# 2011–12 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University in the 2011–12 NCAA Divisions I Men's Basketball Season. Xavier was led by head coach Chris Mack in his third season at Xavier. The Musketeers competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference and played their home games at the Cintas Center. Xavier finished the season 23-13,10–6 in A-10 play to finish in tie for third place in conference. The Musketeers lost to St. Bonaventure in the championship of the A-10 tournament. Xavier received a #10 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Musketeers defeated Notre Dame and Lehigh to reach the Sweet Sixteen where they were defeated by Baylor.

## Previous season

The Musketeers finished the 2010–11 season 24–8, 15–1 in A-10 play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament to Dayton. The Musketeers received an at-large bid as a #6 seed to the NCAA tournament where they lost in Second Round to Marquette.

## Preseason

On October 13, 2011, the Musketeers were picked by other Atlantic 10 coaches to finish first in the league standings and received 18 first place votes. Kenny Freese and Mark Lyons were named to the All-Conference Second Team. Justin Martin and Dez Wells were selected to the 2011–12 preseason Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie Team.
Senior Center Kenny Frease was suspended from October 14 through October 23 for not fulfilling all of the responsibilities of a Xavier basketball player. Frease was reinstated on October 23. Senior Tu Holloway sat out the first game of the season because of a secondary violation of NCAA rules. Sources believe Holloway played in two summer leagues. The NCAA allows players to compete in one.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/5/2011* 6:00pm | No. 14 | Bellarmine | W 76–73 | – | Cintas Center (10,033) Cincinnati, OH |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2011* 7:00pm, FSOH | No. 14 | Morgan State | W 74–63 | 1–0 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/15/2011* 7:00pm, FSOH | No. 13 | IPFW | W 86–63 | 2–0 | Cintas Center (9,873) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/18/2011* 7:00 pm, FSOH | No. 13 | Miami (OH) | W 66–40 | 3–0 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/25/2011* 8:00pm, FSOH | No. 12 | Georgia | W 70–56 | 4–0 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/28/2011* 7:00pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | at No. 20 Vanderbilt | W 82–70 $^{OT}$ | 5–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| 12/3/2011* 3:00pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | Purdue | W 66–63 | 6–0 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/7/2011* 9:00pm, ESPN | No. 8 | at Butler | W 73–61 | 7–0 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,033) Indianapolis, IN |
| 12/10/2011* 12:30pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | Cincinnati Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout | W 76–53 | 8–0 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/18/2011* 1:00pm, FSOH | No. 8 | Oral Roberts | L 42–64 | 8–1 | Cintas Center (9,678) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/22/2011* 11:00pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | vs. Long Beach State Diamond Head Classic | L 58–68 | 8–2 | Stan Sheriff Center (N/A) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/24/2011* 1:30am, ESPNU | No. 14 | at Hawaiʻi Diamond Head Classic Consolation Game | L 82–84 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,836) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/25/2011* 2:00pm, ESPN3 | No. 14 | vs. Southern Illinois Diamond Head Classic 7th Place Game | W 87–77 | 9–3 | Stan Sheriff Center (N/A) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/31/2011* 8:00pm, ESPN2 | | Gonzaga | L 65–72 | 9–4 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/4/2012 6:00pm, FSOH/CBSSR | | at La Salle | L 70–80 | 9–5 (0–1) | Tom Gola Arena (2,076) Philadelphia, PA |
| 1/7/2012 12:00pm, FSOH | | at Fordham | W 67–59 | 10–5 (1–1) | Rose Hill Gymnasium (3,200) Bronx, NY |
| 1/11/2012 7:00pm, CBSSN | | Duquesne | W 78–50 | 11–5 (2–1) | Cintas Center (10,168) Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/14/2012 12:00pm, ESPNU | | St. Bonaventure | W 74–67 | 12–5 (3–1) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/18/2012 7:00pm, FSOH/CBSSR | | Saint Joseph's | W 68–55 | 13–5 (4–1) | Cintas Center (9,919) Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/21/2012 1:00pm, ESPN2 | | at Dayton | L 72–87 | 13–6 (4–2) | University of Dayton Arena (13,435) Dayton, OH |
| 1/25/2012 7:00pm, FSOH | | Saint Louis | L 68–73 | 13–7 (4–3) | Cintas Center (10,153) Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/28/2012 7:00pm, FSOH | | at Charlotte | W 74–70 | 14–7 (5–3) | Dale F. Halton Arena (7,503) Charlotte, NC |
| 2/1/2012 7:00pm, FSOH/CBSSR | | at George Washington | W 59–58 | 15–7 (6–3) | Charles E. Smith Athletic Center (2,716) Washington, DC |
| 2/4/2012* 1:00pm, FSOH | | at Memphis | L 68–72 | 15–8 | FedExForum (17,097) Memphis, TN |
| 2/8/2012 7:00pm, CBSSN | | Rhode Island | W 84–66 | 16–8 (7–3) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 2/11/2012 9:00pm, ESPN2 | | at Temple | L 72–85 | 16–9 (7–4) | Liacouras Center (9,370) Philadelphia, PA |
| 2/18/2012 8:00pm, CBSSN | | Dayton | W 86–83 $^{OT}$ | 17–9 (8–4) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 2/21/2012 7:00pm, FSOH/CBSSR | | at Massachusetts | L 73–80 | 17–10 (8–5) | Mullens Center (6,632) Amherst, MA |
| 2/25/2012 8:00pm, ESPN2 | | Richmond | W 65–57 | 18–10 (9–5) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 2/28/2012 9:00pm, CBSSN | | at Saint Louis | L 59–70 | 18–11 (9–6) | Chaifetz Arena (10,441) St. Louis, MO |
| 3/3/2012 2:00pm, FSOH/CBSSN | | Charlotte | W 72–63 | 19–11 (10–6) | Cintas Center (10,183) Cincinnati, OH |
| A-10 tournament ||||||
| 3/9/2012 9:00pm, CBSSN | (3) | vs. (6) Dayton Quarterfinals | W 70–69 | 20–11 | Boardwalk Hall (5,955) Atlantic City, NJ |
| 3/10/2012 3:30pm, CBSSN | (3) | vs. (2) Saint Louis Semifinals | W 71–64 | 21–11 | Boardwalk Hall (6,784) Atlantic City, NJ |
| 3/11/2012 1:00pm, CBS | (3) | vs. (4) St. Bonaventure Championship Game | L 56–67 | 21–12 | Boardwalk Hall (6,101) Atlantic City, NJ |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/16/2012* 9:45pm, CBS | (10 S) | vs. (7 S) Notre Dame Second Round | W 67–63 | 22–12 | Greensboro Coliseum (16,523) Greensboro, NC |
| 3/18/2012* 7:45pm, truTV | (10 S) | vs. (15 S) Lehigh Third Round | W 70–58 | 23–12 | Greensboro Coliseum (18,722) Greensboro, NC |
| 3/23/2012* 7:15pm, CBS | (10 S) | vs. (3 S) No. 9 Baylor Sweet Sixteen | L 70–75 | 23–13 | Georgia Dome (N/A) Atlanta, GA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. ||||||