The 2011–12 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

at Crisler Center for the 45th consecutive year. It had a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 12,721. It was also the team's 95th straight season as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. Fifth-year

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John Beilein led the team, alongside All-Big Ten players Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Zack Novak. Burke was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was Michigan's first

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All-American honoree since 1998. The team's season began with a preseason media day and practices in October 2011. In February 2012, Michigan hosted

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's '' College GameDay'' for the first time in a game against Ohio State. It was the eighth time a Big Ten team hosted the show, which began in 2005. The team was in the national rankings all season and ended as the 2011–12 Big Ten co-champion with Michigan State and Ohio State. It had three victories over teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of the meeting (eighth-ranked Memphis, ninth-ranked Michigan State and sixth-ranked Ohio State). The team was undefeated at home until its last home game of the season. Michigan lost in the semifinals of the 2012 Big Ten Conference tournament and bowed out in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament to end the season with a 24–10 record. The team won the school's first Big Ten Conference Championship since the 1985–86 season and had the school's best Big Ten record (13–5) since the 1993–94 season.

Preseason

2011–12 incoming team members

Before the season began,

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

Darius Morris, the Big Ten assists leader in the 2010–11 season, left the team after being drafted by the

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. The incoming class included Carlton Brundidge and 2011 Ohio Mr. Basketball

Trey Burke. Both Brundidge and Burke were among Scout.com's top 100 players of the 2011 class; Brundidge ranked 98th and Burke ranked 94th. Max Bielfeldt committed to Michigan in April despite his family's ties to the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

. Illinois University's Bielfeldt Athletic Administration Building was endowed by his family. Sai Tummala, who along with Bielfeldt was recruited by

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

schools, rounded out the incoming class. Tummala earned an academic scholarship and was considered a walk-on candidate for the basketball team. Tim Hardaway Jr., son of former

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

Tim Hardaway, returned to the team. He was coming off a freshman season in which he was a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman, All-Big Ten honorable mention, Collegeinsider.com Freshmen All-America and Team USA FIBA U19 honoree. Jordan Dumars, the son of

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

All-Star Joe Dumars, left the team, citing nagging knee issues.

2011–12 team recruits

Roster

Former team captains Travis Conlan ( 1996–97 and 1997–98) and C.J. Lee ( 2008–09) served as director of basketball operations and administrative specialist, respectively. Peter Kahler was the team's video coordinator.

Schedule

Michigan announced its 14-game non-conference schedule on August 1, 2011. The team began the season in a renovated Crisler Arena: new seats and a high-definition scoreboard were added, but seating capacity was reduced to 12,721 from 13,751 in the previous 10 seasons. Michigan came in third place in the three-game 2011 Maui Invitational Tournament between November 21–23. The team defeated the eighth-ranked Memphis Tigers 73–61, lost to the sixth-ranked

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

82–75, and defeated the Pac-12 favorite

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

79–63. Tim Hardaway Jr. was named the Big Ten Player of the Week, and Trey Burke was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. In an ACC–Big Ten Challenge game in late November, Michigan lost to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

70–58. In its next game, Michigan defeated Iowa State 76–66. On December 10, 2011, Michigan beat Oakland 90–80, its highest-scoring game since beating 97–50 on November 14, 2009. It was also Michigan's first game since 2002 with three 20-point scorers (Hardaway, Burke and Evan Smotrycz). Burke earned his second Freshman of the Week honor on December 12 after scoring a season-high 20 points and nine assists in the game. On the same day, Michigan was the highest-rated Big Ten team in the Ratings Percentage Index, although the team trailed several schools in the national polls. In the final two non-conference games of the season, Smotrycz scored his first two double-doubles against and on December 17 and 22. Heading into the Big Ten Conference schedule, both of the teams Michigan had lost to were ranked (Duke was 7th and 5th in the AP and Coaches' polls and Virginia was 23rd and 24th). On December 29, Michigan won its first Big Ten Conference opener since 2006–07, beating

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

as Smotrycz extended his double-double streak to three games. On January 2, Burke earned his first Big Ten Conference Player of the Week honor and his third Freshman of the Week honor for his 40 points in Michigan's first two conference games. On December 29 against

he posted 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and no turnovers. On January 1, 2012, he added a career-high 27 points on 8-for-11 shooting with three rebounds and three assists against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

to earn Big Ten Conference Player of the Week the following day. On January 19, Michigan became the leader in the conference with a 5–2 record, thanks to conference wins over ranked

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and Michigan State teams. Michigan remained in first place until losing to Ohio State ten days later. The team went 5–2 in conference in February, including wins over ranked

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and Ohio State teams. Michigan lost its final home game of the season to

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

on February 25 to finish with a 15–1 home record. On March 1, the team defeated

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

for their first road win in Illinois since 1995. During the game, Michigan's 30th of the season, Trey Burke broke Gary Grant's school freshman assists record, set over the course of 30 games in the 1984–85 season, by pushing his total to 143. The March 4 victory over Penn State clinched a share of the 2011–12 Big Ten Conference season regular season championship. In the first game of the

2012 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament The 2012 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was held from March 8 through March 11 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This was the first tournament to feature 12 teams of the expanded Big Ten, with 2011–12 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's ...

against

, Burke led the team to victory with a career-high 30 points. Burke's total was a school record for the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. In the semifinal contest, however, Michigan was eliminated by Ohio State for the third year in a row. Michigan entered the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament seeded fourth, but lost to the thirteenth-seeded

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

65–60. Burke became Michigan's first Associated Press All-American honoree since Robert Traylor and

Louis Bullock Louis "Lou" Bullock Jr. (born May 20, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Although his records have officially been vacated, due to the University of Michigan basketball scandal, his vacated records are unsurpassed for mos ...

in 1998. Stu Douglass concluded the season as the school's all-time leader in games played, with 136. He surpassed Loy Vaught, who played in 135 games. Novak set the school record in career minutes played with 4,357, surpassing

, who played 4,356 minutes. Burke had a school record-setting freshman season in assists, ending the year with 156.

Results

, - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Non-conference Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961;", Big Ten Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961;", Big Ten tournament , - !colspan=12 style="background:#242961;", NCAA tournament

Statistics

The team posted the following statistics:

Rankings

Watchlists and awards

Preseason

Five of the 30 nominees for the men's basketball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award were from the Big Ten, including Michigan's Zack Novak.

In-season

Trey Burke was one of nearly 60

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Assoc ...

candidates named in December 2011. On January 4, Burke was one of 20 finalists. On January 25, Novak was named one of ten finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award along with three other Big Ten athletes. He was also one of four Big Ten men's basketball players named Academic All-District, putting him among the 40 finalists for the 15-man Academic All-America team. Novak was named a third team

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

Accolades and honors

;Trey Burke * CBSSports.com Second Team All-American *Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Big Ten media) *Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year (''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'') *All-Big Ten (second team, coaches and media) *All-Freshman (unanimous) * USBWA All-District V Team ;Tim Hardaway *All-Big Ten (third team, coaches and media) ;Zack Novak *Academic All-District *Academic All-American (third team) *All-Big Ten (honorable mention, media) *Academic All-Big Ten ;Josh Bartelstein *Academic All-Big Ten ;Matt Vogrich *Academic All-Big Ten

Roster changes

The team lost senior captains Stu Douglass and Zack Novak as well as senior reserve Corey Person to graduation following the season. Person was later granted an extra year of eligibility to return to the team. At the end of the season, three players ( Evan Smotrycz, Carlton Brundidge and Colton Christian) decided to leave the program. Smotrycz, who had started in 42 of the 69 games he played in during his first two years, left the program as the program's fifth all-time three-point shooter with a percentage of 40.5. Smotrycz transferred to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Brundidge transferred to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and Christian transferred to Florida International. Following the season, Trey Burke first said he was not inclined to enter the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

. A few days later, however, the realization that the pool of point guards in the 2012 draft was shallow and Burke's stock was high led to some deliberation for him and his family: "When you have a season as a freshman like he did, the NBA, they like them young," Trey's father, Benji Burke said. "They think their ceiling is higher when they're young. Trey had ... a solid season for a freshman. It's going to be one of the weaker point guard drafts in years." Some observers thought Burke was at his peak in terms of NBA potential. Eventually, he decided to return to play for Michigan for another year.

2012–13 team recruits

The team announced in September 2010 that Glenn Robinson III, son of former first overall NBA draft pick Glenn Robinson, verbally agreed to attend Michigan, making him the first commitment in the school's class of 2012. Canadian wing guard

Nik Stauskas Nikolas Tomas Stauskas (born October 7, 1993) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Stauskas played two seasons of college basketball for the Mi ...

gave Michigan its second verbal commitment for the class of 2012 on March 26, 2011. On November 3, Mitch McGary, who was ranked as the number-two prospect in the nation at the time, announced his verbal commitment to Michigan. Within hours of the commitment, ESPN said that Michigan's ranked as the fifth-best class in the nation. All three signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

with the team on November 9. After several other schools announced their commitments, the McGary's commitment moved Michigan from outside the top 25 to the seventh-best class in the nation, according to

. Michael "Spike" Albrecht committed to Michigan on April 6, 2012.

Team Players Drafted into the NBA

Notes

External links

M Go Blue basketball page2011–12 schedule
@

2011–12 stats
@

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball Team

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball seasons

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...