# 2011–12 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach, Jim Boeheim, served for his 36th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York and is a member of the Big East Conference.
In 2015, Syracuse voluntarily vacated nine wins from this season due to participation of ineligible players. Following an NCAA investigation, all 25 other wins were vacated. Syracuse was, however, allowed to keep their banners and Elite Eight appearance.

## Preseason
### Roster changes

Syracuse graduated one starter from the previous year's team, power forward Rick Jackson. Center DaShonte Riley transferred to Eastern Michigan.

### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Michael Carter-Williams PG | Hamilton, MA | St. Andrew's School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 1, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Rakeem Christmas C | Philadelphia, PA | Academy of the New Church | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 6, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Trevor Cooney SG | Wilmington, DE | Sanford School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 26, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #16 Rivals: #11 ESPN: #10 ||||||
| 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 Syracuse Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010. "2011 Syracuse Signees". Scout.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010. "2011 Syracuse Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010. ||||||

### Preseason outlook

In the Big East preseason Coaches' Poll, Syracuse was predicted to finish tied for first with Connecticut. The Orange received five first place votes and 209 votes overall. Kris Joseph was named to the Preseason All-Big East first team and Scoop Jardine was named to the second team.

## Postseason awards

Fab Melo was named the Big East's Defensive Player of the Year and Dion Waiters won the Big East Sixth Man Award. Kris Joseph was named to the All-Big East First Team while Scoop Jardine made the Second Team and Dion Waiters made the Third Team.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Joseph to its All-America Second Team.
NBC Sports also named Melo the Big East's Defensive Player of the Year and Waiters the Sixth Man of the Year. NBC named Joseph to its All-Big East First Team and Jardine and Waiters to its Second Team.
CBS Sports named Waiters its national Sixth Man of the Year. It also named Waiters All-Big East First Team and Joseph Second Team.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Fab Melo | Baye Keita | Matt Tomaszewski | |
| PF | C.J. Fair | Rakeem Christmas | Matt Lyde-Cajuste | |
| SF | Kris Joseph | James Southerland | Griffin Hoffmann | Albert Nassar |
| SG | Brandon Triche | Dion Waiters | Nick Resavy | Russ DeRemer |
| PG | Scoop Jardine | Michael Carter-Williams | Brandon Reese | Nolan Hart |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov. 1* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet | No. 5 | CSULA (DII) | W 79–49 | | 12 – Melo | 9 – Keita | 7 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (8,668) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov. 8* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 5 | St. Rose (DII) | W 87–69 | | 12 – Joseph | 7 – Keita | 3 – Tied | Carrier Dome (8,110) Syracuse, NY |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Nov. 12* 4:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 5 | Fordham | W 78–53 | 1–0 | 16 – Joseph | 7 – Triche | 3 – Tied | Carrier Dome (22,906) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov. 14* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 5 | Manhattan NIT Season Tip-Off | W 92–56 | 2–0 | 17 – Waiters | 9 – Melo | 5 – Waiters | Carrier Dome (17,284) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov. 15* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 5 | Albany NIT Season Tip-Off | W 98–74 | 3–0 | 19 – Tied | 9 – Fair | 5 – Tied | Carrier Dome (17,189) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov. 19* 4:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 5 | Colgate | W 92–47 | 4–0 | 16 – Waiters | 8 – Christmas | 6 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (21,084) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov. 23* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | vs. Virginia Tech NIT Season Tipoff | W 69–58 | 5–0 | 20 – Joseph | 10 – Tied | 6 – Triche | Madison Square Garden (8,293) New York, NY |
| Nov. 25* 5:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | vs. Stanford NIT Season Tipoff | W 69–63 | 6–0 | 18 – Joseph | 9 – Tied | 4 – Triche | Madison Square Garden (8,477) New York, NY |
| Nov. 29* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 4 | Eastern Michigan | W 84–48 | 7–0 | 19 – Southerland | 6 – Christmas | 7 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (19,649) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec. 2* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | No. 10 Florida SEC–Big East Challenge | W 72–68 | 8–0 | 20 – Triche | 11 – Fair | 7 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (24,459) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec. 6* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 3 | Marshall | W 62–56 | 9–0 | 15 – Waiters | 8 – Joseph | 4 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (19,817) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec. 10* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 3 | George Washington | W 85–50 | 10–0 | 19 – Waiters | 8 – Joseph | 8 – Carter-Williams | Carrier Dome (23,226) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec. 17* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | at NC State | W 88–72 | 11–0 | 22 – Waiters | 6 – Melo | 4 – Tied | RBC Center (19,400) Raleigh, NC |
| Dec. 20* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 1 | Bucknell | W 80–61 | 12–0 | 17 – Joseph | 9 – Melo | 4 – Tied | Carrier Dome (17,302) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec. 22* 7:00 pm, Time Warner SportsNet/SNY | No. 1 | Tulane | W 80–61 | 13–0 | 15 – Waiters | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Carrier Dome (18,679) Syracuse, NY |
| Big East Regular Season |||||||||
| Dec. 28 7:00 pm, Big East Network/MSG | No. 1 | Seton Hall | W 75–49 | 14–0 (1–0) | 15 – Waiters | 8 – Fair | 4 – Tied | Carrier Dome (25,081) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan. 1 5:00 pm, Big East Network/SNY | No. 1 | at DePaul | W 87–68 | 15–0 (2–0) | 22 – Joseph | 7 – Joseph | 3 – Tied | Allstate Arena (12,102) Rosemont, IL |
| Jan. 4 9:00 pm, Big East Network/SNY | No. 1 | at Providence | W 87–73 | 16–0 (3–0) | 16 – Triche | 5 – Christmas | 11 – Jardine | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,252) Providence, RI |
| Jan. 7 4:00 pm, Big East Network/SNY | No. 1 | No. 20 Marquette | W 73–66 | 17–0 (4–0) | 17 – Joseph | 8 – Tied | 7 – Waiters | Carrier Dome (25,412) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan. 11 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | at Villanova | W 79–66 | 18–0 (5–0) | 20 – Waiters | 7 – Keita | 5 – Jardine | Wells Fargo Center (14,877) Philadelphia, PA |
| Jan. 14 6:00 pm, Big East Network/SNY | No. 1 | Providence | W 78–55 | 19–0 (6–0) | 13 – Joseph | 6 – Fair | 9 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (23,311) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan. 16 7:30 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | Pittsburgh | W 71–63 | 20–0 (7–0) | 16 – Waiters | 10 – Melo | 10 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (24,826) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan. 21 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | at Notre Dame | L 58–67 | 20–1 (7–1) | 15 – Southerland | 5 – Joseph | 7 – Jardine | Purcell Pavilion (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| Jan. 23 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | at Cincinnati | W 60–53 | 21–1 (8–1) | 17 – Joseph | 9 – Christmas | 6 – Jardine | Fifth Third Arena (13,176) Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan. 28 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 3 | West Virginia | W 63–61 | 22–1 (9–1) | 18 – Triche | 7 – Joseph | 5 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (28,740) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb. 4 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | at St. John's | W 95–70 | 23–1 (10–1) | 14 – Tied | 8 – Joseph | 5 – Triche | Madison Square Garden (19,979) New York, NY |
| Feb. 8 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | No. 11 Georgetown | W 64–61 $^{OT}$ | 24–1 (11–1) | 29 – Joseph | 9 – Fair | 8 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (27,820) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb. 11 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 2 | Connecticut Rivalry | W 85–67 | 25–1 (12–1) | 21 – Jardine | 12 – Fair | 6 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (33,430) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb. 13 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | at No. 19 Louisville | W 52–51 | 26–1 (13–1) | 13 – Fair | 6 – Tied | 5 – Jardine | KFC Yum! Center (22,738) Louisville, KY |
| Feb. 19 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | at Rutgers | W 74–64 | 27–1 (14–1) | 21 – Fair | 8 – Fair | 7 – Jardine | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,093) Piscataway, NJ |
| Feb. 22 7:00 pm, Big East Network/SNY | No. 2 | South Florida | W 56–48 | 28–1 (15–1) | 15 – Jardine | 9 – Joseph | 4 – Jardine | Carrier Dome (25,316) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb. 25 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | at Connecticut Rivalry and ESPN College GameDay | W 71–69 | 29–1 (16–1) | 21 – Joseph | 9 – Melo | 6 – Jardine | Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| Mar. 3 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 2 | No. 19 Louisville | W 58–49 | 30–1 (17–1) | 18 – Triche | 8 – Melo | 4 – Triche | Carrier Dome (33,205) Syracuse, NY |
| 2012 Big East men's basketball tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 8 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | vs. Connecticut Quarterfinals/Rivalry | W 58–55 | 31–1 | 18 – Waiters | 7 – Triche | 4 – Carter-Williams | Madison Square Garden (20,057) New York, NY |
| Mar. 9 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 2 | vs. Cincinnati Semifinals | L 68–71 | 31–2 | 28 – Waiters | 11 – Fair | 4 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (20,057) New York, NY |
| 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 15 3:10 pm, truTV | No. 2 (1) | vs. (16) UNC Asheville Second Round | W 72–65 | 32–2 | 15 – Southerland | 8 – Tied | 7 – Jardine | Consol Energy Center (18,927) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mar. 17 12:15 pm, CBS | No. 2 (1) | vs. (8) Kansas State Third Round | W 75–59 | 33–2 | 18 – Waiters | 11 – Christmas | 8 – Jardine | Consol Energy Center (18,588) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mar. 22 7:15 pm, CBS | No. 2 (1) | vs. No. 14 (4) Wisconsin Sweet Sixteen | W 64–63 | 34–2 | 15 – Fair | 7 – Fair | 4 – Jardine | TD Garden (18,796) Boston, MA |
| Mar. 24 7:05 pm, CBS | No. 2 (1) | vs. No. 7 (2) Ohio State Elite Eight | L 70–77 | 34–3 | 15 – Triche | 10 – Keita | 6 – Jardine | TD Garden (19,026) Boston, MA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll.. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| 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 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | * |
| Coaches | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |

## 2012–13 Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| DaJuan Coleman C | DeWitt, NY | Jamesville-DeWitt High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Oct 25, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Jerami Grant PF | Hyattsville, MD | DeMatha Catholic High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 16, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #11 ESPN: #15 ||||||
| 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: "2012 Syracuse Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 13, 2012. "2012 Syracuse Signees". Scout.com. Retrieved February 13, 2012. "2012 Syracuse Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2012. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 13, 2012. "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 13, 2012. ||||||