# 2011–12 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team

The 2011–12 San Diego State men's basketball team represented San Diego State University in the 2011–12 college basketball season. It was their 13th season in the Mountain West Conference. This was head coach Steve Fisher's thirteenth season at San Diego State. The Aztecs played their home games at Viejas Arena. They finished with a record of 26–8 overall and 10–4 in Mountain West play to be co-champions of the Mountain West with New Mexico. They lost in the championship game of the Mountain West Basketball tournament to New Mexico. They received an at-large bid into the 2012 NCAA tournament, earning the 6 seed in the Midwest which they lost to North Carolina State in the second round.

## Off Season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Brian Carlwell | 5 | C | 6'11" | 300 | Senior | Maywood, Illinois | Graduated |
| Mehdi Cheriet | 42 | F | 6'9" | 225 | Senior | Tarare, France | Graduated |
| D.J. Gay | 23 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Senior | Sun Valley, California | Graduated |
| Malcolm Thomas | 4 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Senior | San Diego, California | Graduated |
| Billy White | 32 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Las Vegas, Nevada | Graduated |
| Kawhi Leonard | 15 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Sophomore | Riverside, California | Declared for the 2011 NBA draft |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| J.J. O' Brien | 20 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Rancho Cucamonga, California | Elected to transfer from Utah. O' Brien will redshirt for the 2011-12 season, under NCAA transfer rules. Will have three years of eligibility. |
| Dwayne Polee ll | 20 | F | 6'7" | 195 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, California | Elected to transfer from St. John's. Polee ll will redshirt for the 2011-12 season, under NCAA transfer rules. Will have three years of eligibility. |

### 2011 Recruiting Class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Deshawn Stephens PF | Los Angeles, CA | Santa Monica College | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 19, 2010 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: JC ||||||
| 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: "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2011. ||||||

## Roster

Source
| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 0 | Alec Williams | 6'6" | 245 | F | Jr. | San Juan Capistrano, CA | JSerra HS |
| 2 | Xavier Thames | 6'3" | 185 | G | RS So. | Sacramento, CA | Washington State |
| 3 | LaBradford Franklin | 6'2" | 170 | G | So. | Temecula, CA | Great Oak High School |
| 5 | Garrett Green | 6'11" | 230 | F | Sr. | Woodland Hills, CA | LSU |
| 10 | Tim Shelton | 6'7" | 245 | F | Sr. | Fresno, CA | Clovis West HS |
| 11 | James Rahon | 6'5" | 205 | G | RS Jr. | San Diego, CA | Santa Clara |
| 20 | J.J. O'Brien | 6'7" | 215 | F | So. | Ranco Cucamonga, CA | Utah |
| 21 | Jamaal Franklin | 6'5" | 185 | G | So. | Sacramento, CA | Westwind Prep |
| 22 | Chase Tapley | 6'2" | 200 | G | Jr. | Sacramento, CA | Sacramento HS |
| 23 | Deshawn Stephens | 6'8" | 215 | F | Jr. | Los Angeles, CA | Santa Monica College |
| 24 | Dwayne Polee II | 6'7" | 193 | F | So. | Los Angeles, CA | St. John's |

## Schedule and results

Source
* All times are Pacific
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/02/2011* 7:00 pm | | Cal State San Marcos | W 78–63 | – | Viejas Arena (11,711) San Diego, CA |
| 11/07/2011* 7:30 pm | | Point Loma Nazarene | W 78–53 | – | Viejas Arena (11,613) San Diego, CA |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2011* 7:30 pm | | Bryant Basketball Travelers Classic | W 75–63 | 1–0 | Viejas Arena (11,734) San Diego, CA |
| 11/12/2011* 7:30 pm | | Southern Utah Basketball Travelers Classic | W 70–37 | 2–0 | Viejas Arena (11,765) San Diego, CA |
| 11/13/2011* 3:00 pm | | UC Davis Basketball Travelers Classic | W 89–74 | 3–0 | Viejas Arena (11,792) San Diego, CA |
| 11/15/2011* 11:00 am, ESPN | | at No. 12 Baylor | L 67–77 | 3–1 | Ferrell Center (6,941) Waco, TX |
| 11/17/2011* 7:00 pm, The Mtn. | | USC | W 56–54 | 4–1 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 11/19/2011* 1:30 pm, 4SD | | Long Beach State | W 77–73 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 | Viejas Arena (12,094) San Diego, CA |
| 11/23/2011* 5:30 pm, FSAZ+ | | at No. 23 Arizona | W 61–57 | 6–1 | McKale Center (13,761) Tucson, AZ |
| 11/26/2011* 7:00 pm | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 76–75 $^{OT}$ | 7–1 | The Thunderdome (5,011) Santa Barbara, CA |
| 11/30/2011* 7:30 pm, The Mtn. | | Creighton MWC–MVC Challenge | L 83–85 | 7–2 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 12/04/2011* 2:00 pm, The Mtn. | | No. 24 California | W 64–63 | 8–2 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 12/07/2011* 7:00 pm, 4SD | | at San Diego City Championship | W 74–62 | 9–2 | Jenny Craig Pavilion (4,708) San Diego, CA |
| 12/19/2011* 7:00 pm, 4SD | | UC Riverside | W 80–55 | 10–2 | Viejas Arena (11,555) San Diego, CA |
| 12/22/2011* 4:30 pm | | Elon | W 81–55 | 11–2 | Viejas Arena (11,370) San Diego, CA |
| 12/30/2011* 7:00 pm | No. 25 | Redlands | W 95–43 | 12–2 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 01/05/2012* 7:00 pm | No. 24 | San Diego Christian | W 83–52 | 13–2 | Viejas Arena (10,857) San Diego, CA |
| 01/10/2012* 7:00 pm, 4SD | No. 22 | Chicago State | W 73–65 | 14–2 | Viejas Arena (12,099) San Diego, CA |
| 01/14/2012 1:00 pm, NBCSN | No. 22 | No. 12 UNLV | W 69–67 | 15–2 (1–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 01/18/2012 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 16 | at New Mexico | W 75–70 | 16–2 (2–0) | The Pit (15,411) Albuquerque, NM |
| 01/21/2012 7:00 pm, The Mtn. | No. 16 | Air Force | W 57–44 | 17–2 (3–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 01/24/2012 5:30 pm, The Mtn. | No. 13 | at Wyoming | W 52–42 | 18–2 (4–0) | Arena-Auditorium (5,692) Laramie, WY |
| 01/28/2012 1:00 pm, NBCSN | No. 13 | at Colorado State | L 60–77 | 18–3 (4–1) | Moby Arena (6,038) Fort Collins, CO |
| 02/01/2012 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 17 | Boise State | W 58–56 | 19–3 (5–1) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 02/04/2012 7:00 pm, The Mtn. | No. 17 | TCU | W 83–73 | 20–3 (6–1) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 02/11/2012 1:00 pm, NBCSN | No. 13 | at No. 14 UNLV | L 63–65 | 20–4 (6–2) | Thomas & Mack Center (18,577) Paradise, NV |
| 02/14/2012 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 13 | New Mexico | L 67–77 | 20–5 (6–3) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 02/18/2012 1:00 pm, NBCSN | No. 13 | at Air Force | L 56–58 | 20–6 (6–4) | Clune Arena (2,483) Colorado Springs, CO |
| 02/22/2012 7:30 pm, The Mtn. | No. 24 | Wyoming | W 67–58 $^{OT}$ | 21–6 (7–4) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 02/25/2012 7:00 pm, The Mtn. | No. 24 | Colorado State | W 74–66 | 22–6 (8–4) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 02/29/2012 7:00 pm, The Mtn. | No. 21 | at Boise State | W 66–53 | 23–6 (9–4) | Taco Bell Arena (6,145) Boise, ID |
| 03/03/2012 4:00 pm, The Mtn. | No. 21 | at TCU | W 98–92 $^{OT}$ | 24–6 (10–4) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (5,955) Fort Worth, TX |
| 2012 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2012 12:00 pm, The Mtn. | (1) No. 18 | vs. (8) Boise State Quarterfinals | W 65–62 | 25–6 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,601) Paradise, NV |
| 03/09/2012 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) No. 18 | vs. (4) Colorado State Semifinals | W 79–69 | 26–6 | Thomas & Mack Center (16,339) Paradise, NV |
| 03/10/2012 4:00 pm, NBCSN | (1) No. 18 | vs. (2) New Mexico Championship Game | L 59–68 | 26–7 | Thomas & Mack Center (12,168) Paradise, NV |
| 2012 NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/16/2012* 9:40 am, truTV | (6 W) No. 22 | vs. (11 W) NC State Second Round | L 65–79 | 26–8 | Nationwide Arena (17,030) Columbus, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time Zone. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 22 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 22 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 23 | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.