2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions SEC regular season champions
National Championship Game, W 67-59 vs. Kansas
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	38–2 (16–0 SEC)
Head coach	John Calipari (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	John Robic (3rd season) Orlando Antigua (3rd season) Kenny Payne (2nd season)
Home arena	Rupp Arena

2011–12 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Kentucky	16	–	0		1.000			38	–	2		.950
No. 25 Florida	10	–	6		.625			26	–	11		.703
No. 20 Vanderbilt †	10	–	6		.625			25	–	11		.694
Tennessee	10	–	6		.625			19	–	15		.559
Alabama	9	–	7		.563			21	–	12		.636
Mississippi State	8	–	8		.500			21	–	12		.636
Ole Miss	8	–	8		.500			20	–	14		.588
LSU	7	–	9		.438			18	–	15		.545
Arkansas	6	–	10		.375			18	–	14		.563
Auburn	5	–	11		.313			15	–	16		.484
Georgia	5	–	11		.313			15	–	17		.469
South Carolina	2	–	14		.125			10	–	21		.323
† 2012 SEC tournament winner As of April 2, 2012 Rankings from AP poll

2012 NCAA champions

The 2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2011–12 college basketball season. The team's head coach was John Calipari, 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, Brandon Knight and DeAndre Liggins were all selected in the 2011 NBA draft. 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.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Brandon Knight	12	G	6'3"	195	Freshman	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Entered 2011 NBA draft
DeAndre Liggins	34	G	6'6"	215	Junior	Chicago, Illinois	Entered 2011 NBA draft
Josh Harrellson	55	C	6'10"	275	Senior	St. Charles, Missouri	Graduated

Class of 2011 signees

For the third consecutive season the Wildcats boasted the No. 1 recruiting class. Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Kyle Wiltjer 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

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Anthony Davis PF	Chicago, Illinois	Perspectives Charter School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Aug 13, 2010
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 98
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist SF	Somerdale, New Jersey	St. Patrick	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Apr 14, 2010
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 98
Marquis Teague PG	Indianapolis, Indiana	Pike	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Apr 22, 2010
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 98
Kyle Wiltjer PF	Portland, Oregon	Jesuit	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Aug 28, 2010
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1   Rivals: 1
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2011 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "2011 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.

Class of 2012 signees

College recruiting information (2012)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Willie Cauley-Stein C	Spearville, Kansas	Olathe Northwest	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Oct 31, 2011
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Archie Goodwin G	Little Rock, Arkansas	Sylvan Hills	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 20, 2011
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
Nerlens Noel C	Everett, Massachusetts	Tilton	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 12, 2012
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 98
Alex Poythress SF	Clarksville, Tennessee	Northeast	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Nov 10, 2011
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2012 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "2012 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011. "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.

Roster

2011–12 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown SF 1 Darius Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Mason County Maysville, Kentucky PF 3 Terrence Jones 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 252 lb (114 kg) So Jefferson Portland, Oregon SG 4 Jon Hood  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Madisonville North Hopkins Madisonville, Kentucky PG 5 Jarrod Polson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So West Jessamine Wilmore, Kentucky SG 10 Twany Beckham 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Ballard Louisville, Kentucky PG 12 Ryan Harrow  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Walton North Carolina State Marietta, Georgia PG 13 Sam Malone  5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Scituate Scituate, Massachusetts SF 14 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Fr St. Patrick Somerdale, New Jersey SG 20 Doron Lamb 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Oak Hill Academy Queens, New York C 23 Anthony Davis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Perspectives Charter Chicago, Illinois PG 25 Marquis Teague 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Fr Pike Indianapolis, Indiana C 30 Eloy Vargas 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Sr Miami-Dade College Moca, D.R. PG 32 Brian Long 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr River Dell Dumont, New Jersey PF 33 Kyle Wiltjer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Fr Jesuit Portland, Oregon	Head coach John Calipari (Clarion) Assistant coach(es) John Robic (Denison) Orlando Antigua (Pittsburgh) Kenny Payne (Louisville) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

• Jon Hood and Ryan Harrow redshirted this season—Hood due to a torn ACL, 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

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Anthony Davis	Eloy Vargas
PF	Terrence Jones	Kyle Wiltjer
SF	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	Darius Miller	Twany Beckham
SG	Doron Lamb		Brian Long
PG	Marquis Teague	Sam Malone	Jarrod Polson

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov. 2, 2011* 7:00, UK IMG/FSN	No. 2	Transylvania	W 97–53		22 – Jones	12 – Jones	9 – Teague	Rupp Arena (21,024) Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 7, 2011* 7:00, UK IMG/FSN	No. 2	Morehouse	W 125–40		26 – Wiltjer	12 – Vargas	7 – Teague	Rupp Arena (20,194) Lexington, Kentucky
Regular Season
Nov. 11, 2011* 7:00, UK IMG/FSN	No. 2	Marist Hall of Fame Tip Off	W 108–58	1–0	23 – Davis	10 – Davis	8 – Lamb	Rupp Arena (22,079) Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 15, 2011* 9:00, ESPN	No. 2	vs. No. 12 Kansas Champions Classic	W 75–65	2–0	16 – Lamb	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Madison Square Garden (19,979) New York, NY
Nov. 19, 2011* 12:00, ESPN3	No. 2	vs. Penn State Hall of Fame Tip Off	W 85–47	3–0	26 – Lamb	9 – Jones	4 – Tied	Mohegan Sun Arena (4,755) Uncasville, Connecticut
Nov. 20, 2011* 12:00, ESPNU	No. 2	vs. Old Dominion Hall of Fame Tip Off	W 62–52	4–0	13 – Tied	9 – Tied	5 – Miller	Mohegan Sun Arena (4,128) Uncasville, Connecticut
Nov. 23, 2011* 7:00, UK IMG/FSN	No. 2	Radford	W 88–40	5–0	17 – Jones	8 – Jones	5 – Teague	Rupp Arena (21,302) Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 26, 2011* 7:00, UK IMG/FSN	No. 2	Portland	W 87–63	6–0	19 – Tied	12 – Davis	8 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,179) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 1, 2011* 7:00, ESPN2	No. 1	St. John's SEC–Big East Challenge	W 81–59	7–0	26 – Jones	15 – Davis	6 – Miller	Rupp Arena (24,119) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 3, 2011* 12:00, CBS	No. 1	No. 5 North Carolina	W 73–72	8–0	17 – Kidd-Gilchrist	11 – Kidd-Gilchrist	4 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,398) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 10, 2011* 5:15, ESPN	No. 1	at Indiana Rivalry	L 72–73	8–1	19 – Lamb	13 – Kidd-Gilchrist	5 – Teague	Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, Indiana
Dec. 17, 2011* 8:00, CSS	No. 3	Chattanooga	W 87–62	9–1	24 – Lamb	18 – Davis	8 – Teague	Rupp Arena (23,211) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 20, 2011* 7:00, ESPN2	No. 3	Samford	W 82–50	10–1	26 – Lamb	9 – Davis	5 – Tied	Rupp Arena (21,984) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 22, 2011* 1:00, FSN	No. 3	Loyola (MD)	W 87–63	11–1	24 – Wiltjer	11 – Davis	4 – Kidd-Gilchrist	Rupp Arena (22,774) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 28, 2011* 8:30, ESPNU	No. 3	Lamar	W 86–64	12–1	18 – Kidd-Gilchrist	13 – Davis	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (24,230) Lexington, Kentucky
Dec. 31, 2011* 12:00, CBS	No. 3	No. 4 Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass	W 69–62	13–1	24 – Kidd-Gilchrist	19 – Kidd-Gilchrist	5 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,387) Lexington, Kentucky
Jan. 3, 2012* 7:00, UK IMG/FSN	No. 2	Arkansas-Little Rock	W 73–51	14–1	22 – Davis	16 – Davis	5 – Teague	Freedom Hall (14,747) Louisville, Kentucky
Jan. 7, 2012 4:00, SECN	No. 2	South Carolina	W 79–64	15–1 (1–0)	20 – Jones	10 – Davis	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (24,219) Lexington, Kentucky
Jan. 11, 2012 8:00, SECN	No. 2	at Auburn	W 68–53	16–1 (2–0)	14 – Tied	6 – Davis	3 – Tied	Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
Jan. 14, 2012 12:00, ESPN	No. 2	at Tennessee	W 65–62	17–1 (3–0)	18 – Davis	12 – Kidd-Gilchrist	2 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan. 17, 2012 9:00, ESPN	No. 2	Arkansas Super Tuesday	W 86–63	18–1 (4–0)	27 – Davis	15 – Davis	9 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,093) Lexington, Kentucky
Jan. 21, 2012 12:00, CBS	No. 2	Alabama	W 77–71	19–1 (5–0)	15 – Jones	9 – Davis	4 – Miller	Rupp Arena (24,246) Lexington, Kentucky
Jan. 24, 2012 9:00, ESPN	No. 1	at Georgia Super Tuesday	W 57–44	20–1 (6–0)	19 – Miller	11 – Tied	7 – Teague	Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, Georgia
Jan. 28, 2012 4:00, SECN	No. 1	at LSU	W 74–50	21–1 (7–0)	27 – Jones	10 – Davis	4 – Tied	Maravich Assembly Center (11,631) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan. 31, 2012 12:00, ESPNU	No. 1	Tennessee	W 69–44	22–1 (8–0)	18 – Davis	8 – Tied	4 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,359) Lexington, Kentucky
Feb. 4, 2012 7:00, ESPN	No. 1	at South Carolina	W 86–52	23–1 (9–0)	22 – Davis	8 – Davis	4 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (16,527) Columbia, South Carolina
Feb. 7, 2012 7:00, ESPN	No. 1	No. 8 Florida Super Tuesday	W 78–58	24–1 (10–0)	18 – Lamb	13 – Kidd-Gilchrist	10 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,389) Lexington, Kentucky
Feb. 11, 2012 9:00, ESPN	No. 1	at Vanderbilt ESPN College GameDay	W 69–63	25–1 (11–0)	16 – Lamb	9 – Jones	8 – Teague	Memorial Gym (14,316) Nashville, Tennessee
Feb. 18, 2012 4:00, SECN	No. 1	Ole Miss	W 77–62	26–1 (12–0)	16 – Lamb	11 – Jones	8 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,239) Lexington, Kentucky
Feb. 21, 2012 9:00, ESPN	No. 1	at Mississippi State Super Tuesday	W 73–64	27–1 (13–0)	18 – Kidd-Gilchrist	11 – Davis	4 – Teague	Humphrey Coliseum (10,213) Starkville, Mississippi
Feb. 25, 2012 12:00, CBS	No. 1	Vanderbilt	W 83–74	28–1 (14–0)	28 – Davis	11 – Davis	6 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,388) Lexington, Kentucky
Mar. 1, 2012 9:00, ESPN	No. 1	Georgia Senior Night	W 79–49	29–1 (15–0)	17 – Miller	8 – Tied	4 – Teague	Rupp Arena (24,382) Lexington, Kentucky
Mar. 4, 2012 12:00, CBS	No. 1	at No. 16 Florida	W 74–59	30–1 (16–0)	22 – Davis	12 – Davis	4 – Tied	O'Connell Center (12,113) Gainesville, Florida
SEC Tournament
Mar. 9, 2012 1:00, SECN	(1) No. 1	vs. (8) LSU Quarterfinals	W 60–51	31–1	19 – Kidd-Gilchrist	14 – Davis	5 – Teague	New Orleans Arena (18,207) New Orleans
Mar. 10, 2012 1:00, ABC	(1) No. 1	vs. (4) No. 22 Florida Semifinals	W 74–71	32–1	16 – Lamb	12 – Davis	5 – Teague	New Orleans Arena (18,523) New Orleans
Mar. 11, 2012 1:00, ABC	(1) No. 1	vs. (3) Vanderbilt Championship	L 64–71	32–2	16 – Miller	11 – Jones	6 – Teague	New Orleans Arena (18,114) New Orleans
NCAA tournament
Mar. 15, 2012 6:50, TBS	(1 S) No. 1	vs. (16 S) WKU First round	W 81–66	33–2	22 – Jones	10 – Jones	4 – Teague	KFC Yum! Center (22,131) Louisville, Kentucky
Mar. 17, 2012 7:45, CBS	(1 S) No. 1	vs. (8 S) Iowa State Second round	W 87–71	34–2	24 – Teague	12 – Davis	7 – Teague	KFC Yum! Center (21,757) Louisville, Kentucky
Mar. 23, 2012 9:45, CBS	(1 S) No. 1	vs. (4 S) No. 16 Indiana Sweet Sixteen	W 102–90	35–2	24 – Kidd-Gilchrist	12 – Davis	7 – Teague	Georgia Dome (24,731) Atlanta
Mar. 25, 2012 2:20, CBS	(1 S) No. 1	vs. (3 S) No. 9 Baylor Elite Eight	W 82–70	36–2	19 – Kidd-Gilchrist	11 – Davis	6 – Jones	Georgia Dome (24,035) Atlanta
Mar. 31, 2012 6:09, CBS	(1 S) No. 1	vs. (4 W) No. 17 Louisville Final Four	W 69–61	37–2	18 – Davis	14 – Davis	5 – Teague	Mercedes-Benz Superdome (73,361) New Orleans
April 2, 2012 9:23, CBS	(1 S) No. 1	vs. (2 MW) No. 6 Kansas National Championship	W 67–59	38–2	22 – Lamb	16 – Davis	5 – Davis	Mercedes-Benz Superdome (70,913) New Orleans
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	2	2	2	1	1	3	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Coaches	2	2	2	1	1	3	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Accomplishments

Players drafted into the NBA

Main article: 2012 NBA draft

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Team
2012	1	1	Anthony Davis	New Orleans Hornets
2012	1	2	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	Charlotte Bobcats
2012	1	18	Terrence Jones	Houston Rockets
2012	1	29	Marquis Teague	Chicago Bulls
2012	2	42	Doron Lamb	Milwaukee Bucks
2012	2	46	Darius Miller	New Orleans Hornets

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