The 2011–12 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in the

2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2011, with the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and ended with the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 2, 2012, at the Mer ...

. Their head coach was

Jamie Dixon James Patrick Dixon II (born November 10, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburg ...

, who was in his ninth year as head coach at Pittsburgh and 13th overall at the university. The team played its home games in the

Petersen Events Center The Petersen Events Center (more commonly known as "The Pete") is a 12,508-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood. The arena is named for philanthropists John Petersen and his wife G ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and are members of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. Pitt entered the 2011–12 season picked to finish fourth in the Big East Conference, ranked #11 in the pre-season ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, and with the Big East pre-season player of the year, Ashton Gibbs. They finished the season 22–17, 5–13 in Big East play for a disappointing 13th-place finish. They lost in the second round of the Big East Basketball tournament to Georgetown. They were invited to the

2012 College Basketball Invitational The 2012 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) was a single-elimination tournament of 16 NCAA Division I teams that did not participate in the 2012 NCAA Tournament or the 2012 National Invitation Tournament. The opening games began on Tuesda ...

where they advanced to the best of three game finals series against Washington State. They defeated the Cougars 2 games to 1 to be the 2012 CBI Champions.

Outlook

The

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

finished the 2010–11 season as Big East Regular Season champions with 28–6, 15–3. They received a number 1 seed in the

2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2010-11 ...

, but were upset by eventual national runner-up

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

in the third round. Finishing at No. 12 in the final Coaches' Poll, Pitt returns two starters, including 2011–12 Big East Pre-season Player of the Year, Ashton Gibbs, as well as two of its top four scores, 41% of its scoring, and 45% of its rebounding. Four freshman joint the team, including

McDonald's High School All-American The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

Khem Birch. At the

media day on October 19, 2011, Pitt was selected by a vote of the league's coaches to finish fourth in the Big East Conference receiving one first place votes. Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs received preseason Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selections. The Panthers are ranked 11th in the nation in the preseason ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

Coaches' Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...

Coaching staff

Recruiting

2011 Pitt Recruiting Class Signees.

Roster

2011–12 Pitt Panthers basketball roster * Note: Freshman Khem Birch (#24, 6 ft 9 in, 220 lb), at the time Pitt's starting center, left the team on December 16.

Schedule

Pitt's 2011–12 schedule. , - !colspan=12 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" , Scrimmage , - !colspan=12 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" , Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" , Regular season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" ,

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" , 2012 Big East tournament , - , - , - !colspan=12 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" ,

, - , - , - , -

Rankings

Season notes and accomplishments

* Pitt won the 2011 Philly Hoops Group Classic title with a perfect 4–0 record. * Pitt lost to 2 unranked non-conference teams (Long Beach State and Wagner) at home, for the 1st time in one season. They only had one previous home non-conference loss at the Peterson Events Center. * Freshman Khem Birch, at the time Pitt's starting center, left the team on December 16. * Starting point guard Tray Woodall suffered a groin/abdominal injury during the Duquesne game on November 30 and did not return until the Notre Dame game on Tuesday, December 27. During the Notre Dame game he reaggravated his injury and did not reappear until the Louisville game on January 21. * For the first time under head coach Jamie Dixon, the Pitt basketball team lost over three games in a row, eventually losing a total of eight straight games, its longest losing streak in 18 years. Also, for first time ever, Pitt opened its Big East Conference season with seven straight loses. * After averaging 26.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in wins over West Virginia and Villanova, point guard Tray Woodall was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on February 7, 2012, by the

United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Pittsburgh Panthers Men's Basketball Team

Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball seasons

College Basketball Invitational championship seasons Pittsburgh Pan Pittsburgh Pan 2011 in Pittsburgh 2012 in Pittsburgh