# 2011–12 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 2011–12 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Anthony Grant, in his third season at Alabama after posting a 25–12 record the previous year. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. This was the 99th season of basketball in the school's history. They finished the season 21–12 overall, 9–7 SEC play, and finished in 5th place. They were defeated by Florida in the quarterfinals of the 2012 SEC men's basketball tournament, and they lost to Creighton in the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament second round.

## Pre-season

The 2010–11 season was the second under head coach Anthony Grant. The Tide finished the season 25–12 (12–4 SEC), winning the Southeastern Conference Western Division, and finishing second in the 2011 National Invitation Tournament. The Crimson Tide had four players graduate and two transfer after the season ended. They also brought in five freshman recruits and one junior college transfer, finishing fifth in Rivals.com team recruiting rankings.

### Class of 2011 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trevor Lacey G | Huntsville, Alabama | S.R. Butler HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 18, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Levi Randolph G | Madison, Alabama | Bob Jones HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 20, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Nick Jacobs F | Atlanta, Georgia | South Atlanta HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | Oct 26, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Rodney Cooper F | Seale, Alabama | Russell County HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 20, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Moussa Gueye C | Dakar, Senegal | Lake Land CC | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Oct 4, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Retin Obasohan G | Antwerp, Belgium | K.A. Redingenhof | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 20, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 14 Rivals: 5 ESPN: 13 ||||||
| 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: "Alabama Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 25, 2011. "2011 Alabama Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved May 25, 2011. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 25, 2011. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 25, 2011. ||||||

## Roster

Source: Rolltide.com 2011–12 Roster

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | JaMychal Green | Carl Engstrom | Moussa Gueye |
| PF | Nick Jacobs | Rodney Cooper | |
| SF | Tony Mitchell | Charles Hankerson | |
| SG | Levi Randolph | Trevor Lacey | |
| PG | Trevor Releford | Ben Eblen | Retin Obasohan |

### Suspensions

Following the February 4 victory against Ole Miss, Tony Mitchell, the team's second leading scorer, was suspended indefinitely due to "conduct detrimental to the team." In the next game, Alabama went on the road to defeat Auburn by a record 18 points, but prior to that Saturday's game against LSU Grant suspended 3 more players for a "violation of team rules." This time it was the Crimson Tide's senior leading scorer JaMychal Green, starting PG Trevor Releford and Andrew Steele. With its top three leading scorers out and only one upperclassmen left on the bench, the shorthanded Crimson Tide fell to the LSU Tigers. Releford and Steele returned the following game to face the Florida Gators on February 14, but Green and Mitchell remained suspended. On February 20, Grant announced that Green was returning to practice and Mitchell would remain suspended for the duration of the season. Green did not play in the February 23 game against Arkansas. He finally saw game action again on February 25 at home against Mississippi State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov. 7* 7:00 p.m. | No. 19 | Alabama-Huntsville | W 67–60 | | 21 – Green | 10 – Mitchell | 4 – Mitchell | Coleman Coliseum (11,662) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov. 11* 7:00 p.m. | No. 19 | North Florida | W 64–44 | 1–0 | 18 – Green | 10 – Mitchell | 3 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (11,754) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov. 14* 7:00 p.m. | No. 16 | Oakland | W 74–57 | 2–0 | 18 – Green | 9 – Mitchell | 4 – Mitchell | Coleman Coliseum (9,876) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov. 17* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 16 | vs. Maryland Puerto Rico Tip-Off | W 62–42 | 3–0 | 17 – Mitchell | 11 – Mitchell | 3 – Lacey | Coliseo de Puerto Rico (5,322) San Juan, PR |
| Nov. 18* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 16 | vs. Wichita State Puerto Rico Tip-Off | W 70–60 | 4–0 | 26 – Mitchell | 12 – Green | 4 – Releford | Coliseo de Puerto Rico (6,375) San Juan, PR |
| Nov. 20* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 16 | vs. Purdue Puerto Rico Tip-Off | W 65–56 | 5–0 | 20 – Releford | 10 – Mitchell | 5 – Releford | Coliseo de Puerto Rico (11,297) San Juan, PR |
| Nov. 23* 7:00 p.m. | No. 13 | Alabama A&M | W 82–45 | 6–0 | 16 – Hankerson | 10 – Jacobs | 4 – Eblen | Coleman Coliseum (10,385) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov. 27* 8:30 p.m., ESPNU | No. 13 | VCU | W 72–64 | 7–0 | 21 – Green | 14 – Green | 2 – Green | Coleman Coliseum (10,500) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec. 1* 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 12 | Georgetown SEC–Big East Invitational | L 55–57 | 7–1 | 20 – Mitchell | 11 – Mitchell | 6 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec. 7* 6:00 p.m. | No. 16 | at Dayton | L 62–74 | 7–2 | 18 – Mitchell | 4 – Mitchell | 4 – Lacey | UD Arena (13,102) Dayton, Ohio |
| Dec. 11* 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 16 | Detroit | W 62–54 | 8–2 | 21 – Green | 8 – Mitchell | 5 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (10,011) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Dec. 17* 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 23 | vs. Kansas State | L 58–71 | 8–3 | 20 – Green | 9 – Green | 6 – Releford | Sprint Center (16,685) Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec. 21* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Oklahoma State | W 69–52 | 9–3 | 19 – Releford | 11 – Mitchell | 5 – Randolph | BJCC (13,808) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec. 29* 8:00 p.m., CSS | | Jacksonville | W 72–55 | 10–3 | 18 – Releford | 8 – Randolph | 4 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (12,527) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan. 3* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Georgia Tech | W 73–48 | 11–3 | 17 – Releford | 6 – Mitchell | 5 – Lacey | Philips Arena (5,738) Atlanta |
| SEC Regular Season |||||||||
| Jan. 7 6:00 p.m., FSN | | at Georgia | W 74–59 | 12–3 (1–0) | 19 – Lacey | 10 – Green | 5 – Green | Stegeman Coliseum (7,776) Athens, Georgia |
| Jan. 11 8:00 p.m. | | LSU | W 69–53 | 13–3 (2–0) | 20 – Releford | 10 – Mitchell | 4 – Mitchell | Coleman Coliseum (14,245) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan. 14 3:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 20 Mississippi State | L 52–56 | 13–4 (2–1) | 14 – Green | 10 – Mitchell | 3 – Green | Humphrey Coliseum (9,539) Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan. 19 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | Vanderbilt | L 59–69 | 13–5 (2–2) | 14 – Releford | 8 – Green | 4 – Mitchell | Coleman Coliseum (12,202) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan. 21 11:00 a.m., CBS | | at No. 2 Kentucky | L 71–77 | 13–6 (2–3) | 22 – Green | 12 – Green | 5 – Lacey | Rupp Arena (24,246) Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan. 25 7:00 p.m., SECN | | at South Carolina | L 54–56 | 13–7 (2–4) | 12 – Randolph | 8 – Mitchell | 3 – Releford | Colonial Life Arena (7,807) Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan. 28 12:30 p.m., SECN | | Arkansas | W 72–66 | 14–7 (3–4) | 18 – Releford | 8 – Green | 6 – Steele | Coleman Coliseum (13,145) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb. 4 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Ole Miss | W 69–67 $^{2OT}$ | 15–7 (4–4) | 16 – Green | 12 – Green | 4 – Releford | Coleman Coliseum (12,711) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb. 7 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Auburn | W 68–50 | 16–7 (5–4) | 19 – Green | 7 – Green | 6 – Steele | Auburn Arena (8,154) Auburn, AL |
| Feb. 11 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at LSU | L 58–67 | 16–8 (5–5) | 28 – Cooper | 5 – Randolph | 3 – Eblen | Maravich Assembly Center (10,282) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb. 14 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 14 Florida | L 52–61 | 16–9 (5–6) | 11 – Steele | 9 – Randolph | 3 – Steele | Coleman Coliseum (12,187) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb. 18 12:30 p.m., SECN | | Tennessee | W 61–52 | 17–9 (6–6) | 18 – Lacey | 7 – Engstrom | 7 – Steele | Coleman Coliseum (12,988) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb. 23 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Arkansas | W 79–68 | 18–9 (7–6) | 17 – Cooper | 6 – Steele | 3 – Randolph | Bud Walton Arena (12,320) Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Feb. 25 5:00 p.m., ESPN | | Mississippi State | W 67–50 | 19–9 (8–6) | 18 – Randolph | 7 – Randolph | 4 – (2 tied) | Coleman Coliseum (13,774) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb. 29 7:00 p.m., SECN | | Auburn | W 55–49 | 20–9 (9–6) | 15 – Green | 10 – Green | – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (14,253) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Mar. 3 3:00 p.m., SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 51–60 | 20–10 (9–7) | 12 – Releford | 13 – Green | 7 – Steele | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,339) Oxford, Mississippi |
| 2012 SEC tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 8 2:30 p.m., SECN | (5) | vs. (12) South Carolina First round | W 63–57 | 21–10 | 15 – Lacey | 7 – Green | 3 – Steele | New Orleans Arena (10,703) New Orleans |
| Mar. 9 2:30 p.m., SECN | (5) | vs. (4) #22 Florida Quarterfinals | L 63–66 | 21–11 | 22 – Green | 10 – Green | 4 – Green | New Orleans Arena (18,207) New Orleans |
| 2012 NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 16 2:40 p.m., TBS | No. (MW 9) | vs. No. 19 (MW 8) Creighton Midwest Region Second Round | L 57–58 | 21–12 | 14 – Releford | 6 – Green | 4 – Releford | Greensboro Coliseum (15,880) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| *Non-Conference Game. Rankings from AP poll. All times are in Central Time. (#) Number seeded with region. |||||||||
Source: 2011–12 Schedule. Rolltide.com

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. :
| 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 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 23 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | | | | | |
| Coaches | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 21 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | | | | | |