# 2011–12 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2011–12 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 33rd season of competitive basketball played by the Big East Conference, since its inception in 1979, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. The season officially opened on December 27, 2011, when Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh, 72–59, and St. John's defeated Providence, 91–67, and ended on March 3, 2012, with a 61–58 victory for Rutgers over St. John's.
Marquette captured the first of two consecutive regular season titles after Syracuse was forced to vacate 9 wins from the 2011-2012 season, and third outright, with a conference win–loss record of 17–1, which tied Connecticut in 1995–96 for most regular season conference wins in conference history. The Orange also received the no. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, and a bye into the quarterfinals, along with 2nd-seed Marquette, 3rd-seed Notre Dame, and 4th-seed Cincinnati. Georgetown, South Florida, Louisville, and West Virginia rounded out the top eight, and all received a bye into the tournament's second round. Play began at noon on Tuesday, March 6 in Madison Square Garden, when 9th-seed Connecticut defeated 16th-seed DePaul, 81–67. Play ended on Saturday, March 10, when Louisville defeated Cincinnati, 50–44, for their second Big East Championship.
The Big East led all conferences in having nine teams selected to the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
The 2011–12 season marked the Big East's seventh and final season as a 16-team basketball league, with the departure of West Virginia to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012–13 season.

## Preseason
### Coaching changes

Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season, one Big East program hired a new coach, following the dismissal or resignation of their former coach:
* Providence: After three seasons, Providence fired Keno Davis on March 11, 2011, despite five years remaining on Davis' contract. After an NIT berth in 2008–09, Davis' squad finished 15th and 14th in the conference in 2009–10 and 2010–11, respectively. Davis finished with a 46–50 (.479) overall record and 18–36 (.333) conference record. He was replaced with Fairfield head coach and Providence native Ed Cooley on March 22, 2011.

### Conference predictions

At Big East media day on October 19, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams.

### Predicted Big East results

| | Big East Coaches | Big East Writers | Rivals.com |
| T-1. | Connecticut (7*) | Syracuse (6) | Connecticut |
| T-1. | Syracuse (5) | Connecticut (8) | Syracuse |
| 3. | Louisville (3) | Louisville (2) | Pittsburgh |
| 4. | Pittsburgh (1) | Pittsburgh | Marquette |
| 5. | Cincinnati | Marquette | Louisville |
| 6. | Marquette | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
| 7. | West Virginia | West Virginia | West Virginia |
| 8. | Villanova | Villanova | Villanova |
| 9. | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| 10. | Georgetown | Georgetown | Georgetown |
| 11. | Rutgers | Rutgers | Rutgers |
| 12. | St. John's | St. John's | DePaul |
| 13. | Seton Hall | Seton Hall | Seton Hall |
| 14. | South Florida | South Florida | St. John's |
| 15. | Providence | DePaul | Providence |
| 16. | DePaul | Providence | South Florida |
| | *first place votes |

### Preseason All-Big East teams

| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
| Ashton Gibbs, G., PITT Jeremy Lamb, G., CONN Darius Johnson-Odom, G., MARQ Tim Abromaitis, F., ND Kris Joseph, F., SYR Kevin Jones, F., WVU | Yancy Gates, F., CIN Alex Oriakhi, F., CONN Peyton Siva, G., LOU Scoop Jardine, G., SYR Maalik Wayns, G., VILL | Andre Drummond, C., CONN Shabazz Napier, G., CONN Cleveland Melvin, F., DEP Jae Crowder, F., MARQ Augustus Gilchrist, F., USF |
Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Ashton Gibbs, G., Pittsburgh
Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year: Andre Drummond, C., Connecticut

### Preseason national polls

| | AP | Coaches | Athlon | Lindy's | Sporting News | Fox Sports | CBS Sports | Rivals.com | Blue Ribbon |
| Cincinnati | 22 | 21 | 18 | | 17 | 21 | 16 | 23 | |
| Connecticut | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| DePaul | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | | | | | | | | | |
| Louisville | 8 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 13 |
| Marquette | 21 | 22 | 17 | | 21 | 22 | | 14 | 22 |
| Notre Dame | RV | | | | | | | | |
| Pittsburgh | 11 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| Providence | | | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | RV | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | | | | | | | | | |
| Syracuse | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Villanova | RV | RV | | | | | 25 | | |
| West Virginia | RV | RV | | | | | | | |

### Watchlists

On October 3, the Wooden Award preseason watch list included ten Big East players. The watchlist was composed of 50 players who were not transfers, freshmen or medical redshirts. On November 7, the Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist of 50 players was announced, which included nine Big East names.
| | Wooden | Naismith |
| Tim Abromaitis, ND | Y | Y |
| Andre Drummond, CONN | | Y |
| Ashton Gibbs, PITT | Y | Y |
| Scoop Jardine, SYR | Y | |
| Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ | Y | Y |
| Kevin Jones, WVU | Y | Y |
| Kris Joseph, SYR | Y | Y |
| Jeremy Lamb, CONN | Y | Y |
| Alex Oriakhi, CONN | Y | Y |
| Peyton Siva, LOU | Y | Y |
| Maalik Wayns, VILL | Y | |

## Regular season
### Season summary & highlights

* Syracuse won the NIT Season Tip-Off, defeating Stanford in the finals, 69–63.
* Marquette won the Paradise Jam Tournament, defeating Norfolk State in the finals, 59–57.
* On November 11, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino recorded his 600th career win in an 83–48 victory over Tennessee–Martin. He became the 15th fastest coach to do so (38th overall).
* On November 27, Syracuse fired associate head coach Bernie Fine, who had been an assistant under head coach Jim Boeheim since 1976, after Fine was alleged to have sexually abused team ball boys decades prior.
* Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun was suspended for the first three games of the Big East regular season, following NCAA sanctions in February 2011 for recruiting violations. Under associate head coach George Blaney, the Huskies went 2–1 to start their conference schedule.
* On February 3, Calhoun took his second medical leave of absence in three seasons, eventually undergoing surgery on February 27 for spinal stenosis. The Huskies went 3–5 under Blaney before Calhoun returned to coach in the regular season finale.
* With 30 regular season wins, Syracuse set a school record, eclipsing the mark of 28 regular season wins set in 2009–10. With a 17–1 conference record, the Orange tied the 1995–96 Connecticut squad, which also went 17–1, for conference wins. They also became the first team in Big East history with just one regular season loss overall (January 21 at Notre Dame, 67–58). Syracuse was also unbeaten at home in the Carrier Dome, for the second time in school history (2002–03).

### Midseason watchlists

On January 17, the Wooden Award midseason watchlist was released, and included four Big East players. The list was composed of 25 players, reduced from the preseason list of 50. There were no newcomers to the list from the preseason. In addition, seven Big East players who were on the preseason list did not appear at midseason: Tim Abromaitis, Andre Drummond, Ashton Gibbs, Scoop Jardine, Alex Oriakhi, Peyton Siva, and Maalik Wayns. On February 29, the Naismith Top 30 was announced, and included newcomer Syracuse guard Dion Waiters. Meanwhile, Abromaitis, Drummond, Gibbs, Jeremy Lamb, Oriakhi, and Siva, who were on the preseason list, did not appear at midseason.
| | Wooden | Naismith |
| Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ | Y | Y |
| Kevin Jones, WVU | Y | Y |
| Kris Joseph, SYR | Y | Y |
| Jeremy Lamb, CONN | Y | |
| Dion Waiters, SYR | | Y |

### Composite matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Cincinnati | Connecticut | DePaul | Georgetown | Louisville | Marquette | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh | Providence | Rutgers | St. John's | Seton Hall | South Florida | Syracuse | Villanova | West Virginia |
| vs. Cincinnati | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| vs. Connecticut | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. DePaul | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Louisville | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. Marquette | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| vs. Notre Dame | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Pittsburgh | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Providence | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Rutgers | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1-1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. St. John's | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. South Florida | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| vs. Syracuse | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. Villanova | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 |
| vs. West Virginia | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – |
| Total | 12–6 | 8–10 | 3–15 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 13–5 | 5–13 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 17–1 | 5–13 | 9–9 |

### Statistical leaders

The regular season team, individual, and attendance figures include all conference and non-conference games played from November 7, 2011 through March 3, 2012.

#### Team

Scoring Offense :
| Rk | Team | Games | Points | PPG |
| 1 | Marquette | 31 | 2359 | 76.1 |
| 2 | Syracuse | 31 | 2335 | 75.3 |
| 3 | DePaul | 30 | 2231 | 74.4 |
| 4 | West Virginia | 31 | 2225 | 71.8 |
| 5 | Villanova | 30 | 2149 | 71.6 |
Scoring Defense :
| Rk | Team | Games | Points | PPG |
| 1 | South Florida | 31 | 1773 | 57.2 |
| 2 | Georgetown | 29 | 1710 | 59.0 |
| 3 | Syracuse | 31 | 1867 | 60.2 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 31 | 1892 | 61.0 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 31 | 1913 | 61.7 |
Scoring Margin :
| Rk | Team | Offense | Defense | Margin |
| 1 | Syracuse | 75.3 | 60.2 | +15.1 |
| 2 | Marquette | 76.1 | 65.6 | +10.5 |
| 3 | Georgetown | 69.2 | 59.0 | +10.2 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 69.1 | 61.0 | +8.1 |
| 5 | Louisville | 69.4 | 62.0 | +7.4 |
Free throw percentage :
| Rk | Team | FTM | FTA | Pct |
| 1 | Villanova | 514 | 678 | .758 |
| 2 | Marquette | 543 | 750 | .724 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 447 | 626 | .714 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 389 | 551 | .706 |
| 5 | Providence | 488 | 692 | .705 |
Field goal percentage :
| Rk | Team | FGM | FGA | Pct |
| 1 | Syracuse | 866 | 1844 | .470 |
| 2 | Georgetown | 711 | 1542 | .461 |
| 3 | Marquette | 818 | 1779 | .460 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 759 | 1671 | .454 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 783 | 1730 | .453 |
3-Pt Field goal percentage :
| Rk | Team | 3FGM | 3FGA | Pct |
| 1 | Seton Hall | 213 | 588 | .362 |
| 2 | Providence | 154 | 426 | .362 |
| 3 | Georgetown | 167 | 476 | .351 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 228 | 652 | .350 |
| 5 | Syracuse | 195 | 568 | .343 |
Rebounding Margin :
| Rk | Team | Avg | Opp Avg | Marg |
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 36.9 | 29.1 | +7.7 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 38.1 | 31.6 | +6.5 |
| 3 | Georgetown | 36.1 | 30.6 | +5.6 |
| 4 | Villanova | 39.5 | 34.9 | +4.6 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 37.7 | 34.1 | +3.5 |
Offensive Rebounds :
| Rk | Team | Games | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | West Virginia | 31 | 454 | 14.7 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 31 | 443 | 14.3 |
| 3 | Villanova | 30 | 417 | 13.9 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 31 | 419 | 13.5 |
| 5 | Louisville | 31 | 413 | 13.3 |
Defensive Rebounds :
| Rk | Team | Games | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Villanova | 30 | 767 | 25.6 |
| 2 | Connecticut | 30 | 760 | 25.3 |
| 3 | Louisville | 31 | 780 | 25.2 |
| 4 | Georgetown | 29 | 714 | 24.6 |
| 5 | Providence | 31 | 755 | 24.4 |
Blocks :
| Rk | Team | Games | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Syracuse | 31 | 225 | 7.3 |
| 2 | Connecticut | 30 | 201 | 6.7 |
| 3 | Providence | 31 | 163 | 5.3 |
| 4 | Louisville | 31 | 147 | 4.7 |
| 5 | Georgetown | 29 | 137 | 4.7 |
Assists :
| Rk | Team | Games | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Marquette | 31 | 528 | 17.0 |
| 2 | Syracuse | 31 | 496 | 16.0 |
| 3 | DePaul | 30 | 463 | 15.4 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 31 | 468 | 15.1 |
| 5 | West Virginia | 31 | 459 | 14.8 |
Steals :
| Rk | Team | Games | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Syracuse | 31 | 302 | 9.7 |
| 2 | Louisville | 31 | 286 | 9.2 |
| 3 | Marquette | 31 | 282 | 8.8 |
| 4 | Seton Hall | 30 | 258 | 8.6 |
| 5 | Rutgers | 31 | 255 | 8.2 |

#### Individual

Scoring :
| Rk | Name | GP | Pts | Avg/G |
| 1 | Kevin Jones, WVU | 31 | 619 | 20.0 |
| 2 | Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ | 30 | 549 | 18.3 |
| 3 | Jae Crowder, MARQ | 31 | 547 | 17.6 |
| 4 | Jeremy Lamb, CONN | 30 | 527 | 17.6 |
| 5 | Maalik Wayns, VILL | 27 | 473 | 17.5 |
Rebounding :
| Rk | Name | GP | Reb | Avg/G |
| 1 | Kevin Jones, WVU | 31 | 346 | 11.2 |
| 2 | Herb Pope, HALL | 29 | 298 | 10.3 |
| 3 | Yancy Gates, CIN | 25 | 236 | 9.4 |
| 4 | Jack Cooley, ND | 30 | 276 | 9.2 |
| 5 | Gorgui Dieng, LOU | 31 | 283 | 9.1 |
Assists :
| Rk | Name | GP | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Vincent Council, PROV | 30 | 226 | 7.5 |
| 2 | Jordan Theodore, HALL | 30 | 200 | 6.7 |
| 3 | Shabazz Napier, CONN | 30 | 177 | 5.9 |
| 4 | Junior Cadougan, MARQ | 30 | 164 | 5.5 |
| 5 | Peyton Siva, LOU | 29 | 157 | 5.4 |
Steals :
| Rk | Name | GP | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Fuquan Edwin, HALL | 30 | 92 | 3.1 |
| 2 | Jae Crowder, MARQ | 31 | 75 | 2.4 |
| 3 | Russ Smith, LOU | 30 | 69 | 2.3 |
| 4 | Cashmere Wright, CIN | 31 | 61 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Dion Waiters, SYR | 31 | 59 | 1.9 |
Blocks :
| Rk | Name | GP | No. | Avg/G |
| 1 | Gorgui Dieng, LOU | 31 | 98 | 3.2 |
| 2 | Fab Melo, SYR | 28 | 87 | 3.1 |
| 3 | Andre Drummond, CONN | 30 | 79 | 2.6 |
| 4 | Dane Miller, RUT | 31 | 51 | 1.6 |
| 5 | Herb Pope, HALL | 29 | 46 | 1.6 |
Field Goals :
| Rk | Name | FGM | FGA | PCT |
| 1 | Jack Cooley, ND | 141 | 227 | .621 |
| 2 | Fab Melo, SYR | 90 | 158 | .570 |
| 3 | Nasir Robinson, PITT | 146 | 260 | .562 |
| 4 | God'sgift Achiuwa, SJU | 109 | 196 | .556 |
| 5 | Andre Drummond, CONN | 140 | 262 | .534 |
3-Pt Field Goals :
| Rk | Name | 3PM | 3PA | PCT |
| 1 | Hollis Thompson, GTWN | 54 | 118 | .458 |
| 2 | Lamar Patterson, PITT | 32 | 77 | .416 |
| 3 | Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, USF | 36 | 87 | .414 |
| 4 | LaDontae Henton, PROV | 43 | 107 | .402 |
| 5 | Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ | 69 | 172 | .401 |
Free Throws :
| Rk | Name | FTM | FTA | PCT |
| 1 | Bryce Cotton, PROV | 86 | 96 | .896 |
| 2 | Maalik Wayns, VILL | 125 | 140 | .893 |
| 3 | Anthony Collins, USF | 54 | 63 | .857 |
| 4 | Ashton Gibbs, PITT | 83 | 97 | .856 |
| 5 | Jeremy Lamb, CONN | 90 | 109 | .826 |

#### Attendance

| Rk | Team | Home Gms. | Home Att. | Avg. Home | Away Gms. | Away Att. | Avg. Away | Neut. Gms. | Neut. Att. | Avg. Neut. | Total Gms. | Total Att. | Avg. |
| 1 | Syracuse | 19 | 448,736 | 23,618 | 10 | 141,933 | 14,193 | 2 | 16,770 | 8,385 | 31 | 607,439 | 19,595 |
| 2 | Louisville | 20 | 430,052 | 21,503 | 11 | 160,957 | 14,632 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 591,009 | 19,065 |
| 3 | Marquette | 16 | 242,205 | 15,138 | 11 | 145,954 | 13,269 | 4 | 17,066 | 4,266 | 31 | 405,225 | 13,072 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 17 | 214,873 | 12,640 | 10 | 146,339 | 14,634 | 3 | 5,146 | 1,715 | 30 | 366,358 | 12,212 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 18 | 182,968 | 10,165 | 11 | 142,781 | 12,980 | 2 | 32,926 | 16,463 | 31 | 358,675 | 11,570 |
| 6 | Georgetown | 16 | 180,530 | 11,283 | 10 | 147,312 | 14,731 | 3 | 7,200 | 2,400 | 29 | 335,042 | 11,553 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 16 | 158,887 | 9,930 | 10 | 111,890 | 11,189 | 5 | 40,882 | 8,176 | 31 | 311,659 | 10,054 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 17 | 135,975 | 7,999 | 10 | 121,025 | 12,102 | 4 | 41,214 | 13,738* | 31 | 298,214 | 9,940* |
| 9 | Villanova | 15 | 133,839 | 8,923 | 11 | 125,039 | 11,367 | 4 | 9,658 | 4,829** | 30 | 268,536 | 9,591** |
| 10 | St. John's | 17 | 133,129 | 7,831 | 12 | 125,713 | 10,476 | 2 | 9,036 | 9,036† | 31 | 267,878 | 8,929† |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 18 | 145,235 | 8,069 | 12 | 115,055 | 9,588 | 1 | 4,439 | 4,439 | 31 | 264,729 | 8,540 |
| 12 | Seton Hall | 16 | 121,587 | 7,599 | 11 | 114,796 | 10,436 | 3 | 6,504 | 3,252‡ | 30 | 242,887 | 8,375‡ |
| 13 | Providence | 17 | 134,007 | 7,883 | 12 | 108,950 | 9,079 | 2 | 1,375 | 688 | 31 | 244,332 | 7,882 |
| 14 | DePaul | 16 | 123,832 | 7,740 | 11 | 89,353 | 8,123 | 3 | 8,275 | 2,758 | 30 | 221,460 | 7,382 |
| 15 | South Florida | 16 | 61,590 | 3,849 | 13 | 147,679 | 11,360 | 2 | n/a | n/a | 31 | 209,269 | 7,216§ |
| 16 | Rutgers | 18 | 96,511 | 5,362 | 10 | 104,860 | 10,486 | 3 | 862 | 862§§ | 31 | 202,233 | 6,974§§ |
| | TOTALS | 272 | 2,943,956 | 10,823 | 175 | 2,049,636 | 11,712 | 43 | 201,353 | 5,922^ | 490 | 5,194,945 | 10,800^ |
| * – does not factor one neutral game played, vs. Georgia, in the 2011 CBE Classic, which does not have an attendance figure on record. Averages are therefore calculated based on the three neutral games and 30 total games with attendance figures. ** – does not factor two neutral games played, vs. Saint Louis and Santa Clara, in the 2011 76 Classic, which do not have attendance figures on record. Averages are therefore calculated based on the two neutral games and 28 total games with attendance figures. † – does not factor one neutral game played, vs. Texas A&M, in the 2011 2K Sports Classic, which does not have an attendance figure on record. Averages are therefore calculated based on the one neutral game and 30 total games with attendance figures. ‡ – does not factor one neutral game played, vs. St. Joseph's, in the 2011 Charleston Classic, which does not have an attendance figure on record. Averages are therefore calculated based on the two neutral games and 29 total games with attendance figures. § – does not factor two neutral games played, vs. Old Dominion and Penn State, in the 2011 Hall of Fame Tip-Off, which do not have attendance figures on record. Overall average is therefore calculated based on the 29 games with attendance figures. §§ – does not factor two neutral games played, vs. Illinois State, in the 2011 Cancún Challenge, and vs. Stony Brook, in the 2011 Holiday Festival, which do not have attendance figures on record. Averages are therefore calculated based on the one neutral game and 29 total games with attendance figures. ^ – due to games without attendance figures, overall averages are therefore calculated based on the 34 neutral games and 481 total games with attendance figures. ||||||||||||||

## Postseason
### Big East tournament

For the fourth straight year, all 16 teams in the conference participated in the Big East tournament. Under this format, the teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first-round games, while teams 5 through 8 received a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals. The five-round tournament spanned five consecutive days, from Tuesday, March 6, through Saturday, March 10, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
2012 Big East men's basketball tournament seeds and results :
| Seed | School | Conf. | Over. | Tiebreaker | First round Tuesday, March 6 | Second round Wednesday, March 7 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 8 | Semifinals Friday, March 9 | Championship Saturday, March 10 |
| 1. | ‡†Syracuse | 17–1 | 31–2 | | BYE | BYE | #9 CONN – W, 58–55 | #4 CIN – L, 68–71 | |
| 2. | †Marquette | 14–4 | 25–7 | | BYE | BYE | #7 LOU – L, 71–84 | | |
| 3. | †Notre Dame | 13–5 | 22–11 | | BYE | BYE | #6 USF – W, 57–53$^{OT}$ | #7 LOU – L, 50–64 | |
| 4. | †Cincinnati | 12–6 | 24–10 | 1–1 vs. USF/GTWN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 1–1 vs. MARQ; 1–0 vs. ND; 1–0 vs. GTWN | BYE | BYE | #5 GTWN – W, 72–70$^{2OT}$ | #1 SYR – W, 71–68 | #7 LOU – L, 44–50 |
| 5. | #Georgetown | 12–6 | 23–8 | 1–1 vs. USF/CIN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 1–1 vs. MARQ; 1–0 vs. ND; 0–1 vs. CIN | BYE | #13 PITT – W, 64–52 | #4 CIN – L, 70–72$^{2OT}$ | | |
| 6. | #South Florida | 12–6 | 20–13 | 1–1 vs. CIN/GTWN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 0–1 vs. MARQ; 0–1 vs. ND | BYE | #14 VILL – W, 56–47 | #3 ND – L, 53–57$^{OT}$ | | |
| 7. | #Louisville | 10–8 | 26–9 | | BYE | #10 HALL – W, 61–55 | #2 MARQ – W, 84–71 | #3 ND – W, 64–50 | #4 CIN – W, 50–44 |
| 8. | #West Virginia | 9–9 | 19–13 | | BYE | #9 CONN – L, 67–71$^{OT}$ | | | |
| 9. | Connecticut | 8–10 | 20–13 | 1–1 vs. HALL; 0–2 vs. SYR; 0–1 vs. MARQ; 1–1 vs. ND; 1–2 vs. GTWN/CIN/USF; 0–1 vs. LOU; 1–0 vs. WVU; 2–1 vs. SJU/RUT; 2–0 vs. PITT/VILL | #16 DEP – W, 81–67 | #8 WVU – W, 71–67$^{OT}$ | #1 SYR – L, 55–58 | | |
| 10. | Seton Hall | 8–10 | 20–12 | 1–1 vs. CONN; 0–1 vs. SYR; 0–1 vs. MARQ; 0–1 vs. ND; 1–2 vs. GTWN/CIN/USF; 0–1 vs. LOU; 1–0 vs. WVU; 1–1 vs. SJU/RUT; 1–1 vs. PITT/VILL | #15 PROV – W, 79–47 | #7 LOU – L, 55–61 | | | |
| 11. | Rutgers | 6–12 | 14–18 | 1–0 vs. SJU | #14 VILL – L, 49–70 | | | | |
| 12. | St. John's | 6–12 | 13–19 | 0–1 vs. RUT | #13 PITT – L, 59–73 | | | | |
| 13. | Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 17–15 | 1–0 vs. VILL | #12 SJU – W, 73–59 | #5 GTWN – L, 52–64 | | | |
| 14. | Villanova | 5–13 | 13–19 | 0–1 vs. PITT | vs. #11 RUT – W, 70–49 | #6 USF – L, 47–56 | | |
| 15. | Providence | 4–14 | 15–17 | | #10 HALL – L, 47–79 | | | | |
| 16. | DePaul | 3–15 | 12–19 | | #9 CONN – L, 67–81 | | | | |
| ‡ – Big East regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed. † – Received a double-bye in the conference tournament. # – Received a single-bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games played in the Big East tournament. ||||||||||

#### Highlights

* The Championship match-up between Louisville and Cincinnati was the first time in the 34-year history of the tournament that at least one of the original seven members of the conference wasn't involved in the title game.

### NCAA tournament

The official tournament selection process took place on Sunday, March 11, and the following nine Big East teams received bids into the tournament:
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 4 | West | Louisville | n/a | #13 Davidson – W, 69–62 | #5 New Mexico – W, 59–56 | #1 Michigan State – W, 57–44 | #7 Florida – W, 72–68 | #1 Kentucky - L, 61–69 | |
| 1 | East | Syracuse | n/a | #16 UNC Asheville – W, 72–65 | #8 Kansas State – W, 75–59 | #4 Wisconsin – W, 64–63 | #2 Ohio State – L, 70–77 | | |
| 3 | West | Marquette | n/a | #14 BYU – W, 88–68 | #6 Murray State – W, 62–53 | #7 Florida – L, 58–68 | | | |
| 6 | East | Cincinnati | n/a | #11 Texas – W, 65–59 | #3 Florida State – W, 62–56 | #2 Ohio State – W, 81–66 | | | |
| 3 | Midwest | Georgetown | n/a | #14 Belmont – W, 74–59 | #11 NC State – L, 63–66 | | | | |
| 12 | Midwest | South Florida | #12 California – W, 65–54 | #5 Temple – W, 58–44 | #13 Ohio – L, 56–62 | | | | |
| 7 | South | Notre Dame | n/a | #10 Xavier – L, 63–67 | | | | | |
| 9 | South | Connecticut | n/a | #8 Iowa State – L, 64–77 | | | | | |
| 10 | East | West Virginia | n/a | #7 Gonzaga – L, 54–77 | | | | | |
| | 9 Bids | W-L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 6–3 (.667) | 4–2 (.667) | 2–2 (.500) | 1–1 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | TOTAL: 14–9 (.609) |
After winning the 2012 Big East men's basketball tournament, Louisville continued its winning streak all the way to the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana, but was defeated by Kentucky, who then defeated Kansas for the national championship. Louisville guard Peyton Siva, forward Chane Behanan, and center Gorgui Dieng were named to the West All-Regional team, with Siva tapped as the Most Outstanding Player of the region. Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine was named to the East All-Regional team.

### National Invitation tournament

After not receiving a bid to the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Seton Hall was selected as a top seed to the 2012 National Invitation Tournament. They defeated Stony Brook in the first round before losing to Massachusetts in the second round.

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Improvement in ranking. |
| | Drop in ranking. |
| RV | Received votes, but were not ranked. |
| AP | AP Poll. |
| C | ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. |
2011–12 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings :
| | | 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 |
| Cincinnati | AP | 21 | 20 | RV | RV | | | | | RV | | RV | RV | | | | | | RV | RV | n/a |
| Cincinnati | C | 22 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | RV | 18 |
| Connecticut | AP | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 24 | RV | | | | | | | n/a |
| Connecticut | C | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 11 | 19 | RV | RV | | | | | | |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| DePaul | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | | | RV | RV | 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | n/a |
| Georgetown | C | | RV | | RV | 21 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 |
| Louisville | AP | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 23 | RV | RV | 24 | 19 | 17 | 19 | RV | 17 | n/a |
| Louisville | C | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 18 | RV | 18 | 4 |
| Marquette | AP | 22 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | n/a |
| Marquette | C | 21 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| Notre Dame | AP | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | 23 | 20 | 20 | 23 | RV | n/a |
| Notre Dame | C | RV | | RV | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | 25 | 18 | 19 | 23 | RV | RV |
| Pittsburgh | AP | 10 | 9 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 22 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| Pittsburgh | C | 11 | 9 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 22 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | RV |
| Providence | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| Providence | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| Rutgers | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| St. John's | C | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | AP | | | | | | | | | RV | 24 | RV | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| Seton Hall | C | | | | | | | RV | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| South Florida | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV |
| Syracuse | AP | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | n/a |
| Syracuse | C | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Villanova | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | n/a |
| Villanova | C | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| West Virginia | AP | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | n/a |
| West Virginia | C | RV | RV | | | | | | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | |

## Awards and honors
### Conference awards and teams

The following individuals received postseason honors after having been chosen by the Big East Conference coaches.
2012 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Jae Crowder, F., MARQUETTE |
| Coach of the Year | Stan Heath, SOUTH FLORIDA |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Fab Melo, C., SYRACUSE |
| Rookie of the Year | Moe Harkless, F., ST. JOHN'S |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Tim Abromaitis, F., NOTRE DAME |
| Most Improved Player | Jack Cooley, F., NOTRE DAME |
| Sixth Man Award | Dion Waiters, G., SYRACUSE |
| Sportsmanship Award | Jason Clark, G., GEORGETOWN |
The Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards were announced on Tuesday, March 6, after the post-game interviews of the first session of the first round of the Big East tournament. The remainder of the individual awards were announced on Monday, March 5, while the All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams were announced on Sunday, March 4. Awardees are chosen by a simple ballot, in which coaches are not allowed to vote for their players or themselves (in the case of the Big East Coach of the Year). Coaches voted for Big East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year from the first team and all-rookie lists, respectively.
Marquette senior forward Jae Crowder was named Player of the Year. Crowder finished the regular season averaging 17.6 points per game, third in the conference, while ranking ninth in the conference in rebounds (7.9 per game). He also ranked second in the Big East in steals (2.4 per game) and recorded seven double-doubles for a Marquette squad that finished second in the conference. South Florida head coach Stan Heath was named Coach of the Year, after leading the Bulls to their first winning conference record (12–6) in the school's seven seasons in the league. Notre Dame's Tim Abromaitis, a graduate forward, became the first player to receive the Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the third year in a row. He was limited to two games in 2011–12 due to injury.
Defensive Player of the Year Feb Melo, a sophomore center from Syracuse, led the conference in blocks, averaging 3.7 blocks per game during the conference season.
St. John's freshman forward Moe Harkless was named Rookie of the Year, after averaging 15.5 points per game, second highest among conference freshmen and sixth among freshmen nationally, and 8.5 rebounds per game, also second among Big East freshmen.
Other awardees included most improved player Jack Cooley, a junior forward from Notre Dame, who went from playing 10.3 minutes per game in 2010–11 to leading the conference in field goal percentage (.621) and finishing fourth in rebounds per game (9.2) in both conference and non-conference play in 2011–12. Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters was honored with the Sixth Man Award, coming off the bench but serving as the Orange's second-leading scorer (11.9 points per game) and team leader in steals (1.9 per game). Finally, Georgetown senior guard Jason Clark received the Sportsmanship Award.
2012 All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Honorable Mention | All-Rookie Team |
| Jeremy Lamb, G., CONN Jason Clark, G., GTWN Jae Crowder†, F., MARQ Darius Johnson-Odom, G., MARQ Kris Joseph, F., SYR Kevin Jones, F., WVU | Sean Kilpatrick, G., CIN Jack Cooley, F., ND Jordan Theodore, G., HALL Scoop Jardine, G., SYR Maalik Wayns, G., VILL | Henry Sims, C., GTWN Vincent Council, G., PROV Herb Pope, F., HALL Dion Waiters, G., SYR Darryl Bryant, G., WVU | Cleveland Melvin, F., DEP Hollis Thompson, F., GTWN Kyle Kuric, G/F., LOU Ashton Gibbs, G., PITT Moe Harkless, F., SJU | Andre Drummond, C., CONN Chane Behanan, F., LOU Jerian Grant, G., ND LaDontae Henton, F., PROV Moe Harkless, F., SJU D'Angelo Harrison, G., SJU Anthony Collins, G., USF |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||
On the All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams, notable members of the first team included Clark, who was given no all-conference consideration prior to the start of the season, and Crowder, who was an honorable mention in the preseason. Crowder was the only unanimous selection for the first team, teaming up with Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom, who was also named to the first team, to form the highest-scoring pair in the conference. In conference games, Crowder finished fourth with 18.0 points per game and tied for first with 2.9 steals per contest. Selected as an honorable mention was Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs, who was selected to the preseason first-team and was named the Preseason Player of the Year. Meanwhile, St. John's placed two players on the All-Rookie Team, guard D'Angelo Harrison and forward Moe Harkless, who were the top two freshman scorers in the conference.

### National awards and teams
#### Players

West Virginia forward Kevin Jones was recognized as a consensus Second Team All-American after being named to the second team All-American lists by the Associated Press, the USBWA, and the NABC, while the Sporting News named him to their third team. In addition, Marquette forward Jae Crowder was selected as a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press and the Sporting News, as well as to the third team by the NABC. The NABC also named Syracuse forward Kris Joseph to their second team.

##### Award finalists

On March 6, the Wooden Award final ballot was released, and included three Big East players. The list was composed of 15 players, reduced from the midseason list of 25. Marquette forward Jae Crowder was the newcomer to the list, while two Big East players who were on the midseason list did not appear on the final ballot: Darius Johnson-Odom and Jeremy Lamb. No Big East players were among the four finalists for the Naismith Award, announced on March 19.
| | Wooden |
| Jae Crowder, MARQ | Y |
| Kevin Jones, WVU | Y |
| Kris Joseph, SYR | Y |
Kentucky forward Anthony Davis was chosen as both the 2012 Wooden Award and 2012 Naismith Award recipient.

#### Coaches

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey was selected for the Jim Phelan Award for the nation's top head coach.