# 2011–12 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team represented Marquette University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Marquette was coached by Buzz Williams and played their home games at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles were members of the Big East Conference. The Golden Eagles finished the season 26–7, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. (Syracuse, the winner of the Big East regular season, was forced to vacate its wins from the season due to NCAA violations.) The Eagles received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated BYU and Murray State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year. There they lost to Florida.

## Previous season

The Golden Eagles finished the 2010–11 season 22–15, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to North Carolina.

## Preseason

On October 19, 2011, at Big East Media Day, Marquette was picked to finish in sixth place in the Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 155 points. Darius Johnson-Odom was named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team, while Jae Crowder was an honorable mention.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 0 | Jamil Wilson | 6'7" | 210 | F | So. | Racine, WI, U.S. | Horlick HS/Oregon |
| 1 | Darius Johnson-Odom | 6'2" | 200 | G | Sr. | Raleigh, NC, U.S. | Wakefield HS/Hutchinson CC |
| 2 | Vander Blue | 6'4" | 190 | G | So. | Madison, WI, U.S. | Madison Memorial HS |
| 4 | Todd Mayo | 6'3" | 190 | G | Fr. | Huntington, WV, U.S. | Notre Dame Prep |
| 5 | Junior Cadougan | 6'1" | 205 | G | Jr. | Toronto, ON, Canada | Christian Life Center Academy |
| 10 | Juan Anderson | 6'6" | 205 | F | Fr. | Oakland, CA, U.S. | Castro Valley HS |
| 22 | Jamail Jones | 6'6" | 210 | F | So. | Atlanta, GA, U.S. | Montverde Academy |
| 23 | Jake Thomas | 6'3" | 190 | G | Sr. | Racine, WI, U.S. | St. Catherine's HS/South Dakota |
| 32 | Jae Crowder | 6'6" | 225 | F | Sr. | Villa Rica, GA, U.S. | Villa Rica HS/Howard College |
| 33 | Derrick Wilson | 6'1" | 215 | G | Fr. | Anchorage, AK, U.S. | The Hotchkiss School |
| 42 | Chris Otule | 6'10" | 250 | C | Jr. | Richmond, TX, U.S. | Fort Bend HS |
| 54 | Davante Gardner | 6'8" | 290 | F | So. | Suffolk, VA, U.S. | Kings Fork HS |

## 2011 Paradise Jam

Marquette traveled to St. Thomas for the Paradise Jam tournament in mid-November. Marquette had an easy path to the final game, then were tested. In the opening round, Marquette took on Winthrop, and won easily 95–73, behind 26 points from Vander Blue, who hit his first nine shots, which included two three-point attempts.
In the semifinal round, Marquette again won easily, beating Ole Miss 96–66. In this game, Jae Crowder hit nine of eleven field goal attempts, and ended with 25 points. Norfolk State also won their first two game in the tournament, so the two teams faced each other for the tournament championship. Marquette had played Norfolk State just a week earlier in Milwaukee, in a game that was never in doubt. Marquette opened up a 6–0 lead, expanded the lead to eleven by halftime, then scored 59 points in the second half to win the game 99–68.
When the two teams met in the Paradise Jam final, the game started out similarly to the early game, with Marquette never trailing, and reaching a nine point lead at halftime. However, instead of scoring 59 points in the second half, they would score only 59 points in the game. The Golden Eagles, ranked 16th in the AP poll, held a 14 point lead at one time, but Norfolk State had two 7–0 runs and tied up the game at 57 points apiece with just over two minutes left. Marquette scored to take a lead; Norfolk State had a chance to tie in the closing seconds but failed to hit the basket, and Marquette won the 2011 Paradise Jam Championship 59–57.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2011* 8:00 pm, Sports32/MASN/SNY | No. 22 | Mount St. Mary's | W 91–37 | 1–0 | Bradley Center (13,834) Milwaukee, WI |
| 11/14/2011* 7:00 pm, Sports32 | No. 21 | Norfolk State | W 99–68 | 2–0 | Bradley Center (12,765) Milwaukee, WI |
| 11/18/2011* 7:30 pm | No. 21 | vs. Winthrop Paradise Jam First Round | W 95–73 | 3–0 | Sports and Fitness Center (2,845) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| 11/20/2011* 7:30 pm, FSN | No. 21 | vs. Ole Miss Paradise Jam Semifinals | W 96–66 | 4–0 | Sports and Fitness Center (2,881) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| 11/21/2011* 8:30 pm, FSN | No. 16 | vs. Norfolk State Paradise Jam Finals | W 59–57 | 5–0 | Sports and Fitness Center (3,109) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| 11/28/2011* 7:00 pm, Sports32/SNY | No. 16 | Jacksonville | W 88–56 | 6–0 | Bradley Center (12,848) Milwaukee, WI |
| 12/03/2011* 3:30 pm, BTN | No. 16 | at No. 9 Wisconsin | W 61–54 | 7–0 | Kohl Center (17,230) Madison, WI |
| 12/06/2011* 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | vs. Washington Jimmy V Classic | W 79–77 | 8–0 | Madison Square Garden (8,231) New York, NY |
| 12/10/2011 8:00 pm, Sports32 | No. 11 | Green Bay | W 79–61 | 9–0 | Bradley Center (14,208) Milwaukee, WI |
| 12/17/2011* 3:00 pm, Sports32 | No. 11 | Northern Colorado | W 93–72 | 10–0 | Bradley Center (13,593) Milwaukee, WI |
| 12/19/2011* 8:00 pm, FS Wisconsin | No. 10 | at LSU SEC–Big East Challenge | L 59–67 | 10–1 | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,630) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12/22/2011* 8:00 pm, Sports32 | No. 10 | Milwaukee | W 64–50 | 11–1 | Bradley Center (14,917) Milwaukee, WI |
| 12/29/2011* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | Vanderbilt | L 57–74 | 11–2 | Bradley Center (15,684) Milwaukee, WI |
| Big East regular season ||||||
| 01/01/2012 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | Villanova | W 81–77 | 12–2 (1–0) | Bradley Center (14,550) Milwaukee, WI |
| 01/04/2012 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | at No. 9 Georgetown | L 70–73 | 12–3 (1–1) | Verizon Center (11,213) Washington, D.C. |
| 01/07/2012 3:00 pm, Big East Network/Sports32 | No. 20 | at No. 1 Syracuse | L 66–73 | 12–4 (1–2) | Carrier Dome (25,412) Syracuse, NY |
| 01/11/2012 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | St. John's | W 83–64 | 13–4 (2–2) | Bradley Center (14,484) Milwaukee, WI |
| 01/14/2012 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | Pittsburgh | W 83–64 | 14–4 (2–2) | Bradley Center (18,404) Milwaukee, WI |
| 01/16/2012 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 21 | No. 23 Louisville | W 74–63 | 15–4 (4–2) | Bradley Center (16,688) Milwaukee, WI |
| 01/21/2012 6:00 pm, Big East Network/Sports32 | No. 21 | at Providence | W 79–72 | 16–4 (5–2) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (16,688) Providence, RI |
| 01/24/2012 7:00 pm, Big East Network/Sports32 | No. 17 | South Florida | W 67–47 | 17–4 (6–2) | Bradley Center (13,693) Milwaukee, WI |
| 01/28/2012 11:00 am, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at Villanova | W 82–78 | 18–4 (7–2) | Wells Fargo Center (15,878) Philadelphia, PA |
| 01/31/2012 7:00 pm, Big East Network/Sports32 | No. 15 | Seton Hall | W 66–59 | 19–4 (8–2) | Bradley Center (13,828) Milwaukee, WI |
| 02/04/2012 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 15 | at Notre Dame | L 59–76 | 19–5 (8–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| 02/06/2012 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | at DePaul | W 89–76 | 20–5 (9–3) | Allstate Arena (9,276) Rosemont, IL |
| 02/11/2012 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | Cincinnati | W 95–78 | 21–5 (10–3) | Bradley Center (18,815) Milwaukee, WI |
| 02/18/2012 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at Connecticut | W 79–64 | 22–5 (11–3) | XL Center (16,294) Hartford, CT |
| 02/22/2012 7:00 pm, Big East Network/Sports32 | No. 10 | Rutgers | W 82–65 | 23–5 (12–3) | Bradley Center (14,807) Milwaukee, WI |
| 02/24/2012 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at West Virginia | W 61–60 | 24–5 (13–3) | WVU Coliseum (12,087) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/29/2012 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at Cincinnati | L 61–72 | 24–6 (13–4) | Fifth Third Arena (11,316) Cincinnati, OH |
| 03/03/2012 1:00 pm, Big East Network | No. 8 | No. 11 Georgetown | W 83–69 | 25–6 (14–4) | Bradley Center (19,087) Milwaukee, WI |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2012 7:00 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 9 | vs. (7) Louisville Quarterfinals | L 71–84 | 25–7 | Madison Square Garden (20,057) New York City, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/15/2012* 2:40 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 11 | vs. (14 W) BYU Second Round | W 88–68 | 26–7 | KFC Yum! Center (16,069) Louisville, KY |
| 03/17/2012* 4:15 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 11 | vs. (6 W) No. 12 Murray State Third Round | W 62–53 | 27–7 | KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY |
| 03/22/2012* 10:15 pm, TBS | (3 W) No. 11 | vs. (7 W) No. 25 Florida Sweet Sixteen | L 58–68 | 27–8 | US Airways Center (14,913) Phoenix, Arizona |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 22 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | Not released |
| Coaches | 21 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings