# 2011–12 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by second year head coach Greg McDermott, played their home games at the CenturyLink Center Omaha (renamed from Qwest Center Omaha in the 2011 offseason) and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The conference season ended with 14–4 record, finishing in 2nd place, behind Wichita State. They finished the season 29–6, 14–4 in MVC play to finish in second place. They were champions of the Missouri Valley Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA tournament where they defeated Alabama in the first round before falling in the second round to North Carolina.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kaleb Korver | 15 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Pella, IA | Graduated |
| Wayne Runnels | 23 | F | 6'6" | 215 | Senior | Watonga, OK | Graduated |
| Darryl Ashford | 24 | G/F | 6'4" | 210 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Kenny Lawson Jr. | 25 | C | 6'9" | 250 | Senior | Oceanside, CA | Graduated |
| Casey Harriman | 32 | F | 6'5" | 220 | Senior | Ida Grove, IA | Graduated |

### 2011 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Avery Dingman SF | Branson, MO | Ames | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 1, 2011 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021. ||||||

## 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 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 19 | 25 | 23 | 21 | RV | 23 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 17 | RV | RV | 25 | 19 | 19 |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 17 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 15 | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 20 |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/06/2011* 2:00 pm | | Rockhurst | W 81–42 | – | CenturyLink Center Omaha (13,533) Omaha, NE |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2011* 7:00 pm | | North Carolina A&T Dale Howard Classic | W 97–65 | 1–0 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (15,228) Omaha, NE |
| 11/13/2011* 2:00 pm | | Chicago State Dale Howard Classic | W 95–61 | 2–0 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (13,908) Omaha, NE |
| 11/16/2011* 7:00 pm | | at UAB | W 70–60 | 3–0 | Bartow Arena (4,417) Birmingham, AL |
| 11/20/2011* 3:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Iowa Dale Howard Classic | W 82–59 | 4–0 | Wells Fargo Arena (12,746) Des Moines, IA |
| 11/25/2011* 7:00 pm | | Campbell Dale Howard Classic | W 104–81 | 5–0 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,683) Omaha, NE |
| 11/30/2011* 9:30 pm, The Mtn. | | at San Diego State MWC–MVC Challenge | W 85–83 | 6–0 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 12/04/2011* 4:00 pm, KMTV | | Nebraska | W 76–66 | 7–0 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,561) Omaha, NE |
| 12/10/2011* 11:00 am, KMTV | No. 19 | at Saint Joseph's | L 71–80 | 7–1 | Hagan Arena (4,200) Philadelphia, PA |
| 12/17/2011* 7:00 pm | No. 25 | Houston Baptist | W 97–62 | 8–1 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,513) Omaha, NE |
| 12/19/2011* 7:00 pm | No. 23 | at Tulsa | W 83–64 | 9–1 | Reynolds Center (4,228) Tulsa, OK |
| 12/22/2011* 7:00 pm | No. 23 | Northwestern | W 87–79 | 10–1 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,676) Omaha, NE |
| 12/28/2011 7:00 pm, FSN | No. 21 | Missouri State | L 65–77 | 10–2 (0–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,665) Omaha, NE |
| 12/31/2011 5:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | at Wichita State | W 68–61 | 11–2 (1–1) | Charles Koch Arena (10,317) Wichita, KS |
| 01/03/2012 7:00 pm, KMTV | | Drake | W 76–59 | 12–2 (2–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (15,390) Omaha, NE |
| 01/07/2012 7:00 pm, KMTV | | at Bradley | W 92–83 | 13–2 (3–1) | Peoria Civic Center (8,610) Peoria, IL |
| 01/10/2012 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 23 | Northern Iowa | W 63–60 | 14–2 (4–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,627) Omaha, NE |
| 01/13/2012 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 23 | at Illinois State | W 87–78 | 15–2 (5–1) | Redbird Arena (8,771) Normal, IL |
| 01/15/2012 7:05 pm | No. 23 | at Missouri State | W 66–65 | 16–2 (6–1) | JQH Arena (9,124) Springfield, MO |
| 01/18/2012 6:00 pm, NET | No. 18 | Southern Illinois | W 90–71 | 17–2 (7–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (15,794) Omaha, NE |
| 01/21/2012 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | Indiana State | W 75–49 | 18–2 (8–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,411) Omaha, NE |
| 01/25/2012 7:00 pm, KMTV | No. 15 | at Drake | W 77–69 | 19–2 (9–1) | Knapp Center (6,110) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/28/2012 7:00 pm, KMTV | No. 15 | Bradley | W 73–59 | 20–2 (10–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (18,436) Omaha, NE |
| 02/01/2012 7:00 pm, NET | No. 13 | Illinois State | W 102–74 | 21–2 (11–1) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,311) Omaha, NE |
| 02/04/2012 4:00 pm, FSN | No. 13 | at Northern Iowa | L 62–65 | 21–3 (11–2) | McLeod Center (6,910) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 02/07/2012 7:00 pm | No. 17 | at Evansville | L 57–65 | 21–4 (11–3) | Ford Center (5,128) Evansville, IN |
| 02/11/2012 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | Wichita State | L 68–89 | 21–5 (11–4) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,772) Omaha, NE |
| 02/14/2012 7:00 pm | | at Southern Illinois | W 88–69 | 22–5 (12–4) | SIU Arena (3,408) Carbondale, IL |
| 02/18/2012* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Long Beach State Sears BracketBusters | W 81–79 | 23–5 | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,503) Omaha, NE |
| 02/21/2012 7:00 pm, FSN | | Evansville | W 93–92 $^{OT}$ | 24–5 (13–4) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,447) Omaha, NE |
| 02/25/2012 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Indiana State | W 61–60 | 25–5 (14–4) | Hulman Center (7,911) Terre Haute, IN |
| Missouri Valley Conference Basketball tournament ||||||
| 03/02/2012 6:00 pm, MVCTV | No. 25 | vs. Drake Quarterfinals | W 68–61 | 26–5 | Scottrade Center (14,412) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/03/2012 4:30 pm, MVCTV | No. 25 | vs. Evansville Semifinals | W 99–71 | 27–5 | Scottrade Center (16,271) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/04/2012 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 25 | vs. Illinois State Championship Game | W 83–79 $^{OT}$ | 28–5 | Scottrade Center (12,380) St.Louis, MO |
| 2012 NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/16/2012* 1:40 pm, TBS | No. 19 (8) | vs. No. (9) Alabama Second Round | W 58–57 | 29–5 | Greensboro Coliseum Complex (15,880) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| 03/18/2012* 4:30 pm, CBS | No. 19 (8) | vs. No. 4 (1) North Carolina Third Round | L 73–87 | 29–6 | Greensboro Coliseum Complex (18,722) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||