# 2011–12 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats, led by fourth year head coach John Groce, played their home games at the Convocation Center and are members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 29–8, 11–5 in MAC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They were champions of the MAC Basketball tournament and earned an automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA tournament where the 13th seeded Bobcats defeated Michigan in the second round and South Florida in the third round to advance to school's first Sweet Sixteen since 1964. They lost in the Sweet Sixteen to top-seed North Carolina in overtime. After the season Groce accepted the head coach position at Illinois

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | College | Graduating year |
| John Groce | Head coach | Taylor University | 1994 |
| Jamall Walker | Assistant coach | Saint Louis University | 2000 |
| Dustin Ford | Assistant coach | Ohio University | 2001 |
| Ramon Williams | Assistant coach | Virginia Military Institute | 1990 |

## Preseason

The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on October 28, 2015. Ohio was picked third in the MAC East.

### Preseason poll

(First place votes in parentheses)

#### East Division

* Kent State 132 (16)
* Akron 104 (8)
* Ohio 94
* Miami 80
* Buffalo 62
* Bowling Green 32

#### West Division

* Western Michigan 128 (14)
* Ball State 111 (9)
* Central Michigan 92 (1)
* Toledo 76
* Northern Illinois 59
* Eastern Michigan 38

#### Tournament champs

Kent State (12), Akron (6), Ball State (3), Western Michigan (2), Central Michigan (1)

### Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams :
| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| Preseason All-MAC East | DJ Cooper | G | Jr. |
Source

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/07/2011* 7:00 pm | | Mercyhurst | W 82–63 | | Convocation Center (3,314) Athens, OH |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/13/2011* 2:00 pm | | UT Martin Global Sports Invitational | W 74–65 | 1–0 | Convocation Center (3,835) Athens, OH |
| 11/15/2011* 7:00 pm | | Lamar Global Sports Invitational | W 85–78 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | Convocation Center (3,672) Athens, OH |
| 11/20/2011* 2:00 pm | | Arkansas State Global Sports Invitational | W 69–54 | 3–0 | Convocation Center (3,455) Athens, OH |
| 11/25/2011* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 7 Louisville Global Sports Invitational | L 54–59 | 3–1 | KFC Yum! Center (21,334) Louisville, KY |
| 11/30/2011* 7:00 pm | | at Marshall | W 70–68 | 4–1 | Cam Henderson Center (7,061) Huntington, WV |
| 12/03/2011* 2:00 pm | | Morgan State | W 61–53 | 5–1 | Convocation Center (2,768) Athens, OH |
| 12/07/2011* 7:00 pm | | at Oakland | W 84–82 | 6–1 | Athletics Center O'rena (2,175) Rochester, MI |
| 12/30/2011* 10:00 pm | | at Portland | W 72–54 | 7–1 | Chiles Center (2,002) Portland, OR |
| 12/14/2011* 7:00 pm | | Marietta College | W 88–54 | 8–1 | Convocation Center (8,672) Athens, OH |
| 12/17/2011* 7:00 pm, WBDT | | at Wright State | W 82–54 | 9–1 | Nutter Center (3,749) Dayton, OH |
| 12/20/2011* 8:00 pm | | at Northern Iowa | W 76–59 | 10–1 | McLeod Center (3,486) Cedar Fals, IA |
| 12/23/2011* 7:00 pm | | North Carolina A&T | W 82–66 | 11–1 | Convocation Center (4,255) Athens, OH |
| 12/30/2011* 7:00 pm | | Kennesaw State | W 71–63 | 12–1 | Convocation Center (5,863) Athens, OH |
| 01/02/2012* 7:00 pm | | Robert Morris | L 67–70 | 12–2 | Convocation Center (6,018) Athens, OH |
| 01/07/2012 6:00 pm, STO | | at Bowling Green | L 57–67 | 12–3 (0–1) | Stroh Center (2,649) Bowling Green, OH |
| 01/11/2012 7:00 pm | | Buffalo | W 60–52 | 13–3 (1–1) | Convocation Center (6,284) Athens, OH |
| 01/14/2012 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Akron | L 63–68 | 13–4 (1–2) | James A. Rhodes Arena (4,661) Akron, OH |
| 01/18/2012 7:00 pm, STO | | Kent State | W 87–65 | 14–4 (2–2) | Convocation Center (5,924) Athens, OH |
| 01/21/2012 2:00 pm | | Miami (OH) | W 69–65 | 15–4 (3–2) | Convocation Center (13,011) Athens, OH |
| 01/25/2012 7:00 pm, STO | | Western Michigan | W 56–51 | 16–4 (4–2) | Convocation Center (4,638) Athens, OH |
| 01/28/2012 11:00 am, ESPNU | | Ball State | W 59–55 | 17–4 (5–2) | Convocation Center (6,018) Athens, OH |
| 02/01/2012 8:00 pm | | at Northern Illinois | W 67–58 | 18–4 (6–2) | Convocation Center (784) DeKalb, IL |
| 02/04/2012 2:00 pm | | Central Michigan | W 68–42 | 19–4 (7–2) | Convocation Center (7,581) Athens, OH |
| 02/08/2012 7:00 pm | | at Toledo | L 73–77 | 19–5 (7–3) | Savage Arena (4,139) Toledo, OH |
| 02/11/2012 4:30 pm | | at Eastern Michigan | L 55–68 | 19–6 (7–4) | Convocation Center (1,473) Ypsilanti, MI |
| 02/15/2012 7:00 pm | | Bowling Green | W 72–59 | 20–6 (8–4) | Convocation Center (5,028) Athens, OH |
| 02/18/2012* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Asheville ESPN BracketBusters | W 81–62 | 21–6 | Convocation Center (9,961) Athens, OH |
| 02/22/2012 7:00 pm | | at Buffalo | W 88–77 | 22–6 (9–4) | Alumni Arena (2,925) Amherst, NY |
| 02/26/2012 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Akron | W 85–61 | 23–6 (10–4) | Convocation Center (8,018) Athens, OH |
| 02/29/2012 7:00 pm | | at Kent State | L 61–68 | 23–7 (10–5) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (2,965) Kent, OH |
| 03/03/2012 12:00 pm | | at Miami (OH) | W 63–54 | 24–7 (11–5) | Millett Hall (1,683) Oxford, OH |
| MAC Tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2012 9:30 pm, STO | (3) | vs. (7) Toledo Quarterfinals | W 65–57 | 25–7 | Quicken Loans Arena (3,351) Cleveland, OH |
| 03/09/2012 9:30 pm, STO | (3) | vs. (2) Buffalo Semifinals | W 77–74 | 26–7 | Quicken Loans Arena (8,513) Cleveland, OH |
| 03/10/2012 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (1) Akron Championship Game | W 64–63 | 27–7 | Quicken Loans Arena (10,301) Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/16/2012* 7:20 pm, TNT | (13) | vs. (4) No. 13 Michigan First Round | W 65–60 | 28–7 | Bridgestone Arena (11,625) Nashville, TN |
| 03/18/2012* 7:10 pm, TBS | (13) | vs. (12) South Florida Second Round | W 62–56 | 29–7 | Bridgestone Arena (11,033) Nashville, TN |
| 03/23/2012* 7:47 pm, TBS | (13) | vs. (1) No. 4 North Carolina Sweet Sixteen | L 65–73 $^{OT}$ | 29–8 | Edward Jones Dome (21,471) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. ||||||

## Statistics
### Team statistics

    Final 2011–12 statistics
| Record | Ohio | OPP |
| Scoring | 2597 | 2311 |
| Scoring Average | 70.19 | 62.46 |
| Field goals – Att | 901–2107 | 775–1880 |
| 3-pt. Field goals – Att | 278–809 | 198–673 |
| Free throws – Att | 517–749 | 563–787 |
| Rebounds | 1136 | 1297 |
| Assists | 488 | 415 |
| Turnovers | 481 | 644 |
| Steals | 347 | 221 |
| Blocked Shots | 103 | 127 |
Source

### Player statistics

| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | | | |
| Player | GP | GS | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | PF | TO | Stl | Blk |
| D.J. Cooper | 37 | 37 | 1199 | 32.4 | 545 | 14.7 | 162 | 465 | 0.348 | 75 | 244 | 0.307 | 146 | 196 | 0.745 | 28 | 109 | 137 | 3.7 | 211 | 51 | 106 | 85 | 3 |
| Walter Offutt | 37 | 37 | 1088 | 29.4 | 457 | 12.4 | 148 | 329 | 0.45 | 53 | 139 | 0.381 | 108 | 152 | 0.711 | 48 | 86 | 134 | 3.6 | 65 | 94 | 62 | 57 | 4 |
| Reggie Keely | 37 | 3 | 792 | 21.4 | 334 | 9 | 128 | 251 | 0.51 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 113 | 0.69 | 82 | 100 | 182 | 4.9 | 18 | 100 | 70 | 22 | 15 |
| Nick Kellogg | 37 | 36 | 1019 | 27.5 | 332 | 9 | 106 | 236 | 0.449 | 85 | 199 | 0.427 | 35 | 39 | 0.897 | 7 | 68 | 75 | 2 | 39 | 70 | 30 | 40 | 4 |
| Ivo Baltic | 37 | 34 | 1015 | 27.4 | 323 | 8.7 | 137 | 293 | 0.468 | 5 | 18 | 0.278 | 44 | 86 | 0.512 | 49 | 137 | 186 | 5 | 55 | 100 | 71 | 34 | 13 |
| Stevie Taylor | 37 | 0 | 422 | 11.4 | 162 | 4.4 | 59 | 170 | 0.347 | 31 | 102 | 0.304 | 13 | 22 | 0.591 | 8 | 33 | 41 | 1.1 | 38 | 40 | 32 | 28 | 1 |
| T.J. Hall | 37 | 1 | 443 | 12 | 140 | 3.8 | 49 | 147 | 0.333 | 23 | 80 | 0.288 | 19 | 30 | 0.633 | 27 | 50 | 77 | 2.1 | 14 | 71 | 25 | 17 | 7 |
| Jon Smith | 37 | 36 | 724 | 19.6 | 132 | 3.6 | 51 | 82 | 0.622 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 44 | 0.682 | 84 | 82 | 166 | 4.5 | 17 | 90 | 39 | 23 | 44 |
| Ricardo Johnson | 36 | 1 | 487 | 13.5 | 113 | 3.1 | 36 | 82 | 0.439 | 5 | 20 | 0.25 | 36 | 55 | 0.655 | 33 | 54 | 87 | 2.4 | 22 | 72 | 26 | 32 | 6 |
| TyQuane Goard | 29 | 0 | 208 | 7.2 | 48 | 1.7 | 20 | 39 | 0.513 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 0.727 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 1.6 | 6 | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Nick Goff | 9 | 0 | 13 | 1.4 | 5 | 0.6 | 2 | 5 | 0.4 | 1 | 3 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Belton | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1.3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan Jacobs | 13 | 0 | 22 | 1.7 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 4 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| David McKinley | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | - | 7450 | - | 2597 | 70.2 | 901 | 2107 | 0.428 | 278 | 809 | 0.344 | 517 | 749 | 0.690 | 451 | 685 | 1136 | 30.7 | 488 | 723 | 481 | 347 | 103 |
| Opponents | 37 | - | 7450 | - | 2311 | 62.5 | 775 | 1880 | 0.412 | 198 | 673 | 0.294 | 563 | 787 | 0.715 | 416 | 881 | 1297 | 35.1 | 415 | 696 | 644 | 221 | 127 |
Source

## Awards and honors
### All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams :
| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| All-MAC First Team | DJ Cooper | G | Jr. |
| All-MAC Honorable Mention | Walter Offutt | G | Jr. |
| All-MAC Honorable Mention | Ivo Baltic | F | Jr. |
Source

### National Awards

National Award Honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Ref. |
| NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team | Walter Offutt | F | |