# 2011–12 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Commodores, members of the Southeastern Conference, were coached by Kevin Stallings, and celebrated their 60th season in their current home arena, Memorial Gymnasium. After a 21–10 regular season that fell short of lofty preseason expectations, the Commodores captured their first SEC Tournament Championship in 61 seasons on March 11, 2012, by defeating Georgia, Ole Miss, and top-ranked Kentucky in consecutive days. In the 2012 NCAA tournament they defeated Harvard in the second round before falling in the third round to Wisconsin to finish the season 25–11.

## Before the season

The Commodores came off a 2010–11 season that ended with a second-round (first game) upset by Richmond in the NCAA tournament. This continued a recent history of tournament disappointments for Vanderbilt, whose last three NCAA appearances had all ended with a first-game loss to a double-digit seed.
During the offseason, the coaching staff saw one change when assistant King Rice was hired as head coach at Monmouth. Rice was replaced by David Cason, a former player under Stallings at Illinois State who had spent the previous six seasons as an assistant with Tulsa.

### Class of 2011 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kedren Johnson PG | Lewisburg, Tennessee | Marshall County | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Shelby Moats PF | Waconia, Minnesota | Waconia | 6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Sep 26, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Dai-Jon Parker SG | Alpharetta, Georgia | Milton | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 5, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 23 Rivals: 30 ||||||
| 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: "Vanderbilt 2011 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 18, 2011. "2011 Vanderbilt Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 18, 2011. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 18, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 18, 2011. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 18, 2011. ||||||

## 2011–12 outlook

In a major offseason development, three of the Commodores' most important players—Festus Ezeli, John Jenkins, and Jeffery Taylor—all spurned the NBA draft and announced they would return for the 2011–12 season. Jenkins, the SEC's leading scorer in 2010–11 at 19.5 points per game, was chosen for the All-SEC first team. Ezeli, who averaged 13 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in a breakout season, was named to the All-SEC second team, and was also named by multiple sources as one of the most improved players in the country. Taylor averaged 14.7 points while being named to the All-SEC second team, as well as the SEC All-Defensive Team. Ezeli, Jenkins, and Taylor were all named by Basketball Prospectus in its 2011–12 preseason outlook as among the top 20 players in college basketball, making Vanderbilt the only Division I men's team with three top-20 performers.
These decisions meant that Vanderbilt would return all five of its starters from last season, all of them seniors except for Jenkins, a junior. Another returning starter, point guard Brad Tinsley, led the SEC in assists in 2010–11 with 4.6 per game.
The Commodores thus were widely projected as a preseason top-10 team, with ESPN's Hall of Fame commentator Dick Vitale going so far as to rank them #5 in his preseason top 40.
Less than a month before the start of the season, the NCAA suspended Ezeli 6 games after accepting a meal and hotel room from a Vanderbilt alumnus during a summer trip. He was able to practice with the team during the suspension, and was also eligible to play in the team's preseason exhibition game (but was unable to play in that game). Ezeli came off his suspension for the Xavier game on November 28; however, he suffered a sprained knee during a late-October practice, and did not return until the Davidson game on December 7.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov. 7, 2011* 7:00 p.m. | No. 7 | Xavier (LA) | W 102–67 | | 17 – Taylor | 8 – Goulbourne | 4 – Fuller | Memorial Gymnasium (11,844) Nashville, TN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov. 11, 2011* 9:00 p.m., FSN | No. 7 | Oregon | W 78–64 | 1–0 | 24 – Jenkins | 11 – Taylor | 4 – Taylor | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Nov. 13, 2011* 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 7 | Cleveland State Legends Classic – Preliminary round | L 58–71 | 1–1 | 17 – Jenkins | 11 – Tchiengang | 2 – Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (13,503) Nashville, TN |
| Nov. 15, 2011* 7:00 p.m. | No. 18 | Bucknell Legends Classic – Preliminary round | W 80–68 | 2–1 | 17 – Taylor | 9 – Goulbourne | 4 – Henderson | Memorial Gymnasium (12,543) Nashville, TN |
| Nov. 19, 2011* 5:30 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 18 | vs. NC State Legends Classic – Semifinal | W 86–79 | 3–1 | 28 – Jenkins | 11 – Tchiengang | 5 – Taylor | Izod Center East Rutherford, NJ |
| Nov. 21, 2011* 9:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 18 | vs. Oregon State Legends Classic – Championship | W 64–62 | 4–1 | 14 – Jenkins | 13 – Taylor | 2 – Tied | Izod Center (3,294) East Rutherford, NJ |
| Nov. 25, 2011* 8:00 p.m. | No. 18 | Monmouth | W 95–73 | 5–1 | 18 – Jenkins | 10 – Goulbourne | 5 – Taylor | Memorial Gymnasium (12,807) Nashville, TN |
| Nov. 28, 2011* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 20 | No. 11 Xavier | L 70–82 $^{OT}$ | 5–2 | 20 – Jenkins | 7 – Tied | 7 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Dec. 2, 2011* 7:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 20 | at No. 6 Louisville SEC–Big East Challenge | L 60–62 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 | 27 – Jenkins | 8 – Goulbourne | 5 – Tinsley | KFC Yum! Center (22,728) Louisville, KY |
| Dec. 7, 2011* 6:00 p.m. | | at Davidson | W 87–83 | 6–3 | 30 – Taylor | 7 – Goulbourne | 3 – Johnson | John M. Belk Arena (4,475) Davidson, NC |
| Dec. 17, 2011* 4:30 p.m., CSS | No. 25 | Indiana State | L 55–61 | 6–4 | 21 – Taylor | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (13,310) Nashville, TN |
| Dec. 19, 2011* 7:00 p.m. | | Longwood | W 99–71 | 7–4 | 29 – Taylor | 10 – Goulbourne | 3 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (12,886) Nashville, TN |
| Dec. 21, 2011* 7:00 p.m., FSN | | Lafayette | W 89–58 | 8–4 | 27 – Jenkins | 9 – Tchiengang | 10 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (13,034) Nashville, TN |
| Dec. 29, 2011* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 14 Marquette | W 74–57 | 9–4 | 19 – Taylor | 16 – Goulbourne | 8 – Tinsley | Bradley Center (15,684) Milwaukee, WI |
| Jan. 2, 2012* 7:00 p.m. | | Miami (OH) | W 69–62 | 10–4 | 26 – Jenkins | 7 – Ezeli | 4 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (13,162) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 7, 2012 12:30 p.m., SECN | | Auburn | W 65–35 | 11–4 (1–0) | 17 – Jenkins | 8 – Ezeli | 6 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (13,473) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 10, 2012 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at South Carolina | W 67–57 | 12–4 (2–0) | 14 – Jenkins | 10 – Goulbourne | 9 – Tinsley | Colonial Life Arena (8,353) Columbia, SC |
| Jan. 14, 2012 3:00 p.m., SECN | | Georgia | W 77–66 | 13–4 (3–0) | 18 – Jenkins | 9 – Taylor | 4 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 19, 2012 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Alabama | W 69–59 | 14–4 (4–0) | 20 – Jenkins | 10 – Ezeli | 4 – Tinsley | Coleman Coliseum (12,202) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan. 21, 2012 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 18 Mississippi State | L 77–78 $^{OT}$ | 14–5 (4–1) | 21 – Jenkins | 14 – Ezeli | 5 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 24, 2012 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Tennessee Super Tuesday | W 65–47 | 15–5 (5–1) | 23 – Taylor | 9 – Ezeli | 4 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 28, 2012* 1:00 p.m. | | Middle Tennessee | W 84–77 | 16–5 | 26 – Jenkins | 8 – Goulbourne | 4 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 31, 2012 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 25 | at Arkansas | L 74–82 | 16–6 (5–2) | 19 – Jenkins | 6 – Taylor | 6 – Tinsley | Bud Walton Arena (13,678) Fayetteville, AR |
| Feb. 4, 2012 12:00 p.m., CBS | No. 25 | at No. 12 Florida | L 65–73 | 16–7 (5–3) | 25 – Taylor | 11 – Goulbourne | 6 – Tinsley | O'Connell Center (11,270) Gainesville, FL |
| Feb. 8, 2012 8:00 p.m., CSS | | LSU | W 76–61 | 17–7 (6–3) | 21 – Ezeli | 6 – Tied | 5 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (13,610) Nashville, TN |
| Feb. 11, 2012 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 1 Kentucky ESPN College GameDay | L 63–69 | 17–8 (6–4) | 15 – Jenkins | 9 – Taylor | 4 – Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Feb. 16, 2012 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Ole Miss | W 102–76 | 18–8 (7–4) | 28 – Taylor | 9 – Taylor | 4 – Tinsley | Tad Smith Coliseum (5,954) Oxford, MS |
| Feb. 19, 2012 12:00 p.m., FSN | | at Georgia | W 61–52 | 19–8 (8–4) | 28 – Jenkins | 6 – Goulbourne | 2 – Tied | Stegeman Coliseum (7,823) Athens, GA |
| Feb. 22, 2012 7:00 p.m., SECN | | South Carolina | W 59–48 | 20–8 (9–4) | 21 – Jenkins | 8 – Goulbourne | 5 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Feb. 25, 2012 11:00 a.m., CBS | | at No. 1 Kentucky | L 74–83 | 20–9 (9–5) | 19 – Taylor | 9 – Taylor | 2 – Johnson | Rupp Arena (24,388) Lexington, KY |
| Feb. 28, 2012 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 16 Florida Super Tuesday/Senior Night | W 77–67 | 21–9 (10–5) | 22 – Jenkins | 6 – Taylor | 4 – Tinsley | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| Mar. 3, 2012 3:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Tennessee | L 61–68 | 21–10 (10–6) | 18 – Jenkins | 7 – Goulbourne | 4 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (22,172) Knoxville, TN |
| 2012 SEC tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 9, 2012 9:00 p.m., SECN | No. (3) | vs. (11) Georgia Quarterfinals | W 63–41 | 22–10 | 15 – Jenkins | 6 – Goulbourne | 3 – Tinsley | New Orleans Arena (10,526) New Orleans, LA |
| Mar. 10, 2012 3:30 p.m., ABC | No. (3) | vs. (7) Ole Miss Semifinalfinals | W 63–41 | 23–10 | 23 – Jenkins | 12 – Goulbourne | 3 – Tied | New Orleans Arena (18,523) New Orleans, LA |
| Mar. 11, 2012 12:00 p.m., ABC | No. (3) | vs. (1) Kentucky Championship | W 71–64 | 24–10 | 18 – Taylor | 11 – Taylor | 4 – Tinsley | New Orleans Arena (18,114) New Orleans, LA |
| 2012 NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 15, 2012 3:40 p.m., TNT | No. 20 (5) | vs. (12) Harvard Third Round | W 79–70 | 25–10 | 27 – Jenkins | 11 – Ezeli | 4 – Tinsley | The Pit (10,774) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Mar. 17, 2012 5:10 p.m., TNT | No. 20 (5) | vs. No. 14 (4) Wisconsin Third Round | L 57–60 | 25–11 | 14 – Ezeli | 11 – Tied | 2 – Goulbourne | The Pit (12,128) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |||||||||