2011–12 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2011–12 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 33rd season of competitive basketball played by the Big East Conference, since its inception in 1979, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. The season officially opened on December 27, 2011, when Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh, 72–59, and St. John's defeated Providence, 91–67, and ended on March 3, 2012, with a 61–58 victory for Rutgers over St. John's.

2011–12 Big East Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationDecember 27, 2011
through March 3, 2012
Number of teams16
Total attendance2,943,956 [1]
Average attendance10,823 [1]
TV partner(s)Big East Network, ESPN
Regular Season
ChampionMarquette (14–4)
Season MVPJae Crowder (MARQ)
Tournament
ChampionsLouisville
  Runners-upCincinnati
Finals MVPPeyton Siva (LOU)
Big East Conference men's basketball seasons
2011–12 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 11 Marquette144 .778278 .771
Notre Dame135 .7222212 .647
Cincinnati126 .6672611 .703
No. 15 Georgetown126 .667249 .727
South Florida126 .6672214 .611
West Virginia99 .5001914 .576
Connecticut810 .4442014 .588
Seton Hall810 .4442113 .618
Rutgers612 .3331418 .438
St. John's612 .3331319 .406
Pittsburgh513 .2782217 .564
Villanova513 .2781319 .406
Providence414 .2221517 .469
DePaul315 .1671219 .387
*No. 2 Syracuse01 .00003 .000
**No. 17 Louisville08 .000010 .000
2012 Big East tournament winner
As of March 31, 2012[2]
*Syracuse: 30 reg. season games, 4 postseason games vacated due to sanctions against the program; Disputed record: Syracuse–(34–3)(17–1) **Louisville: 25 reg. season games, 5 postseason games vacated due to sanctions against the program; Disputed record: Louisville–(30-10)(10-8)
Rankings from AP Poll

Marquette captured the first of two consecutive regular season titles after Syracuse was forced to vacate 9 wins from the 2011-2012 season,[3] and third outright, with a conference win–loss record of 17–1, which tied Connecticut in 1995–96 for most regular season conference wins in conference history.[4] The Orange also received the no. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, and a bye into the quarterfinals, along with 2nd-seed Marquette, 3rd-seed Notre Dame, and 4th-seed Cincinnati. Georgetown, South Florida, Louisville, and West Virginia rounded out the top eight, and all received a bye into the tournament's second round. Play began at noon on Tuesday, March 6 in Madison Square Garden, when 9th-seed Connecticut defeated 16th-seed DePaul, 81–67.[5] Play ended on Saturday, March 10, when Louisville defeated Cincinnati, 50–44, for their second Big East Championship.[6]

The Big East led all conferences in having nine teams selected to the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[7]

The 2011–12 season marked the Big East's seventh and final season as a 16-team basketball league, with the departure of West Virginia to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012–13 season.

Preseason

Coaching changes

Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season, one Big East program hired a new coach, following the dismissal or resignation of their former coach:

  • Providence: After three seasons, Providence fired Keno Davis on March 11, 2011, despite five years remaining on Davis' contract.[8] After an NIT berth in 2008–09, Davis' squad finished 15th and 14th in the conference in 2009–10 and 2010–11, respectively. Davis finished with a 46–50 (.479) overall record and 18–36 (.333) conference record. He was replaced with Fairfield head coach and Providence native Ed Cooley on March 22, 2011.[9]

Conference predictions

At Big East media day on October 19, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams.[10][11]

Predicted Big East results

Big East Coaches[10]Big East Writers[12]Rivals.com[13]
T-1.Connecticut (7*)Syracuse (6)Connecticut
T-1.Syracuse (5)Connecticut (8)Syracuse
3.Louisville (3)Louisville (2)Pittsburgh
4.Pittsburgh (1)PittsburghMarquette
5.CincinnatiMarquetteLouisville
6.MarquetteCincinnatiCincinnati
7.West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia
8.VillanovaVillanovaVillanova
9.Notre DameNotre DameNotre Dame
10.GeorgetownGeorgetownGeorgetown
11.RutgersRutgersRutgers
12.St. John'sSt. John'sDePaul
13.Seton HallSeton HallSeton Hall
14.South FloridaSouth FloridaSt. John's
15.ProvidenceDePaulProvidence
16.DePaulProvidenceSouth Florida
*first place votes

Preseason All-Big East teams

First TeamSecond TeamHonorable Mention
Ashton Gibbs, G., PITT
Jeremy Lamb, G., CONN
Darius Johnson-Odom, G., MARQ
Tim Abromaitis, F., ND
Kris Joseph, F., SYR
Kevin Jones, F., WVU
Yancy Gates, F., CIN
Alex Oriakhi, F., CONN
Peyton Siva, G., LOU
Scoop Jardine, G., SYR
Maalik Wayns, G., VILL
Andre Drummond, C., CONN
Shabazz Napier, G., CONN
Cleveland Melvin, F., DEP
Jae Crowder, F., MARQ
Augustus Gilchrist, F., USF

Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Ashton Gibbs, G., Pittsburgh
Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year: Andre Drummond, C., Connecticut

Preseason national polls

AP[14]Coaches[15]AthlonLindy'sSporting News[16]Fox Sports[17]CBS Sports[18]Rivals.com[19]Blue Ribbon
Cincinnati22211817211623
Connecticut444844335
DePaul
Georgetown
Louisville8981216981613
Marquette21221721221422
Notre DameRV
Pittsburgh111010611101098
Providence
Rutgers
St. John'sRV
Seton Hall
South Florida
Syracuse555965464
VillanovaRVRV25
West VirginiaRVRV

Watchlists

On October 3, the Wooden Award preseason watch list included ten Big East players. The watchlist was composed of 50 players who were not transfers, freshmen or medical redshirts.[20] On November 7, the Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist of 50 players was announced, which included nine Big East names.[21]

Wooden[20]Naismith[21]
Tim Abromaitis, ND Y Y
Andre Drummond, CONN Y
Ashton Gibbs, PITT Y Y
Scoop Jardine, SYR Y
Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ Y Y
Kevin Jones, WVU Y Y
Kris Joseph, SYR Y Y
Jeremy Lamb, CONN Y Y
Alex Oriakhi, CONN Y Y
Peyton Siva, LOU Y Y
Maalik Wayns, VILL Y

Regular season

Season summary & highlights

  • Syracuse won the NIT Season Tip-Off, defeating Stanford in the finals, 69–63.[22]
  • Marquette won the Paradise Jam Tournament, defeating Norfolk State in the finals, 59–57.[23]
  • On November 11, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino recorded his 600th career win in an 83–48 victory over Tennessee–Martin.[24] He became the 15th fastest coach to do so (38th overall).[24]
  • On November 27, Syracuse fired associate head coach Bernie Fine, who had been an assistant under head coach Jim Boeheim since 1976, after Fine was alleged to have sexually abused team ball boys decades prior.[25]
  • Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun was suspended for the first three games of the Big East regular season, following NCAA sanctions in February 2011 for recruiting violations.[26] Under associate head coach George Blaney, the Huskies went 2–1 to start their conference schedule.
  • On February 3, Calhoun took his second medical leave of absence in three seasons, eventually undergoing surgery on February 27 for spinal stenosis. The Huskies went 3–5 under Blaney before Calhoun returned to coach in the regular season finale.[27]
  • With 30 regular season wins, Syracuse set a school record, eclipsing the mark of 28 regular season wins set in 2009–10.[28] With a 17–1 conference record, the Orange tied the 1995–96 Connecticut squad, which also went 17–1, for conference wins.[28] They also became the first team in Big East history with just one regular season loss overall (January 21 at Notre Dame, 67–58).[28] Syracuse was also unbeaten at home in the Carrier Dome, for the second time in school history (2002–03).[4]

Midseason watchlists

On January 17, the Wooden Award midseason watchlist was released, and included four Big East players.[29] The list was composed of 25 players, reduced from the preseason list of 50. There were no newcomers to the list from the preseason. In addition, seven Big East players who were on the preseason list did not appear at midseason: Tim Abromaitis, Andre Drummond, Ashton Gibbs, Scoop Jardine, Alex Oriakhi, Peyton Siva, and Maalik Wayns.[29] On February 29, the Naismith Top 30 was announced, and included newcomer Syracuse guard Dion Waiters.[30] Meanwhile, Abromaitis, Drummond, Gibbs, Jeremy Lamb, Oriakhi, and Siva, who were on the preseason list, did not appear at midseason.

Wooden[29]Naismith[30]
Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ Y Y
Kevin Jones, WVU Y Y
Kris Joseph, SYR Y Y
Jeremy Lamb, CONN Y
Dion Waiters, SYR Y

Composite matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

 CincinnatiConnecticutDePaulGeorgetownLouisvilleMarquetteNotre DamePittsburghProvidenceRutgersSt. John'sSeton HallSouth FloridaSyracuseVillanovaWest Virginia
vs. Cincinnati0–10–10–10–11–10–10–10–11–01–10–11–01–00–21–0
vs. Connecticut1–00–11–01–01–01–10–11–01–00–11–10–12–00–10–1
vs. DePaul1–01–01–02–01–01–00–11–00–12–01–11–01–01–01–0
vs. Georgetown1–00–10–10–11–10–11–00–20–10–21–00–11–00–11–0
vs. Louisville1–00–10–21–01–01–00–21–00–10–10–11–02–00–10–1
vs. Marquette1–10–10–11–10–11–00–10–10–10–10–10–11–00–20–1
vs. Notre Dame1–01–10–11–00–10–10–10–11–11-00-10–10–10–10–2
vs. Pittsburgh1–01–01–00–12–01–01–00–11–00–11–02–01–00–11–1
vs. Providence1–00–10–12–00–11–01–01–00–11–01–02–02–01–01–0
vs. Rutgers0–10–11–01–01–01–01-10–11–00–11–11–01–01–02–0
vs. St. John's1–11–00–22–01–01–00–11–00–11–01–01–01–01–00–1
vs. Seton Hall1–01–11–10–11–01–01–00–10–11–10–11–01–01–00–1
vs. South Florida0–11–00–11–00–11–01–00–20–20–10–10–11–00–21–0
vs. Syracuse0–10–20–10–10–20–11–00–10–20–10–10–10–10–10–1
vs. Villanova2–01–00–11–01–02–01–01–00–10–10–10–12–01–01–0
vs. West Virginia0–11–00–10–11–01–02–01–10–10–21–01–00–11–00–1
Total12–68–103–1512–610–814–413–55–134–146–126–128–1012–617–15–139–9

Statistical leaders

The regular season team, individual, and attendance figures include all conference and non-conference games played from November 7, 2011 through March 3, 2012.[31]

Team

Scoring Defense
RkTeamGamesPointsPPG
1South Florida31177357.2
2Georgetown29171059.0
3Syracuse31186760.2
4Cincinnati31189261.0
5Notre Dame31191361.7
Scoring Margin
RkTeamOffenseDefenseMargin
1Syracuse75.360.2+15.1
2Marquette76.165.6+10.5
3Georgetown69.259.0+10.2
4Cincinnati69.161.0+8.1
5Louisville69.462.0+7.4
Free throw percentage
RkTeamFTMFTAPct
1Villanova514678.758
2Marquette543750.724
3Notre Dame447626.714
4Pittsburgh389551.706
5Providence488692.705


3-Pt Field goal percentage
RkTeam3FGM3FGAPct
1Seton Hall213588.362
2Providence154426.362
3Georgetown167476.351
4Cincinnati228652.350
5Syracuse195568.343
Rebounding Margin
RkTeamAvgOpp AvgMarg
1Pittsburgh36.929.1+7.7
2West Virginia38.131.6+6.5
3Georgetown36.130.6+5.6
4Villanova39.534.9+4.6
5Connecticut37.734.1+3.5
Offensive Rebounds
RkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G
1West Virginia3145414.7
2Pittsburgh3144314.3
3Villanova3041713.9
4Cincinnati3141913.5
5Louisville3141313.3


Blocks
RkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G
1Syracuse312257.3
2Connecticut302016.7
3Providence311635.3
4Louisville311474.7
5Georgetown291374.7
Assists
RkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G
1Marquette3152817.0
2Syracuse3149616.0
3DePaul3046315.4
4Pittsburgh3146815.1
5West Virginia3145914.8
Steals
RkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G
1Syracuse313029.7
2Louisville312869.2
3Marquette312828.8
4Seton Hall302588.6
5Rutgers312558.2

Individual

Rebounding
RkNameGPRebAvg/G
1Kevin Jones, WVU3134611.2
2Herb Pope, HALL2929810.3
3Yancy Gates, CIN252369.4
4Jack Cooley, ND302769.2
5Gorgui Dieng, LOU312839.1
Assists
RkNameGPNo.Avg/G
1Vincent Council, PROV302267.5
2Jordan Theodore, HALL302006.7
3Shabazz Napier, CONN301775.9
4Junior Cadougan, MARQ301645.5
5Peyton Siva, LOU291575.4
Steals
RkNameGPNo.Avg/G
1Fuquan Edwin, HALL30923.1
2Jae Crowder, MARQ31752.4
3Russ Smith, LOU30692.3
4Cashmere Wright, CIN31612.0
5Dion Waiters, SYR31591.9


Field Goals
RkNameFGMFGAPCT
1Jack Cooley, ND141227.621
2Fab Melo, SYR90158.570
3Nasir Robinson, PITT146260.562
4God'sgift Achiuwa, SJU109196.556
5Andre Drummond, CONN140262.534
3-Pt Field Goals
RkName3PM3PAPCT
1Hollis Thompson, GTWN54118.458
2Lamar Patterson, PITT3277.416
3Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, USF3687.414
4LaDontae Henton, PROV43107.402
5Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ69172.401
Free Throws
RkNameFTMFTAPCT
1Bryce Cotton, PROV8696.896
2Maalik Wayns, VILL125140.893
3Anthony Collins, USF5463.857
4Ashton Gibbs, PITT8397.856
5Jeremy Lamb, CONN90109.826

Attendance

RkTeamHome Gms.Home Att.Avg. HomeAway Gms.Away Att.Avg. AwayNeut. Gms.Neut. Att.Avg. Neut.Total Gms.Total Att.Avg.
1Syracuse19448,73623,61810141,93314,193216,7708,38531607,43919,595
2Louisville20430,05221,50311160,95714,63200031591,00919,065
3Marquette16242,20515,13811145,95413,269417,0664,26631405,22513,072
4Connecticut17214,87312,64010146,33914,63435,1461,71530366,35812,212
5Pittsburgh18182,96810,16511142,78112,980232,92616,46331358,67511,570
6Georgetown16180,53011,28310147,31214,73137,2002,40029335,04211,553
7West Virginia16158,8879,93010111,89011,189540,8828,17631311,65910,054
8Notre Dame17135,9757,99910121,02512,102441,21413,738*31298,2149,940*
9Villanova15133,8398,92311125,03911,36749,6584,829**30268,5369,591**
10St. John's17133,1297,83112125,71310,47629,0369,036†31267,8788,929†
11Cincinnati18145,2358,06912115,0559,58814,4394,43931264,7298,540
12Seton Hall16121,5877,59911114,79610,43636,5043,252‡30242,8878,375‡
13Providence17134,0077,88312108,9509,07921,37568831244,3327,882
14DePaul16123,8327,7401189,3538,12338,2752,75830221,4607,382
15South Florida1661,5903,84913147,67911,3602n/an/a31209,2697,216§
16Rutgers1896,5115,36210104,86010,4863862862§§31202,2336,974§§
 TOTALS2722,943,95610,8231752,049,63611,71243201,3535,922^4905,194,94510,800^
* – does not factor one neutral game played, vs. Georgia, in the 2011 CBE Classic, which does not have an attendance figure on record.[32] Averages are therefore calculated based on the three neutral games and 30 total games with attendance figures.
** – does not factor two neutral games played, vs. Saint Louis and Santa Clara, in the 2011 76 Classic, which do not have attendance figures on record.[33][34] Averages are therefore calculated based on the two neutral games and 28 total games with attendance figures.
† – does not factor one neutral game played, vs. Texas A&M, in the 2011 2K Sports Classic, which does not have an attendance figure on record.[35] Averages are therefore calculated based on the one neutral game and 30 total games with attendance figures.
‡ – does not factor one neutral game played, vs. St. Joseph's, in the 2011 Charleston Classic, which does not have an attendance figure on record.[36] Averages are therefore calculated based on the two neutral games and 29 total games with attendance figures.
§ – does not factor two neutral games played, vs. Old Dominion and Penn State, in the 2011 Hall of Fame Tip-Off, which do not have attendance figures on record.[37][38] Overall average is therefore calculated based on the 29 games with attendance figures.
§§ – does not factor two neutral games played, vs. Illinois State, in the 2011 Cancún Challenge, and vs. Stony Brook, in the 2011 Holiday Festival, which do not have attendance figures on record.[39][40] Averages are therefore calculated based on the one neutral game and 29 total games with attendance figures.
^ – due to games without attendance figures, overall averages are therefore calculated based on the 34 neutral games and 481 total games with attendance figures.

Postseason

Big East tournament

For the fourth straight year, all 16 teams in the conference participated in the Big East tournament.[41] Under this format, the teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first-round games, while teams 5 through 8 received a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals. The five-round tournament spanned five consecutive days, from Tuesday, March 6, through Saturday, March 10, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

2012 Big East men's basketball tournament seeds and results[41]
SeedSchoolConf.Over.Tiebreaker[42]First round
Tuesday, March 6
Second round
Wednesday, March 7
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 8
Semifinals
Friday, March 9
Championship
Saturday, March 10
1.‡†Syracuse17–131–2BYEBYE#9 CONN – W, 58–55[43]#4 CIN – L, 68–71[44]
2.Marquette14–425–7BYEBYE#7 LOU – L, 71–84[45]
3.Notre Dame13–522–11BYEBYE#6 USF – W, 57–53OT[46]#7 LOU – L, 50–64[47]
4.Cincinnati12–624–101–1 vs. USF/GTWN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 1–1 vs. MARQ;
1–0 vs. ND; 1–0 vs. GTWN
BYEBYE#5 GTWN – W, 72–702OT[48]#1 SYR – W, 71–68[44]#7 LOU – L, 44–50[6]
5.#Georgetown12–623–81–1 vs. USF/CIN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 1–1 vs. MARQ;
1–0 vs. ND; 0–1 vs. CIN
BYE#13 PITT – W, 64–52[49]#4 CIN – L, 70–722OT[48]
6.#South Florida12–620–131–1 vs. CIN/GTWN; 0–1 vs. SYR;
0–1 vs. MARQ; 0–1 vs. ND
BYE#14 VILL – W, 56–47[50]#3 ND – L, 53–57OT[46]
7.#Louisville10–826–9BYE#10 HALL – W, 61–55[51]#2 MARQ – W, 84–71[45]#3 ND – W, 64–50[47]#4 CIN – W, 50–44[6]
8.#West Virginia9–919–13BYE#9 CONN – L, 67–71OT[52]
9.Connecticut8–1020–131–1 vs. HALL; 0–2 vs. SYR; 0–1 vs. MARQ;
1–1 vs. ND; 1–2 vs. GTWN/CIN/USF; 0–1 vs. LOU;
1–0 vs. WVU; 2–1 vs. SJU/RUT; 2–0 vs. PITT/VILL
#16 DEP – W, 81–67[5]#8 WVU – W, 71–67OT[52]#1 SYR – L, 55–58[43]
10.Seton Hall8–1020–121–1 vs. CONN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 0–1 vs. MARQ;
0–1 vs. ND; 1–2 vs. GTWN/CIN/USF; 0–1 vs. LOU;
1–0 vs. WVU; 1–1 vs. SJU/RUT; 1–1 vs. PITT/VILL
#15 PROV – W, 79–47[53]#7 LOU – L, 55–61[51]
11.Rutgers6–1214–181–0 vs. SJU#14 VILL – L, 49–70[54]
12.St. John's6–1213–190–1 vs. RUT#13 PITT – L, 59–73[55]
13.Pittsburgh5–1317–151–0 vs. VILL#12 SJU – W, 73–59[55]#5 GTWN – L, 52–64[49]
14.Villanova5–1313–190–1 vs. PITTvs. #11 RUT – W, 70–49[54]#6 USF – L, 47–56[50]
15.Providence4–1415–17#10 HALL – L, 47–79[53]
16.DePaul3–1512–19#9 CONN – L, 67–81[5]
‡ – Big East regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed.
† – Received a double-bye in the conference tournament.
# – Received a single-bye in the conference tournament.
Overall records include all games played in the Big East tournament.

Highlights

  • The Championship match-up between Louisville and Cincinnati was the first time in the 34-year history of the tournament that at least one of the original seven members of the conference wasn't involved in the title game.[6]

NCAA tournament

The official tournament selection process took place on Sunday, March 11, and the following nine Big East teams received bids into the tournament:[7]

SeedRegionSchoolFirst FourRound of 64Round of 32Sweet 16Elite EightFinal FourChampionship
4WestLouisvillen/a#13 DavidsonW, 69–62#5 New MexicoW, 59–56#1 Michigan StateW, 57–44#7 FloridaW, 72–68#1 Kentucky - L, 61–69 
1EastSyracusen/a#16 UNC AshevilleW, 72–65#8 Kansas StateW, 75–59#4 WisconsinW, 64–63#2 Ohio StateL, 70–77  
3WestMarquetten/a#14 BYUW, 88–68#6 Murray StateW, 62–53#7 FloridaL, 58–68   
6EastCincinnatin/a#11 TexasW, 65–59#3 Florida StateW, 62–56#2 Ohio StateW, 81–66   
3MidwestGeorgetownn/a#14 BelmontW, 74–59#11 NC StateL, 63–66    
12MidwestSouth Florida#12 CaliforniaW, 65–54#5 TempleW, 58–44#13 OhioL, 56–62    
7SouthNotre Damen/a#10 XavierL, 63–67     
9SouthConnecticutn/a#8 Iowa StateL, 64–77     
10EastWest Virginian/a#7 GonzagaL, 54–77     
9 BidsW-L (%):1–0 (1.000)6–3 (.667)4–2 (.667)2–2 (.500)1–1 (.500)0–1 (.000)TOTAL: 14–9 (.609)

After winning the 2012 Big East men's basketball tournament, Louisville continued its winning streak all the way to the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana, but was defeated by Kentucky, who then defeated Kansas for the national championship. Louisville guard Peyton Siva, forward Chane Behanan, and center Gorgui Dieng were named to the West All-Regional team,[56] with Siva tapped as the Most Outstanding Player of the region. Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine was named to the East All-Regional team.[57]

National Invitation tournament

After not receiving a bid to the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Seton Hall was selected as a top seed to the 2012 National Invitation Tournament. They defeated Stony Brook in the first round before losing to Massachusetts in the second round.[58][59]

Rankings

Legend
  Improvement in ranking.
 Drop in ranking.
RVReceived votes, but were not ranked.
APAP Poll.[60]
CESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.[61]
2011–12 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings
PreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18FINAL
CincinnatiAP2120RVRVRVRVRVRVRVn/a
C2220RVRVRVRVRV18
ConnecticutAP444899898171324RVn/a
C44410910998161119RVRV
DePaulAPn/a
C
GeorgetownAPRVRV181616129111091412109111315n/a
CRVRV21171612911121014119812141517
LouisvilleAP98765444111423RVRV24191719RV17n/a
C87764444101521252523181718RV184
MarquetteAP222116161111101420252117151812108911n/a
C21191716111110132024221815191310791110
Notre DameAPRVRVRV23202023RVn/a
CRVRVRVRV25181923RVRV
PittsburghAP109171715151522RVn/a
C119161714141322RVRV
ProvidenceAPn/a
C
RutgersAPn/a
C
St. John'sAPn/a
CRVRV
Seton HallAPRV24RVn/a
CRVRVRVRV
South FloridaAPn/a
CRV
SyracuseAP5554311111132222222n/a
C55533111111422222225
VillanovaAPRVRVRVRVn/a
CRVRVRV
West VirginiaAPRVRVRVRVRVRVRVn/a
CRVRVRVRVRVRVRV

Awards and honors

Conference awards and teams

The following individuals received postseason honors after having been chosen by the Big East Conference coaches.

2012 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards
AwardRecipient(s)
Player of the Year[62]Jae Crowder, F., MARQUETTE
Coach of the Year[62]Stan Heath, SOUTH FLORIDA
Defensive Player of the Year[63]Fab Melo, C., SYRACUSE
Rookie of the Year[62]Moe Harkless, F., ST. JOHN'S
Scholar-Athlete of the Year[64]Tim Abromaitis, F., NOTRE DAME
Most Improved Player[63]Jack Cooley, F., NOTRE DAME
Sixth Man Award[63]Dion Waiters, G., SYRACUSE
Sportsmanship Award[63]Jason Clark, G., GEORGETOWN

The Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards were announced on Tuesday, March 6, after the post-game interviews of the first session of the first round of the Big East tournament. The remainder of the individual awards were announced on Monday, March 5, while the All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams were announced on Sunday, March 4.[63][65] Awardees are chosen by a simple ballot, in which coaches are not allowed to vote for their players or themselves (in the case of the Big East Coach of the Year). Coaches voted for Big East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year from the first team and all-rookie lists, respectively.[65]

Marquette senior forward Jae Crowder was named Player of the Year. Crowder finished the regular season averaging 17.6 points per game, third in the conference, while ranking ninth in the conference in rebounds (7.9 per game). He also ranked second in the Big East in steals (2.4 per game) and recorded seven double-doubles for a Marquette squad that finished second in the conference.[31] South Florida head coach Stan Heath was named Coach of the Year, after leading the Bulls to their first winning conference record (12–6) in the school's seven seasons in the league.[62] Notre Dame's Tim Abromaitis, a graduate forward, became the first player to receive the Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the third year in a row. He was limited to two games in 2011–12 due to injury.[64]

Defensive Player of the Year Feb Melo, a sophomore center from Syracuse, led the conference in blocks, averaging 3.7 blocks per game during the conference season.[63]

St. John's freshman forward Moe Harkless was named Rookie of the Year, after averaging 15.5 points per game, second highest among conference freshmen and sixth among freshmen nationally, and 8.5 rebounds per game, also second among Big East freshmen.[31][62]

Other awardees included most improved player Jack Cooley, a junior forward from Notre Dame, who went from playing 10.3 minutes per game in 2010–11 to leading the conference in field goal percentage (.621) and finishing fourth in rebounds per game (9.2) in both conference and non-conference play in 2011–12.[63] Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters was honored with the Sixth Man Award, coming off the bench but serving as the Orange's second-leading scorer (11.9 points per game) and team leader in steals (1.9 per game).[63] Finally, Georgetown senior guard Jason Clark received the Sportsmanship Award.[63]

2012 All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams[65]
First TeamSecond TeamThird TeamHonorable MentionAll-Rookie Team
Jeremy Lamb, G., CONN
Jason Clark, G., GTWN
Jae Crowder†, F., MARQ
Darius Johnson-Odom, G., MARQ
Kris Joseph, F., SYR
Kevin Jones, F., WVU
Sean Kilpatrick, G., CIN
Jack Cooley, F., ND
Jordan Theodore, G., HALL
Scoop Jardine, G., SYR
Maalik Wayns, G., VILL
Henry Sims, C., GTWN
Vincent Council, G., PROV
Herb Pope, F., HALL
Dion Waiters, G., SYR
Darryl Bryant, G., WVU
Cleveland Melvin, F., DEP
Hollis Thompson, F., GTWN
Kyle Kuric, G/F., LOU
Ashton Gibbs, G., PITT
Moe Harkless, F., SJU
Andre Drummond, C., CONN
Chane Behanan, F., LOU
Jerian Grant, G., ND
LaDontae Henton, F., PROV
Moe Harkless, F., SJU
D'Angelo Harrison, G., SJU
Anthony Collins, G., USF
- denotes unanimous selection

On the All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams, notable members of the first team included Clark, who was given no all-conference consideration prior to the start of the season, and Crowder, who was an honorable mention in the preseason. Crowder was the only unanimous selection for the first team, teaming up with Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom, who was also named to the first team, to form the highest-scoring pair in the conference. In conference games, Crowder finished fourth with 18.0 points per game and tied for first with 2.9 steals per contest. Selected as an honorable mention was Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs, who was selected to the preseason first-team and was named the Preseason Player of the Year.[11] Meanwhile, St. John's placed two players on the All-Rookie Team, guard D'Angelo Harrison and forward Moe Harkless, who were the top two freshman scorers in the conference.[65]

National awards and teams

Players

West Virginia forward Kevin Jones was recognized as a consensus Second Team All-American after being named to the second team All-American lists by the Associated Press,[66] the USBWA,[67] and the NABC,[68] while the Sporting News named him to their third team.[69] In addition, Marquette forward Jae Crowder was selected as a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press[66] and the Sporting News,[69] as well as to the third team by the NABC.[68] The NABC also named Syracuse forward Kris Joseph to their second team.[68]

Award finalists

On March 6, the Wooden Award final ballot was released, and included three Big East players.[70] The list was composed of 15 players, reduced from the midseason list of 25. Marquette forward Jae Crowder was the newcomer to the list, while two Big East players who were on the midseason list did not appear on the final ballot: Darius Johnson-Odom and Jeremy Lamb.[70] No Big East players were among the four finalists for the Naismith Award, announced on March 19.[71]

Wooden[70]Naismith[71]
Jae Crowder, MARQ Y
Kevin Jones, WVU Y
Kris Joseph, SYR Y

Kentucky forward Anthony Davis was chosen as both the 2012 Wooden Award and 2012 Naismith Award recipient.[72][73]

Coaches

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey was selected for the Jim Phelan Award for the nation's top head coach.[74]

See also

Notes and references