# 2011–12 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Oklahoma Sooners basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Sooners were led by Lon Kruger in his first season. The team played its home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma and were members of the Big 12 Conference.

## Preseason
### Coaching Change

On March 14, 2011, Oklahoma fired Jeff Capel, after the Sooners had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1967. Capel led the Sooners to a 17-36 record since Blake Griffin left for the NBA. Overall, Capel was 96-69 in five seasons. Capel received a $1.75 million buyout from Oklahoma. On April 2, 2011, it was announced that Lon Kruger would leave UNLV to become the Sooners new coach. Kruger will be paid about $2.2 million annually.

### Preseason Poll

The Sooners were picked to finish 9th in conference play.

### Class of 2011

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Casey Arent C | Penryn, California | Del Oro High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 227 lb (103 kg) | Apr 24, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: JC ||||||
| Sam Grooms PG | Greensboro, North Carolina | Charis Prep | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | Apr 10, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: JC ||||||

## Roster

Source
| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 1 | Sam Grooms | 6'1" | 203 | G | Jr. | Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. | Chipola College Charis Prep |
| 2 | Steven Pledger | 6'4" | 222 | G | Jr. | Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. | Atlantic Shores Christian School |
| 3 | T. J. Franklin | 5'11" | 175 | G | Sr. | Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | North Crowley HS |
| 4 | Andrew Fitzgerald | 6'8" | 247 | F | Jr. | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | Brewster Academy |
| 5 | C. J. Washington | 6'7" | 230 | F | Sr. | Stringtown, Oklahoma, U.S. | Connors State Stringtown HS |
| 12 | Jarrod Kruger | 6'1" | 174 | G | So. | Topeka, Kansas, U.S. | Kansas State Topeka West HS |
| 13 | James Fraschilla | 5'10" | 142 | G | Fr. | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | Highland Park HS |
| 14 | Carl Blair, Jr. | 6'2" | 205 | G | Jr. | Houston, Texas, U.S. | University of New Orleans Bridgton Academy |
| 15 | Tyler Neal | 6'7" | 227 | F | So. | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | Putnam City West HS |
| 21 | Cameron Clark | 6'6" | 198 | G | So. | Sherman, Texas, U.S. | Sherman HS |
| 22 | Amath M'Baye | 6'9" | 214 | F | Jr. | Bordeaux, France | Wyoming Stoneridge Prep |
| 24 | Romero Osby | 6'8" | 232 | F | Jr. | Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. | Mississippi State North Lauderdale HS |
| 31 | Barry Honoré | 6'7" | 270 | F | Sr. | Garland, Texas, U.S. | Southern South Garland HS |
| 32 | Casey Arent | 6'10" | 227 | C | Jr. | Penryn, California, U.S. | Sierra College Del Oro HS |
The Sooners' second leading scorer, Calvin Newell, transferred to the University of Central Florida. Newell decided to leave Oklahoma due to family issues.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/01/2011* 7:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Northeastern State | W 85–51 | | Lloyd Noble Center (3,187) Norman, OK |
| 11/06/2011* 2:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Washburn | W 85–59 | | Lloyd Noble Center (2,608) Norman, OK |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/11/2011* 7:000 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Idaho State | W 78–74 | 1–0 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,622) Norman, OK |
| 11/18/2011* 7:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Coppin State | W 92–65 | 2–0 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,460) Norman, OK |
| 11/24/2011* 10:30 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Washington State 76 Classic Quarterfinals | W 79–74 | 3–0 | Anaheim Convention Center (1,457) Anaheim, CA |
| 11/25/2011* 11:00 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Santa Clara 76 Classic Semifinals | W 85–73 | 4–0 | Anaheim Convention Center (1,777) Anaheim, CA |
| 11/27/2011* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Saint Louis 76 Classic Finals | L 63–83 | 4–1 | Anaheim Convention Center (2,637) Anaheim, CA |
| 12/02/2011* 7:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Sacramento State | W 82–53 | 5–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,460) Norman, OK |
| 12/08/2011* 7:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Oral Roberts | W 73–59 | 6–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,699) Norman, OK |
| 12/10/2011* 2:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Arkansas | W 78–63 | 7–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (9,077) Norman, OK |
| 12/17/2011* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. Houston All-College Classic | W 79–74 | 8–1 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (5,303) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 12/21/2011* 7:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | South Carolina State | W 83–48 | 9–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (8,136) Norman, OK |
| 12/29/2011* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | at Cincinnati | L 55–56 | 9–2 | U.S. Bank Arena (4,439) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/31/2011* 2:00 pm, Sooner Sports Network | Northwestern State | W 83–63 | 10–2 | Lloyd Noble Center (8,532) Norman, OK |
| 01/03/2012 7:00 pm, Mizzou Sports Network | at No. 7 Missouri | L 49–87 | 10–3 (0–1) | Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO |
| 01/07/2012 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 Kansas | L 61–72 | 10–4 (0–2) | Lloyd Noble Center (11,268) Norman, OK |
| 01/09/2012 6:00 pm, ESPNU | at Oklahoma State | L 65–72 | 10–5 (0–3) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (9,478) Stillwater, OK |
| 01/14/2012 12:30 pm, Big 12 Network | No. 18 Kansas State | W 82–73 | 11–5 (1–3) | Lloyd Noble Center (8,812) Norman, OK |
| 01/17/2012 7:00 pm, Big 12 Network | Texas Tech | W 64–55 | 12–5 (2–3) | Lloyd Noble Center (7,786) Norman, OK |
| 01/21/2012 3:00 pm, Big 12 Network | at Texas A&M | L 75–81 | 12–6 (2–4) | Reed Arena (8,468) College Station, TX |
| 01/24/2012 7:00 pm, Big 12 Network | No. 6 Baylor | L 65–77 | 12–7 (2–5) | Lloyd Noble Center (8,004) Norman, OK |
| 01/28/2012 6:00 pm, FS Kansas City | at No. 22 Kansas State | W 63–60 | 13–7 (3–5) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 02/01/2012 8:00 pm, ESPNU | at No. 8 Kansas | L 62–84 | 13–8 (3–6) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 02/04/2012 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | Iowa State | L 70–77 | 13–9 (3–7) | Lloyd Noble Center (9,272) Norman, OK |
| 02/06/2012 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 4 Missouri | L 68-71 | 13–10 (3–8) | Lloyd Noble Center (7,794) Norman, OK |
| 02/11/2012 7:00 pm, Texas Tech Sports Network | at Texas Tech | L 47-65 | 13–11 (3–9) | United Spirit Arena (7,525) Lubbock, TX |
| 02/14/2012 7:00 pm, Big 12 Network | Texas | L 58-69 | 13–12 (3–10) | Lloyd Noble Center (5,314) Norman, OK |
| 02/18/2012 12:30 pm, Big 12 Network | at Iowa State | L 69-80 | 13–13 (3–11) | Hilton Coliseum (14,376) Ames, IA |
| 02/22/2012 7:00 pm, Big 12 Network | Oklahoma State | W 77-64 | 14–13 (4–11) | Lloyd Noble Center (9,393) Norman, OK |
| 02/25/2012 12:30 pm, Big 12 Network | at No. 13 Baylor | L 60-70 | 14–14 (4–12) | Ferrell Center (7,793) Waco, TX |
| 02/29/2012 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | at Texas | L 64–72 | 14–15 (4–13) | Frank Erwin Center (12,142) Austin, TX |
| 03/03/2012 3:00 pm, Big 12 Network | Texas A&M | W 65–62 | 15–15 (5–13) | Lloyd Noble Center (6,188) Norman, OK |
| 2012 Big 12 men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 03/07/2012 6:00 pm, Big 12 Network | vs. Texas A&M First Round | L 53–62 | 15–16 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Final |
| AP | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Coaches | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | NR | | | | | | | | | | | | |