# 2011–12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame in the sport of basketball during the 2011–12 college basketball season. The Fighting Irish compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big East Conference. They were led by head coach Mike Brey, and played their home games at the Edmund P. Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana.

## Previous season

The Fighting Irish finished the 2010–11 season 27–7, 14–4 in Big East play, finishing second place behind Pittsburgh. Ben Hansbrough was named Big East Player of the Year, and Mike Brey was named Big East Coach of the Year for the third time. Brey was also named National Coach of the Year by Sports Illustrated & CBSSports.com, and the recipient of the Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year award.
The Irish were defeated in the semifinals of the Big East tournament by Louisville. They earned a #2 seed for the NCAA tournament, the program's highest seeding since 1981, where they were eliminated in the third round by Florida State.

## Preseason
### Roster changes and recruiting

Notre Dame lost team captains Hansbrough & Tyrone Nash to graduation. Additionally, forward Carleton Scott surprised many by declaring for the NBA draft, forgoing his final season of eligibility. All three players went undrafted and signed contracts to play in Europe. Notre Dame welcomed one transfer in center Garrick Sherman from Michigan State, who will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2011–12 season.
Notre Dame recruited two players from the high school senior class of 2010–11:
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Pat Connaughton SF | Arlington, MA | St. John's Prep | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 19, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Eric Katenda PF | Wichita, KS | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 26, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ||||||
| 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: "Notre Dame 2011 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012. "2011 Notre Dame Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012. "2011 Player Commitments – Notre Dame". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012. ||||||
Both Katenda and Connaughton were expected to contribute in their freshman season. However, Katenda suffered a "freak injury" to his left eye during a summer pick-up game, leaving him with a permanently damaged optic nerve. The injury, combined with an academic issue with the NCAA, delayed his enrollment at Notre Dame until January 2012. He will sit out the remainder of the season but is expected to play again.

## Awards and honors

* 2nd Team All-Big East – Jack Cooley
* Big East Most Improved Player – Jack Cooley
* Big East All-Rookie Team – Jerian Grant
* Jim Phelan Coach of the Year Award – Mike Brey
* NABC District V Coach of the Year – Mike Brey

## Roster

* Sherman is not eligible to play under NCAA transfer rules.

## Schedule and results

Source
* All times are Eastern
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/1/2011* 7:30pm | | St. Xavier | W 90–72 | | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,578) Notre Dame, IN |
| 11/7/2011* 7:30pm | | Stonehill College | W 92–70 | | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,567) Notre Dame, IN |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/12/2011* 2:00pm | | Mississippi Valley State | W 80–67 | 1–0 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,087) Notre Dame, IN |
| 11/14/2011* 9:00pm, ESPNU | | Detroit CBE Classic | W 59–53 | 2–0 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,720) Notre Dame, IN |
| 11/16/2011* 7:30pm | | Sam Houston State CBE Classic | W 74–41 | 3–0 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,614) Notre Dame, IN |
| 11/18/2011* 9:00pm | | Delaware State | W 93–69 | 4–0 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,826) Notre Dame, IN |
| 11/21/2011* 7:30pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 21 Missouri CBE Classic | L 58–87 | 4–1 | Sprint Center (11,436) Kansas City, MO |
| 11/22/2011* 7:45pm, ESPNU | | vs. Georgia CBE Classic | L 57–61 | 4–2 | Sprint Center (10,747) Kansas City, MO |
| 11/27/2011* 2:00pm | | Bryant | W 84–59 | 5–2 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,138) Notre Dame, IN |
| 11/30/2011* 11:15 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 18 Gonzaga | L 53–73 | 5–3 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| 12/4/2011* 4:45 pm, MASN/Versus | | vs. Maryland BB&T Classic | L 71–78 | 5–4 | Verizon Center (10,714) Washington, DC |
| 12/8/2011* 7:30 pm | | Maine | W 87–78 | 6–4 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,024) Notre Dame, IN |
| 12/10/2011* 7:30 pm | | Dartmouth | W 65–47 | 7–4 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,651) Notre Dame, IN |
| 12/17/2011* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 18 Indiana Crossroads Classic | L 58–69 | 7–5 | Conseco Fieldhouse (19,064) Indianapolis, IN |
| 12/19/2011* 7:30 pm | | Sacred Heart | W 106–65 | 8–5 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,042) Notre Dame, IN |
| Big East Regular Season ||||||
| 12/27/2011 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 22 Pittsburgh | W 72–59 | 9–5 (1–0) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,231) Notre Dame, IN |
| 1/4/2012 7:00 pm, Big East Network | | at Cincinnati | L 55–71 | 9–6 (1–1) | Fifth Third Arena (10,142) Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/7/2012 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 11 Louisville | W 67–65 $^{2OT}$ | 10–6 (2–1) | KFC Yum! Center (22,687) Louisville, KY |
| 1/10/2012 7:00 pm, Big East Network | | South Florida | W 60–49 | 11–6 (3–1) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,075) Notre Dame, IN |
| 1/14/2012 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | No. 17 Connecticut | L 53–67 | 11–7 (3–2) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| 1/16/2012 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Rutgers | L 58–65 | 11–8 (3–3) | Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,334) Piscataway, NJ |
| 1/21/2012 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Syracuse | W 67–58 | 12–8 (4–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| 1/25/2012 8:00 pm, Big East Network | | at Seton Hall | W 55–42 | 13–8 (5–3) | Prudential Center (8,421) Newark, NJ |
| 1/29/2012 12:00 pm, Big East Network | | at No. 24 Connecticut | W 50–48 | 14–8 (6–3) | XL Center (16,294) Hartford, CT |
| 2/4/2012 1:00 pm, CBS | | No. 15 Marquette | W 76–59 | 15–8 (7–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| 2/8/2012 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at West Virginia | W 55–51 | 16–8 (8–3) | WVU Coliseum (9,258) Morgantown, WV |
| 2/11/2012 12:00 pm, Big East Network | | DePaul | W 84–76 | 17–8 (9–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| 2/15/2012 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 23 | Rutgers | W 71–53 | 18–8 (10–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,557) Notre Dame, IN |
| 2/18/2012 9:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 23 | at Villanova | W 74–70 $^{OT}$ | 19–8 (11–3) | Wells Fargo Center (15,939) Philadelphia, PA |
| 2/22/2012 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | West Virginia | W 71–44 | 20–8 (12–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,265) Notre Dame, IN |
| 2/25/2012 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | at St. John's | L 58–61 | 20–9 (12–4) | Madison Square Garden (11,436) New York, NY |
| 2/27/2012 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | at No. 11 Georgetown | L 41–59 | 20–10 (12–5) | Verizon Center (14,514) Washington, DC |
| 3/2/2012 7:00 pm, Big East Network | No. 20 | Providence | W 75–69 | 21–10 (13–5) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 3/8/2012 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 23 | vs. South Florida Quarterfinals | W 57–53 $^{OT}$ | 22–10 | Madison Square Garden (20,057) New York, NY |
| 3/9/2012 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 23 | vs. Louisville Semifinals | L 50–64 | 22–11 | Madison Square Garden (20,057) New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/16/2012* 9:45 pm, CBS | No. 23 (S 7) | vs. (S 10) Xavier Second Round | L 63–67 | 22–12 | Greenboro Coliseum (16,523) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. ||||||