2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

2012 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament

2012 Final Four logo
Season 2011–12
Teams 68
Finals site Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions Kentucky (8th title, 11th title game,
15th Final Four)
Runner-up Kansas (9th title game,
14th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coach John Calipari (1st title)
MOP Anthony Davis Kentucky
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments
«2011 2013»

The 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 2012, and concluded with the championship game on April 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making their second appearance in the Final Four under John Calipari, Louisville, making their second appearance under Rick Pitino and first since 2005, Kansas, making their first appearance since winning the 2008 national championship under head coach Bill Self by defeating Calipari's Memphis team, and Ohio State, making their first appearance since their runner-up finish in 2007 and second under coach Thad Matta.

Kentucky defeated Kansas 67-59 to win their first national championship since Tubby Smith led the team there in 1998. This was Calipari's first national championship in four trips to the Final Four, having previously gone there with Kentucky in 2011, Memphis in 2008 and Massachusetts in 1996.

Upsets were once again the story of the tournament in 2012, and for the first time ever two #15 seeds won in the same tournament. In the South Region, #15 Lehigh of the Patriot League defeated #2 Duke. In the West Region, #15 Norfolk State of the MEAC, making their first ever NCAA tournament appearance, defeated #2 Missouri. In addition to this, Ohio won a game as a double digit seed for the second time in four tournaments as the #13 seed Bobcats defeated #4 seed Michigan to advance to the third round of the Midwest Region. A team from the First Four games also won in the Round of 64 for the second consecutive year as South Florida defeated Midwest #5 seed Temple, setting up a #12 vs. #13 matchup that Ohio won.

Virginia Commonwealth, a Final Four team from 2011 as an #11 seed, made the 2012 tournament as a #12 seed and once again made the round of 32 by defeating South #5 seed Wichita State. The South Region saw four double digit seeds win in their opening games, as Colorado and Xavier joined VCU and Lehigh as victors. Xavier advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where they were defeated by Baylor.

Despite the upsets, all four top seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2009. Three made it to the Elite Eight, as only Michigan State of the West Region lost. Kentucky was the only one to advance to the Final Four as Syracuse and North Carolina lost in their regional finals.

Two teams made their first NCAA tournament appearances in school history: MEAC champion Norfolk State and Summit League champion South Dakota State. Ivy League champion Harvard made its first appearance since 1946.

All four teams from the state of Ohio (Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio State, and Xavier) made it to the Sweet 16, marking the first time in tournament history any state has been represented by four teams in the round of 16.[1] This tournament was also the first tournament since 1985 to feature no teams in the Sweet 16 from the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones.

It is also the first tournament ever that both national semifinals and the national championship game were regular season rematches.[2]

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty out of 31 automatic bids were given to the teams that won their conference tournament. The remaining automatic bid was awarded to the Ivy League regular season champion since they do not hold a conference tournament. The remaining 37 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee on March 11.

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—will play in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games will advance to the main draw of the tournament.

For the first time ever, the Selection Committee publicly disclosed the overall rankings for each team, which are listed below.[3]

Tournament schedule and venues

Dayton
Nashville
Pittsburgh
Greensboro
Louisville
Columbus
Omaha
Portland
Albuquerque
2012 First Four (orange), and second and third rounds (green)
St. Louis
Atlanta
Boston
Phoenix
New Orleans
2012 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2012 tournament:[4][5]

First Four (March 13 and 14)
Second and third rounds
Regional sites
Final Four - New Orleans (March 31 and April 2)

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2012 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

Conference School Appearance Last Bid
America East Vermont 5th 2010
Atlantic 10 St. Bonaventure 6th 2000
ACC Florida State 14th 2011
Atlantic Sun Belmont 5th 2011
Big 12 Missouri 25th 2011
Big East Louisville 38th 2011
Big Sky Montana 9th 2010
Big South UNC Asheville 3rd 2011
Big Ten Michigan State 26th 2011
Big West Long Beach State 6th 2007
Colonial VCU 12th 2011
C-USA Memphis 24th 2011
Horizon Detroit 6th 1999
Ivy League Harvard 2nd 1946
MAAC Loyola (MD) 2nd 1994
MAC Ohio 12th 2010
MEAC Norfolk State 1st Never
Missouri Valley Creighton 17th 2007
Mountain West New Mexico 13th 2010
Northeast Long Island 5th 2011
Ohio Valley Murray State 15th 2010
Pac-12 Colorado 11th 2003
Patriot Lehigh 5th 2010
SEC Vanderbilt 13th 2011
Southern Davidson 11th 2008
Southland Lamar 6th 2000
SWAC Mississippi Valley State 5th 2008
Summit South Dakota State 1st Never
Sun Belt Western Kentucky 22nd 2009
West Coast Saint Mary's 7th 2010
WAC New Mexico State 19th 2010

Qualified teams

South Regional – Atlanta
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Overall rank
#1 Kentucky SEC 32–2 At-Large 1
#2 Duke ACC 27–6 At-Large 6
#3 Baylor Big 12 27–7 At-Large 9
#4 Indiana Big Ten 25–8 At-Large 15
#5 Wichita State Missouri Valley 27–5 At-Large 19
#6 UNLV Mountain West 26–8 At-Large 21
#7 Notre Dame Big East 22–11 At-Large 25
#8 Iowa State Big 12 22–10 At-Large 30
#9 Connecticut Big East 20–13 At-Large 34
#10 Xavier Atlantic 10 21–12 At-Large 40
#11 Colorado Pac-12 23–11 Tournament Winner 44
#12 VCU Colonial 28–6 Tournament Winner 49
#13 New Mexico State WAC 26–9 Tournament Winner 54
#14 South Dakota State Summit 27–7 Tournament Winner 56
#15 Lehigh Patriot 26–7 Tournament Winner 60
#16* Mississippi Valley State SWAC 21–12 Tournament Winner 67
Western Kentucky Sun Belt 15–18 Tournament Winner 68
West Regional – Phoenix
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Overall rank
#1 Michigan State Big Ten 27–7 Tournament Winner 4
#2 Missouri Big 12 30–4 Tournament Winner 8
#3 Marquette Big East 25–7 At-large 10
#4 Louisville Big East 26–9 Tournament Winner 16
#5 New Mexico Mountain West 27–6 Tournament Winner 20
#6 Murray State Ohio Valley 30–1 Tournament Winner 23
#7 Florida SEC 23–10 At-large 28
#8 Memphis C-USA 26–8 Tournament Winner 31
#9 Saint Louis Atlantic 10 25–7 At-large 36
#10 Virginia ACC 22–9 At-large 39
#11 Colorado State Mountain West 20–11 At-large 41
#12 Long Beach State Big West 25–8 Tournament Winner 51
#13 Davidson Southern 25–7 Tournament Winner 53
#14* Brigham Young West Coast 25–8 At-large 48
Iona MAAC 25–7 At-large 50
#15 Norfolk State MEAC 25–9 Tournament Winner 62
#16 Long Island Northeast 25–8 Tournament Winner 63
East Regional – Boston
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Overall rank
#1 Syracuse Big East 31–2 At-large 2
#2 Ohio State Big Ten 27–7 At-large 7
#3 Florida State ACC 24–9 Tournament Winner 11
#4 Wisconsin Big Ten 24–9 At-large 14
#5 Vanderbilt SEC 24–10 Tournament Winner 18
#6 Cincinnati Big East 24–10 At-large 22
#7 Gonzaga West Coast 25–6 At-large 27
#8 Kansas State Big 12 21–10 At-large 32
#9 Southern Mississippi C-USA 25–8 At-large 35
#10 West Virginia Big East 19–13 At-large 38
#11 Texas Big 12 20–13 At-large 43
#12 Harvard Ivy League 26–4 Regular Season Winner 46
#13 Montana Big Sky 25–6 Tournament Winner 55
#14 St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 20–11 Tournament Winner 58
#15 Loyola (MD) MAAC 24–8 Tournament Winner 59
#16 UNC-Asheville Big South 24–9 Tournament Winner 64
Midwest Regional – St. Louis
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Overall rank
#1 North Carolina ACC 29–5 At-Large 3
#2 Kansas Big 12 27–6 At-Large 5
#3 Georgetown Big East 23–8 At-Large 12
#4 Michigan Big Ten 24–9 At-Large 13
#5 Temple Atlantic Ten 24–7 At-Large 17
#6 San Diego State Mountain West 26–7 At-Large 24
#7 Saint Mary's West Coast 27–5 Tournament Winner 26
#8 Creighton Missouri Valley 28–5 Tournament Winner 29
#9 Alabama SEC 21–11 At-Large 33
#10 Purdue Big Ten 21–12 At-Large 37
#11 North Carolina State ACC 22–12 At-Large 42
#12* California Pac-12 24–9 At-Large 45
South Florida Big East 20–13 At-Large 47
#13 Ohio MAC 27–7 Tournament Winner 52
#14 Belmont Atlantic Sun 27–7 Tournament Winner 57
#15 Detroit Horizon 22–13 Tournament Winner 61
#16* Lamar Southland 23–11 Tournament Winner 65
Vermont America East 23–11 Tournament Winner 66

*See First Four.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

South #16 seed
March 13
   
16 Mississippi Valley State 58
16 Western Kentucky 59
Midwest #16 seed
March 14
   
16 Lamar 59
16 Vermont 71
West #14 seed
March 13
   
14 Brigham Young 78
14 Iona 72
Midwest #12 seed
March 14
   
12 California 54
12 South Florida 65

Both games on March 13 saw historic comebacks:

In addition, the March 13 session was notable for the attendance of Barack Obama, president of the United States, and David Cameron, prime minister of Great Britain. Cameron was in the U.S. for bilateral political and economic talks with Obama.

South Regional – Atlanta, Georgia

Second round
March 15–16 		Third round
March 17–18 		Regional semifinals
March 23 		Regional finals
March 25
            
1 Kentucky 81
16 Western Kentucky 66
1 Kentucky 87
Louisville – Thu/Sat
8 Iowa State 71
8 Iowa State 77
9 Connecticut 64
1 Kentucky 102
4 Indiana 90
5 Wichita State 59
12 VCU 62
12 VCU 61
Portland – Thu/Sat
4 Indiana 63
4 Indiana 79
13 New Mexico State 66
1 Kentucky 82
3 Baylor 70
6 UNLV 64
11 Colorado 68
11 Colorado 63
Albuquerque – Thu/Sat
3 Baylor 80
3 Baylor 68
14 South Dakota State 60
3 Baylor 75
10 Xavier 70
7 Notre Dame 63
10 Xavier 67
10 Xavier 70
Greensboro – Fri/Sun
15 Lehigh 58
2 Duke 70
15 Lehigh 75

South Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Quincy Acy, Baylor; Anthony Davis, Kentucky; Doron Lamb, Kentucky; Christian Watford, Indiana.[8]

Regional most outstanding player: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky[8]

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

Second round
March 15–16 		Third round
March 17–18 		Regional semifinals
March 22 		Regional finals
March 24
            
1 Michigan State 89
16 Long Island 67
1 Michigan State 65
Columbus – Fri/Sun
9 Saint Louis 61
8 Memphis 54
9 Saint Louis 61
1 Michigan State 44
4 Louisville 57
5 New Mexico 75
12 Long Beach State 68
5 New Mexico 56
Portland – Thu/Sat
4 Louisville 59
4 Louisville 69
13 Davidson 62
4 Louisville 72
7 Florida 68
6 Murray State 58
11 Colorado State 41
6 Murray State 53
Louisville – Thu/Sat
3 Marquette 62
3 Marquette 88
14 Brigham Young 68
3 Marquette 58
7 Florida 68
7 Florida 71
10 Virginia 45
7 Florida 84
Omaha – Fri/Sun
15 Norfolk State 50
2 Missouri 84
15 Norfolk State 86

West Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Bradley Beal, Florida; Gorgui Dieng, Louisville; Draymond Green, Michigan State; Peyton Siva, Louisville.[9]

Regional most outstanding player: Chane Behanan, Louisville[9]

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts

Second round
March 15–16 		Third round
March 17–18 		Regional semifinals
March 22 		Regional finals
March 24
            
1 Syracuse 72
16 UNC Asheville 65
1 Syracuse 75
Pittsburgh – Thu/Sat
8 Kansas State 59
8 Kansas State 70
9 Southern Miss 64
1 Syracuse 64
4 Wisconsin 63
5 Vanderbilt 79
12 Harvard 70
5 Vanderbilt 57
Albuquerque – Thu/Sat
4 Wisconsin 60
4 Wisconsin 73
13 Montana 49
1 Syracuse 70
2 Ohio State 77
6 Cincinnati 65
11 Texas 59
6 Cincinnati 62
Nashville – Fri/Sun
3 Florida State 56
3 Florida State 66
14 St. Bonaventure 63
6 Cincinnati 66
2 Ohio State 81
7 Gonzaga 77
10 West Virginia 54
7 Gonzaga 66
Pittsburgh – Thu/Sat
2 Ohio State 73
2 Ohio State 78
15 Loyola (MD) 59

East Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Scoop Jardine, Syracuse; Lenzelle Smith, Jr., Ohio State; Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin; Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State.[10]

Regional most outstanding player: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State [10]

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

Second round
March 16 		Third round
March 18 		Regional semifinals
March 23 		Regional finals
March 25
            
1 North Carolina 77
16 Vermont 58
1 North Carolina 87
Greensboro – Fri/Sun
8 Creighton 73
8 Creighton 58
9 Alabama 57
1 North Carolina 73*
13 Ohio 65
5 Temple 44
12 South Florida 58
12 South Florida 56
Nashville – Fri/Sun
13 Ohio 62
4 Michigan 60
13 Ohio 65
1 North Carolina 67
2 Kansas 80
6 San Diego State 65
11 North Carolina State 79
11 North Carolina State 66
Columbus – Fri/Sun
3 Georgetown 63
3 Georgetown 74
14 Belmont 59
11 North Carolina State 57
2 Kansas 60
7 Saint Mary's 69
10 Purdue 72
10 Purdue 60
Omaha – Fri/Sun
2 Kansas 63
2 Kansas 65
15 Detroit 50

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Walter Offutt, Ohio; Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas; Jeff Withey, Kansas; Tyler Zeller, North Carolina.[11]

Regional most outstanding player: Thomas Robinson, Kansas [11]

Final Four – Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

National Semifinals
March 31 		National Championship Game
April 2
      
S1 Kentucky 69
W4 Louisville 61
S1 Kentucky 67
MW2 Kansas 59
E2 Ohio State 62
MW2 Kansas 64

Final Four all-tournament team

Final Four all-tournament team:[12] Anthony Davis, Kentucky; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky; Doron Lamb, Kentucky; Thomas Robinson, Kansas; Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas

Final Four most outstanding player:[12] Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Game summaries

Final Four

CBS
March 31
6:09 pm
Louisville Cardinals 61, Kentucky Wildcats 69
Scoring by half: 28–35, 33–34
Pts: P. Siva 11
Rebs: G. Dieng 12
Asts: P. Siva 3		 Pts: A. Davis 18
Rebs: A. Davis 14
Asts: M. Teague 5
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
CBS
March 31
9:05 pm
Ohio State Buckeyes 62, Kansas Jayhawks 64
Scoring by half: 34–25, 28–39
Pts: W. Buford 19
Rebs: J. Sullinger 11
Asts: A. Craft 3		 Pts: T. Robinson 18
Rebs: E. Johnson 10
Asts: T. Taylor 9
Mercedes-Benz Superdome

National championship

CBS
April 2
9:23 pm
Kansas Jayhawks 59, Kentucky Wildcats 67
Scoring by half: 27–41, 32–26
Pts: T. Taylor 19
Rebs: T. Robinson 17
Asts: T. Taylor 3		 Pts: D. Lamb 22
Rebs: A. Davis 16
Asts: A. Davis 5
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Kentucky celebrating their 2012 NCAA Championship

Record by conference

Conference # of Bids Record Win % R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 CG NC
SEC 4 10–3 .769 4 3 2 2 1 1 1
Big 12 6 10–6 .625 6 4 2 2 1 1 0
Big Ten 6 11–6 .647 6 5 4 1 1 0 –
Big East 9 14–9 .609 9 6 4 2 1 0 –
ACC 5 6–5 .545 5 3 2 1 0 – –
Atlantic 10 4 3–4 .429 4 2 1 0 – – –
MAC 1 2–1 .667 1 1 1 0 – – –
Mountain West 4 1–4 .200 4 1 0 – – – –
WCC 3 2–3 .400 3 1 0 – – – –
MVC 2 1–2 .333 2 1 0 – – – –
CAA 1 1–1 .500 1 1 0 – – – –
MEAC 1 1–1 .500 1 1 0 – – – –
OVC 1 1–1 .500 1 1 0 – – – –
Patriot 1 1–1 .500 1 1 0 – – – –
Pac-12 2 1–2 .333 1 1 0 – – – –
C-USA 2 0–2 .000 2 0 – – – – –
MAAC 2 0–2 .000 1 0 – – – – –
America East 1 1–1 .500 1 0 – – – – –
Sun Belt 1 1–1 .500 1 0 – – – – –
Atlantic Sun 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Big Sky 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Big South 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Big West 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Horizon 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Ivy 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
NEC 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Southern 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Summit 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
WAC 1 0–1 .000 1 0 – – – – –
Southland 1 0–1 .000 0 – – – – – –
SWAC 1 0–1 .000 0 – – – – – –

Media

Television

2012 marked the second year of a 14-year partnership between CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting cable networks TBS, TNT and truTV to cover the entire tournament under the NCAA March Madness banner. CBS will air the Final Four and championship rounds for the 31st consecutive year.

Studio hosts

[13]

Studio analysts

[14]

Announcing teams

[15][16][17][18][19]

Number of games per network

Radio

Dial Global Sports (formerly Westwood One[20]) and SiriusXM have live broadcasts of all 67 games.[21]

First Four

Second and Third Round

[22]

Regionals

Final Four

Courts

All tournament sites continued to use the uniform courts that were first introduced tournament-wide in 2010, except for a slight variation at the East Regionals in Boston at the TD Garden, where a parquet floor court pattern similar to that used by the hometown Boston Celtics was used.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ohio is more than just Buckeye State ESPN.com, March 21, 2012
  2. ↑ Davis, Withey will host block party in final ESPN.com, April 1, 2012
  3. ↑ 'Hardcore' breakdown of bracket NCAA, March 11, 2012
  4. ↑ 2012 NCAA tournament information Fox Sports, September 22, 2009
  5. ↑ First Four to remain in Dayton NCAA, July 8, 2011
  6. ↑ "Western Kentucky rallies from 16 down in final 5 minutes to win". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  7. ↑ "BYU rallies from 25-point deficit to shock Iona". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Three 'Cats on South Regional all-tournament team". CBS Sports.
  9. 1 2 "Michigan State's Draymond Green honored for NCAA tournament performance".
  10. 1 2 "Ohio State 77, Syracuse 70: Bucks don't stop here". Metro West Daily News.
  11. 1 2 "Robinson the biggest of KU's big guys". Kansas City Star.
  12. 1 2 http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/18255833/ncaa-alltournament-teams
  13. ↑ "Television | Sports Media Journal | Page 8". Sports Media Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  14. ↑ "NCAA Tourney TV teams announced | Sportscasters Talent Agency of America". Staatalent.com. 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  15. ↑ "NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tourney Schedule with Announcer Assignments". Sports Media Journal. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  16. ↑ "CBS/Turner NCAA basketball announcer gigs for Sweet 16". Content.usatoday.com. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  17. ↑ Greenberg, Chris (March 11, 2012). "NCAA Tournament 2012 Schedule: Times, Announcers For First And Second Games". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  18. ↑ "Television | Sports Media Journal | Page 4". Sports Media Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  19. ↑ "Television | Sports Media Journal | Page 5". Sports Media Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  20. ↑ "A New Name on the Airwaves" (Press release). Dial Global Sports Inc. January 5, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  21. ↑ "SiriusXM Offers Every Game Of The 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship" (Press release). SiriusXM Radio Inc. March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  22. ↑ http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2012-articles/march/your-first-a-second-round-ncaa-tournament-announcing-schedule.html
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