The 2012

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

involved 68 teams playing in a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

that determined the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

national champion for the 2011-12 season. 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 Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home st ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The Final Four consisted of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, making their second appearance in the Final Four under

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, making their second appearance under

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

and first since 2005,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, making their first appearance since winning the 2008 national championship under head coach

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...

by defeating Calipari's Memphis team, and

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, making their first appearance since their runner-up finish in 2007 and second under coach Thad Matta. This was the first (and only) tournament that both national semifinals and the national championship game were regular season rematches. Kentucky defeated Kansas in the championship game 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 Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

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 The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...

defeated #2

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. In the West Region, #15 Norfolk State of the MEAC, making their first ever NCAA tournament appearance, defeated #2

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

as a 21.5 point underdog, the second biggest upset in terms of point spread in NCAA tournament history, behind Fairleigh Dickinson's defeat of Purdue in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, where Purdue was a 23.5 point favorite. In addition to this,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

won a game as a double digit seed for the second time in four tournaments as the #13 seed Bobcats defeated #4 seed

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, ...

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 South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

defeated Midwest #5 seed

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, 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 Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

. The South Region saw four double digit seeds win in their opening games, as

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

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 Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

of the West Region lost. Kentucky was the only one to advance to the Final Four as

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

lost in their regional finals. This would end up being the last Final Four until

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

that did not include at least one team seeded #7 or higher, and still is the last Final Four to not include at least one team seeded #5 or higher as of the conclusion of the 2024 season. Two teams made their first NCAA tournament appearances in school history: MEAC champion Norfolk State and

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

champion South Dakota State.

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 ...

champion

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

made its first appearance since 1946, ending the longest tournament drought in NCAA history. All four teams from the state of

(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. This tournament was also the first tournament since 1985 to feature no teams in the Sweet 16 from the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones.

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty out of 31 automatic bids were given to the teams that won their

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

tournament. The remaining automatic bid was awarded to the

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) played in the First Four. The winners of those games advanced to the main tournament

bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

. For the first time ever, the Selection Committee publicly disclosed the overall rankings for each team, which are listed below.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2012 tournament: First Four *March 13 and 14 **

University of Dayton Arena University of Dayton Arena (commonly known as UD Arena) is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility hoste ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(Host:

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

) First and Second rounds *March 15 and 17 **

Rose Garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

(Host:

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

) ** University Arena ("The Pit"),

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

(Host:

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

) **

Consol Energy Center PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football Leagu ...

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 ...

(Host:

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

) ** KFC Yum! Center,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

(Host:

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

) *March 16 and 18 **

Nationwide Arena Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the Arena District of Columbus, Ohio, United States. Since completion in 2000, the arena has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is one of two faci ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

(Host:

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

) ** CenturyLink Center Omaha,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

(Host:

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

) **

Bridgestone Arena Bridgestone Arena (originally Nashville Arena, and formerly Gaylord Entertainment Center and Sommet Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Completed in 1996, it is the home of the Nashville Predat ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

(Host:

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

) **

Greensboro Coliseum First Horizon Coliseum (formerly Greensboro Coliseum) is an arena in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959 as the first building of the Greensboro Complex, the 22,000-seat arena is the home arena of the UNC Greensboro Spartans basketball t ...

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

(Host:

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

) Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 22 and 24 **East Regional ***

TD Garden TD Garden (named the FleetCenter from opening until 2005 and TD Banknorth Garden until 2009) is a multi-purpose arena in Boston. It is located directly above the MBTA's North Station, and it replaced the original Boston Garden upon opening i ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

(Host:

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

) **West Regional *** US Airways Center,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

(Host:

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

) *March 23 and 25 **Midwest Regional ***

Edward Jones Dome The Dome at America's Center is a multi-purpose stadium used for concerts, major conventions, and sporting events in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Previously known as the Trans World Dome from 1995 to 2001 and the Edward Jones Dom ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

(Host:

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

) **South Regional ***

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

(Host:

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *March 31 and April 2 **

(Host:

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

) New Orleans hosted the Final Four for the fifth time, having previously hosted in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Qualification and selection teams

Automatic bids

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).

Tournament seeds (list by region)

*See First Four.

Bracket

''Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern ''Daylight'' Time ( UTC-04)''

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams. 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 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 ...

against

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in the 2005 Elite Eight. * 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

against

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 ...

in the 2001 national semifinals. In addition, the March 13 session was notable for the attendance of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, and

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

prime minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pr ...

. Cameron was in the U.S. for bilateral political and economic talks with Obama.

South Regional – Atlanta, Georgia

South Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team:

Quincy Acy Quincy Jyrome Acy (born October 6, 1990) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Wichita State Shockers of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He played college basketball for the Bayl ...

, Baylor;

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...

, Kentucky; Doron Lamb, Kentucky; Christian Watford, Indiana. Regional most outstanding player: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

West Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Bradley Beal, Florida; Gorgui Dieng, Louisville;

Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward pos ...

, Michigan State; Peyton Siva, Louisville. Regional most outstanding player:

Chane Behanan Chane Xavier Behanan ( ; born September 24, 1992) is an American professional basketball player. Behanan, who won an NCAA title at Louisville, was going to transfer to Colorado State to redshirt the 2014–15 season but instead declared for the ...

, Louisville

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts

East Regional all-tournament team

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

Deshaun Thomas Deshaun Leroy Thomas (born August 29, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for LDLC ASVEL of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he played the small forward and power forward positions. ...

, Ohio State. Regional most outstanding player:

Jared Sullinger Jared Malcolm Xavier Sullinger (born March 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketbal ...

, Ohio State

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Regional all-tournament team: Walter Offutt, Ohio; Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas; Jeff Withey, Kansas; Tyler Zeller, North Carolina. Regional most outstanding player: Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Final Four – Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

On February 20, 2018, the NCAA announced that the wins and records for the 2011–12 season and Louisville's 2012–13, 2013–14, and 2014–15 seasons were vacated due to the sex scandal at Louisville. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Louisville removing the wins from its own record.

Final Four all-tournament team

Final Four all-tournament team: Anthony Davis, Kentucky; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky; Doron Lamb, Kentucky; Thomas Robinson, Kansas; Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas Final Four most outstanding player: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Game summaries

Final Four

National Championship

Record by conference

*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 CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

and

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...

cable networks TBS,

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

and

truTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

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 Gregory Girard Gumbel (May 3, 1946 – December 27, 2024) was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). He became the firs ...

(New York City and New Orleans) – second round, Third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game *

Ernie Johnson Jr. Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. (born August 7, 1956) is an American sportscaster for TNT Sports (United States), TNT Sports. He is the television voice and a studio host for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts ''Inside the NBA'' for ESPN, Americ ...

(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

Studio analysts

Greg Anthony Gregory Carlton Anthony (born November 15, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sports. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Anthony also co ...

(New York City and New Orleans) – First Four, second round, Third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game *

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

(New York City and New Orleans) – First Four, second round, Third round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game *

Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American basketball coach (sport), coach. Currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, he was previously the men's head basketball coach at the Universit ...

(Atlanta) – third round *

Seth Davis Seth Davis is an American sportswriter and broadcaster. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Hoops HQ and is a host on Campus Insiders, an in-studio analyst for CBS men's college basketball coverage and an analyst for the NBA ...

(Atlanta and New Orleans) – First Four, second round, Third round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and national championship game *

Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head ...

(New York City) – third round * Frank Martin (New York City) – Regional Finals *

Shaka Smart Shaka Dingani Smart (born April 8, 1977) is an American men's college basketball coach and former college basketball player. He is the current head men's basketball coach at Marquette University. Smart rose to prominence in 2011 after leading Vi ...

(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

Commentary teams

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

/ Clark Kellogg/

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the United States men's national ...

Tracy Wolfson Tracy Wolfson (born March 17, 1975) is an American sportscaster for CBS Sports. She is the lead sideline reporter for the NFL on CBS. Early life Wolfson grew up in Congers, New York, and attended Clarkstown High School North, in New City, New ...

– First Four at Dayton, Ohio; Second and third round at Greensboro, North Carolina; South Regionals at Atlanta, Georgia; Final Four at New Orleans, Louisiana
''Kerr joined Nantz and Kellogg during the First Four, Final Four, and national championship games'' *

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...

/ Craig Sager – Second and third round at Omaha, Nebraska; Midwest Regionals at St. Louis, Missouri *

Verne Lundquist Merton Laverne Lundquist Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American former sportscaster known for his long career with CBS Sports. Early life Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas, before ...

/ Bill Raftery/

Lesley Visser Lesley Candace Visser (born September 11, 1953) is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on Final Four, NBA ...

– Second and third round at Louisville, Kentucky; East Regionals at Boston, Massachusetts *

Kevin Harlan Kevin Robert Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer, and a 3 time National Sportscaster of Year as voted by his peers. The son of former Green Bay Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NF ...

Len Elmore Leonard J. Elmore (born March 28, 1952) is an American sportscaster, lawyer and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Elmore has served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports and has served in the same capacity ...

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

/Marty Snider – Second and third round at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; West Regionals at Phoenix, Arizona * Ian Eagle/

Jim Spanarkel James Gerard Spanarkel (born June 28, 1957) is an American television analyst for College Basketball on CBS and Fox College Hoops. He is a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. He played co ...

/ Lewis Johnson – First Four at Dayton, Ohio; Second and third round at Nashville, Tennessee * Brian Anderson/ Dan Bonner/ Jenn Hildreth – Second and third round at Portland, Oregon *

Tim Brando Tim Brando (born February 27, 1956) is an American sportscaster with Fox Sports. Formerly with CBS Sports, Raycom Sports, ESPN and SiriusXM, Brando has primarily covered NCAA football, basketball and the NBA. Along with radio duties, Brando has ...

Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for the CW Courtside Saturday, ACC on The CW and CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted i ...

Otis Livingston Otis Livingston is a weekday sports anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City and is a sideline reporter on CBS Sports. He has won numerous Emmy Awards. Biography Livingston has been with WCBS since 2010. In New York, he also worked with WNBC-TV. He re ...

– Second and third round at Columbus, Ohio * Spero Dedes/ Bob Wenzel/Jaime Maggio – Second and third round at Albuquerque, New Mexico

Number of games per network

* CBS: 26 * TBS: 16 * TruTV: 13 * TNT: 12

Radio

Dial Global Sports (formerly Westwood One) and

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

have live broadcasts of all 67 games.

First Four

* Dave Ryan and Alaa Abdelnaby – at Dayton, Ohio

Second and third round

Kevin Calabro Kevin Paul Calabro (born June 27, 1956) is an American sportscaster based in Seattle, Washington. The longtime voice of the former Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise, Calabro has primarily called NBA basketball but has also announced collegiate ...

and Bill Frieder – Second and third round at Portland, Oregon * Dave Sims and

Michael Cage Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Basketball career A 6'9" power forward/ center from San Diego State, he is the Az ...

– Second and third round at Albuquerque, New Mexico * Scott Graham and Kevin Grevey – Second and third round at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Ted Robinson and Kyle Macy – Second and third round at Louisville, Kentucky *

Wayne Larrivee Wayne Larrivee is an American sportscaster. Larrivee is currently the radio play-by-play voice of the Green Bay Packers on the Packers Radio Network alongside color commentator Larry McCarren and calls college football and basketball for the ...

and John Thompson – Second and third round at Columbus, Ohio * Kevin Kugler and Tom Brennan – Second and third round at Omaha, Nebraska *

Brad Sham Brad Michael Sham (born August 16, 1949) is an American sportscaster who is known as the "Voice of the Dallas Cowboys". Sham is currently the play-by-play announcer on the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. Biography Sham has been with the Cowboys s ...

and

Pete Gillen Peter Joseph Gillen (born June 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball head coach of the Division I Providence Friars and Virginia Cavaliers and is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Gillen is currently a college ...

– Second and third round at Nashville, Tennessee * Gary Cohen and Reid Gettys – Second and third round at Greensboro, North Carolina

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 Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

at the

, where a parquet floor court pattern similar to that used by the hometown

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

was used.

References

{{2011-12 NCAA Division I championships NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 21st century in New Orleans

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Sports in Portland, Oregon

Tournament procedure

Schedule and venues

Qualification and selection teams

Automatic bids

Tournament seeds (list by region)

Bracket

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

South Regional – Atlanta, Georgia

South Regional all-tournament team

West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona

West Regional all-tournament team

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts

East Regional all-tournament team

Midwest Regional – St. Louis, Missouri

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Final Four – Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Final Four all-tournament team

Game summaries

Final Four

National Championship

Record by conference

Media

Television

Studio hosts

Studio analysts

Commentary teams

Number of games per network

Radio

First Four

Second and third round

Regionals

Final Four

Courts

See also

References