The 2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

in the 2011–12

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

season. The team's

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

was

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

, who was in his third season after taking the Wildcats to their first Final Four in thirteen seasons. The team won the 2012 NCAA Championship, bringing Kentucky its eighth title. The team's 38 wins broke a record shared by 5 teams for the most wins in NCAA men's Division I history.

Pre-season

Departures

Former Wildcats

Josh Harrellson Josh Douglas Harrellson (born February 12, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Fukushima Firebonds of the Japanese B.League. Standing , he played center for the Kentucky Wildcats from 2008 to 2011. He was selected by the New O ...

, Brandon Knight and

DeAndre Liggins DeAndre Desmond Liggins (born March 31, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Al-Ahli of the Saudi Premier League. He played college basketball for Kentucky. High school career Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, L ...

were all selected in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...

. Knight was taken No. 8 overall by the Detroit Pistons, Harrellson was selected No. 45 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans while the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Liggins at No. 53. The trio increased UK's total under John Calipari to 8 players selected in the Draft, including 6 in the first round.

Class of 2011 signees

For the third consecutive season the Wildcats boasted the No. 1 recruiting class. Anthony Davis,

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Michael Anthony Edward Kidd-Gilchrist ( Gilchrist; born September 26, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kidd-Gilchrist was drafted second ove ...

Marquis Teague Marquis Devante Teague (born February 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League. He was one of the top-rated high school basketball players in the class of 2011. High school career In ...

Kyle Wiltjer Kyle Gregory Wiltjer (born October 20, 1992) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He spent two seasons of college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats before tr ...

formed the four-member freshman class for the 2011-12 season. *Davis was the nation's consensus No. 1 overall player *Kidd-Gilchrist was the nation's consensus No. 1 small forward *Teague was the nation's consensus No. 1 point guard, the fourth straight for John Calipari

Class of 2012 signees

Roster

*Jon Hood and Ryan Harrow redshirted this season—Hood due to a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

, and Harrow as a transfer from North Carolina State. Both were eligible for the 2012–13 college basketball season. *Sam Malone missed much of the season to a torn ACL.

Depth chart

Schedule and results

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Rankings

Accomplishments

Players drafted into the NBA

Overall

*NCAA Champions, 8th in school history *SEC Regular Season Champions *Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic Champions *38 victories is the most in NCAA history *15th Final Four appearance and 2nd in two years *16–0 in SEC play *19–0 at home *3rd consecutive NCAA Tournament *344 blocks is the most in NCAA single season history *Anthony Davis set NCAA Freshman block record with 186

Team highs

*Most Points Scored: 108 vs. Marist, 11/11 *Highest Point Differential: 50 vs. Marist, 11/11 *Most Field Goals Made: 46 vs. Marist, 11/11 *Most Three Point Field Goals Made: 15 vs Georgia, 3/1 *Most Free Throws Made: 35 vs. Indiana, 3/23 *Most Rebounds: 57 vs. Louisville, 12/31 *Most Assists: 24 vs. Marist, 11/11 *Highest Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 5.0 vs. Portland, 11/26 (20 assists to 4 turnovers) *Most Blocks: 18 vs. St. John's, 12/1

Individual highs

*Most Points: 28, Anthony Davis vs. Vanderbilt, 2/25 *Most Rebounds: 19, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist vs. Louisville 12/31 *Most Three-Point Field Goals Made: 5, Doron Lamb vs. Iowa State (3/17) and Darius Miller vs. Georgia (3/1) *Most Assists: 10, Marquis Teague vs. Florida, 2/7 *Most Steals: 4, Anthony Davis vs. Alabama, 1/21 *Most Blocks: 9, Anthony Davis vs. South Carolina, 2/4

Individual awards

*2012 National Player of the Year: Anthony Davis (AP, Naismith, Robertson, Rupp, TSN, Wooden) *2012 SEC Player of the Year: Anthony Davis *2012 Consensus All-Americans: Anthony Davis (First Team), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Second Team) *2012 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Anthony Davis *2012 All-SEC: Anthony Davis (First Team), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (First Team), Terrence Jones (Second Team), Doron Lamb (Second Team) *2012 National Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis (Driesell, NABC) *2012 Pete Newell Big Man Award: Anthony Davis *2012 SEC Freshman of the Year: Anthony Davis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of List of teams with the highe ...