearly be better in the case of Kentucky), but if Kansas can win at least five more games than Kentucky next season, then the Jayhawks will enter the 2022-23 season as the winningest program of all time in terms of total wins.
