 | |||||
| Teams | 68 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||
| Champions | Kentucky Wildcats (8th title, 11th title game, 15th Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Kansas Jayhawks (9th title game, 14th Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | John Calipari (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Anthony Davis (Kentucky) | ||||
| |||||
The2012NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in asingle-elimination tournament that determined theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division I men'sbasketball national champion for the2011-12 season. The 74th edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2012, and concluded with thechampionship game on April 2, at theMercedes-Benz Superdome inNew Orleans, Louisiana.
The Final Four consisted ofKentucky, making their second appearance in the Final Four underJohn Calipari,Louisville, making their second appearance underRick Pitino and first since 2005,Kansas, making their first appearance since winning the 2008 national championship under head coachBill Self by defeating Calipari'sMemphis team, andOhio State, making their first appearance since their runner-up finish in 2007 and second under coachThad Matta. This was the first (and only) tournament that both national semifinals and the national championship game were regular season rematches.[1] Kentucky defeated Kansas in the championship game 67–59 to win their first national championship sinceTubby 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 andMassachusetts 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, #15Lehigh of thePatriot League defeated #2Duke. In the West Region, #15Norfolk State of theMEAC, making their first ever NCAA tournament appearance, defeated #2Missouri as a 21.5 point underdog, the second biggest upset in terms of point spread in NCAA tournament history, behindFairleigh Dickinson's defeat of Purdue in2023, where Purdue was a 23.5 point favorite.
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 seedMichigan 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 asSouth Florida defeated Midwest #5 seedTemple, 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 seedWichita State. The South Region saw four double digit seeds win in their opening games, asColorado andXavier joined VCU and Lehigh as victors. Xavier advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where they were defeated byBaylor.
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 onlyMichigan State of the West Region lost. Kentucky was the only one to advance to the Final Four asSyracuse andNorth Carolina lost in their regional finals. This would end up being the last Final Four until2019 that did not include at least one team seeded #7 or higher, and still is the last Final Four to not include at least one team seeded #5 or higher as of the conclusion of the 2024 season.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Two teams made their first NCAA tournament appearances in school history:MEAC championNorfolk State andSummit League championSouth Dakota State.Ivy League championHarvard made its first appearance since 1946, ending thelongest tournament drought in NCAA history.
All four teams from the state ofOhio (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.[13] This tournament was also the first tournament since 1985 to feature no teams in the Sweet 16 from the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones.
A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty out of 31 automatic bids were given to the teams that won theirconference tournament. The remaining automatic bid was awarded to theIvy 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) played in theFirst Four. The winners of those games advanced to the main tournamentbracket.
For the first time ever, theSelection Committee publicly disclosed the overall rankings for each team, which are listed below.[14]
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2012 tournament:[15][16]
First Four
First and Second rounds
Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
New Orleans hosted the Final Four for the fifth time, having previously hosted in2003.
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).
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*SeeFirst Four.
Unless otherwise noted, all times listed areEasternDaylight Time (UTC-04)
TheFirst Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.
| South #16 seed March 13 | ||||
| 16 | Mississippi Valley State | 58 | ||
| 16 | Western Kentucky | 59 | ||
| 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 ofBarack Obama,president of the United States, andDavid Cameron,prime minister of Great Britain. Cameron was in the U.S. for bilateral political and economic talks with Obama.
| First round March 15–16 | Second 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 | |||||||||||||||||
Regional all-tournament team:Quincy Acy, Baylor;Anthony Davis, Kentucky;Doron Lamb, Kentucky;Christian Watford, Indiana.[19]
Regional most outstanding player:Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky[19]
| First round March 15–16 | Second 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 | 57 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New Mexico | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Long Beach State | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New Mexico | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| Portland – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 59 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Davidson | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 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 | BYU | 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 | |||||||||||||||||
Regional all-tournament team:Bradley Beal, Florida;Gorgui Dieng, Louisville;Draymond Green, Michigan State;Peyton Siva, Louisville.[20]
Regional most outstanding player:Chane Behanan, Louisville[20]
| First round March 15–16 | Second 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 | |||||||||||||||||
Regional all-tournament team:Scoop Jardine, Syracuse;Lenzelle Smith, Jr., Ohio State;Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin;Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State.[21]
Regional most outstanding player:Jared Sullinger, Ohio State[21]
| First round March 16 | Second 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 | 73OT | |||||||||||||||||
| 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 | NC State | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | NC State | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| Columbus – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Georgetown | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Georgetown | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Belmont | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | NC 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 | |||||||||||||||||
Regional all-tournament team:Walter Offutt, Ohio;Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas;Jeff Withey, Kansas;Tyler Zeller, North Carolina.[22]
Regional most outstanding player:Thomas Robinson, Kansas[22]
| National Semifinals Final Four Saturday, March 31 | National championship game Monday, April 2 | ||||||||
| S1 | Kentucky | 69 | |||||||
| W4 | 61 | ||||||||
| S1 | Kentucky | 67 | |||||||
| MW2 | Kansas | 59 | |||||||
| E2 | Ohio State | 62 | |||||||
| MW2 | Kansas | 64 | |||||||
On February 20, 2018, the NCAA announced that the wins and records for the 2011–12 season and Louisville's2012–13,2013–14, and2014–15 seasons were vacated due to thesex scandal at Louisville.[23] Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Louisville removing the wins from its own record.
Final Four all-tournament team:[24]Anthony Davis, Kentucky;Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky;Doron Lamb, Kentucky;Thomas Robinson, Kansas;Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas
Final Four most outstanding player:[24]Anthony Davis, Kentucky
CBS |
March 31 6:09 pm |
| #W4 | ||
| 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 – New Orleans, LA Attendance: 73,361 Referees: Les Jones, Doug Shows, Joe DeRosa |
CBS |
March 31 9:05 pm |
| #E2 Ohio State Buckeyes 62,#MW2 Kansas Jayhawks64 | ||
| 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 – New Orleans, LA Attendance: 73,361 Referees: Jamie Luckie, Tom Eades, Patrick Adams |
CBS |
April 2 9:23 pm |
| Kansas Jayhawks 59,Kentucky Wildcats67 | ||
| 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 – New Orleans, LA Attendance: 70,913 Referees: Verne Harris, Mark Whitehead, Mike Stuart |
| 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 | – |
| Big Ten | 6 | 11–6 | .647 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Big East | 9 | 14–9 | .609 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| ACC | 5 | 6–5 | .545 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Atlantic 10 | 4 | 3–4 | .429 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
2012 marked the second year of a 14-year partnership betweenCBS Sports andTurner Broadcasting cable networksTBS,TNT andtruTV to cover the entire tournament under theNCAA March Madness banner. CBS aired the Final Four and championship rounds for the 31st consecutive year.
Dial Global Sports (formerly Westwood One[32]) andSiriusXM have live broadcasts of all 67 games.[33]
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 inBoston at theTD Garden, where aparquet floor court pattern similar to that used by the hometownBoston Celtics was used.