2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 74th edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2012, and concluded with the championship game on April 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

2012 NCAA Division I
Men's Basketball Tournament
Season2011–12
Teams68
Finals siteMercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
ChampionsKentucky Wildcats (8th title, 11th title game,
15th Final Four)
Runner-upKansas Jayhawks (9th title game,
14th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJohn Calipari (1st title)
MOPAnthony Davis (Kentucky)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«2011 2013»

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
Further information: NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship § Current tournament format

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)

The Final Four returned to the Superdome for the fifth time overall and first time since before Hurricane Katrina; it is scheduled to host again in 2022. The tournament saw two new arenas in previous host cities. For the first time since 1991, the tournament returned to the city of Louisville at its new KFC Yum! Center, the downtown home of the Louisville Cardinals and successor venue to Freedom Hall. And for the first time in ten years, the city of Pittsburgh hosted the tournament, this time at Consol Energy Center, which replaced the Civic Arena as Pittsburgh's main arena. As of 2018, this is the most recent year hosting for the Dome at America's Center, the Greensboro Coliseum, The Pit and Talking Stick Resort Arena; of these, only the Greensboro Coliseum has been selected thus far for a future site, in 2020.

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
Further information: 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament: qualifying teams

Qualifying teams

Team names are those used on CBSsports.com scoreboards and team pages.

Automatic bids

Automatic bids to the tournament were granted for winning a conference championship tournament, except for the automatic bid of the Ivy League given to the regular season champion. Seeds listed were seeds within the conference tournaments. Runners-up in bold face were given at-large berths.

Automatic bids
Qualifying school Record (Conf.) Last app. Conference
regular season		 Regular season
second place		 Second place
record (Conf.)
Harvard 26–4 (12–2) 1946 Ivy League Penn 19–12 (11–3)
Qualifying school Record (Conf.) Seed Last app. Conference
tournament		 Conf. finals
runner-up		 Runner-up
record (Conf.)		 Runner-up
seed
Florida State 24–9 (12–4) 3 2011 ACC North Carolina 29–5 (14–2) 1
Vermont 23–11 (13–3) 2 2010 America East Stony Brook 22–9 (14–2) 1
St. Bonaventure 20–11 (10-6) 4 2000 Atlantic 10 Xavier 21–12 (10–6) 3
Belmont 26–7 (16–2) 1 2011 Atlantic Sun Florida Gulf Coast 15–17 (18–10) 6
Missouri 30–4 (14–4) 2 2011 Big 12 Baylor 27-7 (12–6) 4
Louisville 26–9 (10–8) 7 2011 Big East Cincinnati 24–9 (12–6) 4
Montana 25–6 (15–1) 1 2010 Big Sky Weber State 24–6 (14–2) 2
UNC Asheville 24–9 (16–2) 1 2011 Big South VMI 17–16 (8–10) 7
Michigan State 27–7 (13–5) 1 2011 Big Ten Ohio State 27–7 (13–5) 3
Long Beach State 25–8 (15–1) 1 2007 Big West UC Santa Barbara 20–10 (12–4) 3
VCU 28–6 (15–3) 2 2011 CAA Drexel 27–6 (16–2) 1
Memphis 26–8 (13–3) 1 2011 C-USA Marshall 21–13 (9–7) 6
Detroit 22–13 (11–7) 3 1999 Horizon Valparaiso 22–11 (14–4) 1
Loyola (MD) 24–8 (13–5) 2 1994 MAAC Fairfield 19–14 (12–6) 4
Ohio 27–7 (11–5) 3 2010 MAC Akron 22–11 (13–3) 1
Norfolk State 25–9 (13–3) 2 Never MEAC Bethune-Cookman 18–17 (11–5) 4
Creighton 28–5 (14–4) 2 2007 Missouri Valley Illinois State 20–13 (9–9) 4
New Mexico 27–6 (10–4) 2 2010 Mountain West San Diego State 26–6 (10–4) 1
Long Island 25–8 (16–2) 1 2011 Northeast Robert Morris 24–9 (13–5) 3
Murray State 30–1 (15–1) 1 2010 Ohio Valley Tennessee State 20–12 (11–5) 2
Colorado 22–11 (11–7) 6 2003 Pac-12 Arizona 23-10 (12–6) 4
Lehigh 26–7 (11–3) 2 2010 Patriot Bucknell 24–8 (12–2) 1
Vanderbilt 24–10 (11–6) 3 2011 SEC Kentucky 32–2 (16–1) 1
Davidson 25–7 (16–2) South 1 2008 Southern Western Carolina 17–17 (8–10) North 4
Lamar 23–11 (11–5) 3 2000 Southland McNeese State 17–15 (10–6) 4
South Dakota State 27–7 (15–3) 2 Never Summit Western Illinois 18–14 (9–9) 4
Western Kentucky 15–18 (7–9) East 4 2009 Sun Belt North Texas 18–14 (9–7) West 4
Mississippi Valley State 21–12 (17–1) 1 2008 SWAC Texas Southern 15–18 (15–6) 2
New Mexico State 26–9 (10–4) 2 2010 WAC Louisiana Tech 18–16 (6–8) 5
Saint Mary's 27–5 (14–2) 1 2010 West Coast Gonzaga 25–6 (13–3) 2

At-large bids
Team Conference Last appearance # of appearances
Alabama SEC 2006 20
Baylor Big 12 2011 7
BYU West Coast 2011 27
California Pac 12 2010 16
Cincinnati Big East 2011 26
Colorado State Mountain West 2003 9
Connecticut Big East 2011 30
Duke ACC 2011 36
Florida SEC 2011 15
Georgetown Big East 2011 28
Gonzaga West Coast 2011 15
Indiana Big Ten 2008 36
Iona MAAC 2006 8
Iowa State Big 12 2005 14
Kansas Big 12 2011 41
Kansas State Big 12 2011 26
Kentucky SEC 2011 52
Marquette Big East 2011 30
Michigan Big Ten 2011 19
NC State ACC 2006 21
North Carolina ACC 2011 43
Notre Dame Big East 2011 32
Ohio State Big Ten 2011 24
Purdue Big Ten 2011 25
Saint Louis Atlantic 10 2000 7
San Diego State Mountain West 2011 8
South Florida Big East 1992 3
Southern Miss Conference USA 1991 3
Syracuse Big East 2011 35
Temple Atlantic 10 2011 30
Texas Big 12 2011 30
UNLV Mountain West 2011 19
Virginia ACC 2007 17
West Virginia Big East 2011 25
Wichita State Missouri Valley 2006 9
Wisconsin Big Ten 2011 18
Xavier Atlantic 10 2011 23

Listed by region and seeding

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts
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 Automatic 11
4 Wisconsin Big Ten 24–9 At-large 14
5 Vanderbilt SEC 24–10 Automatic 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 Miss 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 Automatic 46
13 Montana Big Sky 25–6 Automatic 55
14 St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 20–11 Automatic 58
15 Loyola MAAC 24–8 Automatic 59
16 UNC Asheville Big South 24–9 Automatic 64
Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri
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 10 24–7 At-large 17
6 San Diego State Mountain West 26–7 At-large 24
7 Saint Mary's West Coast 27–5 Automatic 26
8 Creighton Missouri Valley 28–5 Automatic 29
9 Alabama SEC 21–11 At-large 33
10 Purdue Big Ten 21–12 At-large 37
11 NC 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 Automatic 52
14 Belmont Atlantic Sun 27–7 Automatic 57
15 Detroit Horizon 22–13 Automatic 61
16* Lamar Southland 23–11 Automatic 65
Vermont America East 23–11 Automatic 66
South Regional – Atlanta, Georgia
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 Automatic 44
12 VCU Colonial 28–6 Automatic 49
13 New Mexico State WAC 26–9 Automatic 54
14 South Dakota State Summit 27–7 Automatic 56
15 Lehigh Patriot 26–7 Automatic 60
16* Mississippi Valley State SWAC 21–12 Automatic 67
Western Kentucky Sun Belt 15–18 Automatic 68
West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Overall rank
1 Michigan State Big Ten 27–7 Automatic 4
2 Missouri Big 12 30–4 Automatic 8
3 Marquette Big East 25–7 At-large 10
4 Louisville Big East 26–9 Automatic 16
5 New Mexico Mountain West 27–6 Automatic 20
6 Murray State Ohio Valley 30–1 Automatic 23
7 Florida SEC 23–10 At-large 28
8 Memphis C-USA 26–8 Automatic 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 Automatic 51
13 Davidson Southern 25–7 Automatic 53
14* BYU West Coast 25–8 At-large 48
Iona MAAC 25–7 At-large 50
15 Norfolk State MEAC 25–9 Automatic 62
16 Long Island Northeast 25–8 Automatic 63

*See First Four.

Conferences with multiple bids
Bids Conference Schools
9 Big East Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, South Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia
6 Big Ten Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
6 Big 12 Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas
5 ACC Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia
4 SEC Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
4 Mountain West Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV
4 Atlantic 10 St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Temple, Xavier
3 West Coast Saint Mary's, Gonzaga, BYU
2 Pac-12 California, Colorado
2 Conference USA Memphis, Southern Miss
2 MAAC Iona, Loyola (MD)
2 Missouri Valley Creighton, Wichita State

All other conferences have only one bid (see Automatic Bids)
NOTE: Teams in bold represent the conference's automatic bid.

Last four teams out

The Selection Committee also announced the last four teams out of the tournament as part of the Hardcore Brackets special following announcement of the teams. In order, they were Oral Roberts, Miami (Florida), Nevada, and Drexel. Oral Roberts, Nevada, and Drexel were automatically selected, as regular-season champions, for berths in the National Invitation Tournament, while Miami was also selected for a berth by the NIT Selection Committee.[6]

Bids by state
Bids State(s) Schools
5 North Carolina Davidson, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, UNC Asheville
4 California California, Long Beach State, Saint Mary's, San Diego State
4 Kentucky Kentucky, Louisville, Murray State, Western Kentucky
4 New York Iona, Long Island, St. Bonaventure, Syracuse
4 Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio State, Xavier
3 Florida Florida, Florida State, South Florida
3 Indiana Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue
3 Kansas Kansas, Kansas State, Wichita State
3 Michigan Detroit, Michigan, Michigan State
3 Tennessee Belmont, Memphis, Vanderbilt
3 Texas Baylor, Lamar, Texas
3 Virginia Norfolk State, Virginia, VCU
2 Colorado Colorado, Colorado State
2 Mississippi Mississippi Valley State, Southern Miss
2 Missouri Missouri, Saint Louis
2 New Mexico New Mexico, New Mexico State
2 Pennsylvania Lehigh, Temple
2 Wisconsin Marquette, Wisconsin
1 Alabama Alabama
1 Connecticut Connecticut
1 Iowa Iowa State
1 Maryland Loyola (MD)
1 Massachusetts Harvard
1 Montana Montana
1 Nebraska Creighton
1 Nevada UNLV
1 South Dakota South Dakota State
1 Utah BYU
1 Vermont Vermont
1 Washington Gonzaga
1 Washington, D.C. Georgetown
1 West Virginia West Virginia

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 BYU 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 the opener, Western Kentucky trailed by 16 points with 4:51 remaining before storming back to win 59–58. It was the largest comeback in the last five minutes of an NCAA tournament game; the previous record was 15 by Illinois against Arizona in the 2005 Elite Eight.[7]
  • In the second game of the night, BYU set a record for the largest comeback in an NCAA tournament game, as they were down by 25 points at one point and came back to beat Iona 78–72. The largest previous deficit overcome in the tournament was 22 points by Duke against Maryland in the 2001 national semifinals.[8]

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
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

South Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Quincy Acy, Baylor; Anthony Davis, Kentucky; Doron Lamb, Kentucky; Christian Watford, Indiana.[9]

Regional most outstanding player: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky[9]

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona
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 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 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

West Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Bradley Beal, Florida; Gorgui Dieng, Louisville; Draymond Green, Michigan State; Peyton Siva, Louisville.[10]

Regional most outstanding player: Chane Behanan, Louisville[10]

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts
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

East Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Scoop Jardine, Syracuse; Lenzelle Smith, Jr., Ohio State; Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin; Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State.[11]

Regional most outstanding player: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State [11]

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri
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 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.[12]

Regional most outstanding player: Thomas Robinson, Kansas [12]

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:[13] Anthony Davis, Kentucky; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky; Doron Lamb, Kentucky; Thomas Robinson, Kansas; Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas

Final Four most outstanding player:[13] 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 – New Orleans, LA
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 – New Orleans, LA

National Championship
Main article: 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game
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 – New Orleans, LA
Attendance: 70,913
Referees: Verne Harris, Mark Whitehead, Mike Stuart
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 – – – – – –
  • The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (second round), round of 32 (third round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.

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 aired the Final Four and championship rounds for the 31st consecutive year.

Studio hosts
  • Greg Gumbel (New York City and New Orleans) – Second Round, Third Round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City and Atlanta) – First Four, Second Round, Third Round and Regional Semi-Finals
  • Matt Winer (Atlanta) – First Four, Second Round and Third Round

[14]

Studio analysts
  • Greg Anthony (New York City and New Orleans) – First Four, Second Round, Third Round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Charles Barkley (New York City and New Orleans) – First Four, Second Round, Third Round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Mike Brey (Atlanta) – Third Round
  • Seth Davis (Atlanta and New Orleans) – First Four, Second Round, Third Round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Steve Lavin (New York City) – Third Round
  • Frank Martin (New York City) – Regional Finals
  • Shaka Smart (Atlanta) – Regional Semi-Finals
  • Kenny Smith (New York City and New Orleans) – First Four, Second Round, Third Round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Steve Smith (Atlanta) – First Four, Second Round, Third Round and Regional Semi-Finals
  • Jay Wright (Atlanta) – First Four and Second Round

[15]

Announcing teams

[16][17][18][19][20]

Number of games per network
  • CBS: 26
  • TBS: 16
  • TruTV: 13
  • TNT: 12

Radio

Dial Global Sports (formerly Westwood One[21]) and SiriusXM have live broadcasts of all 67 games.[22]

First Four

Second and Third Round

[23]

Regionals
  • Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen – East Regional at Boston, Massachusetts
  • Wayne Larrivee and Fran Fraschilla – Midwest Regional at St. Louis, Missouri
  • Ian Eagle and John Thompson – South Regional at Atlanta, Georgia
  • Dave Sims and Bill Frieder – West Regional at Phoenix, Arizona

Final Four
  • Kevin Kugler, John Thompson and Bill Raftery – New Orleans, Louisiana

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 Archived 2016-04-12 at the Wayback Machine NCAA, March 11, 2012
  4. 2012 NCAA tournament information Fox Sports, September 22, 2009
  5. First Four to remain in Dayton Archived 2018-02-21 at the Wayback Machine NCAA, July 8, 2011
  6. http://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-jayhawks/2012/3/11/2863087/ncaa-tournament-2012-drexel-nevada-miami-oral-roberts-bracket
  7. "Western Kentucky rallies from 16 down in final 5 minutes to win". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  8. "BYU rallies from 25-point deficit to shock Iona". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  9. "Three 'Cats on South Regional all-tournament team". CBS Sports.
  10. "Michigan State's Draymond Green honored for NCAA tournament performance". mlive. March 25, 2012.
  11. "Ohio State 77, Syracuse 70: Bucks don't stop here". Metro West Daily News. Archived from the original on 2012-10-27. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
  12. "Robinson the biggest of KU's big guys". Kansas City Star.
  14. "Television | Sports Media Journal | Page 8". Sports Media Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  15. "NCAA Tourney TV teams announced | Sportscasters Talent Agency of America". Staatalent.com. 2012-02-23. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  16. "NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tourney Schedule with Announcer Assignments". Sports Media Journal. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  17. "CBS/Turner NCAA basketball announcer gigs for Sweet 16". Content.usatoday.com. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  18. Greenberg, Chris (March 11, 2012). "NCAA Tournament 2012 Schedule: Times, Announcers For First And Second Games". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  19. "Television | Sports Media Journal | Page 4". Sports Media Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  20. "Television | Sports Media Journal | Page 5". Sports Media Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  21. "A New Name on the Airwaves" (Press release). Dial Global Sports Inc. January 5, 2012. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  22. "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.
  23. "Your First & Second Round NCAA Tournament announcing schedule". March 12, 2012.
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