† 2012 Big East tournament winner As of March 31, 2012[1] *Syracuse: 30 reg. season games, 4 postseason games vacated due to sanctions against the program; Disputed record: Syracuse–(34–3)(17–1) **Louisville: 25 reg. season games, 5 postseason games vacated due to sanctions against the program; Disputed record: Louisville–(30-10)(10-8) Rankings from AP Poll
In June, USF received approval to begin a $35.6 million renovation on the USF Sun Dome, which was completed in April 2012.[2]
In September, the Muma Basketball Center was officially opened, giving the basketball programs at USF a state of the art training facility.[3]
At Big East Media day, USF was selected to finish in 14th place in the Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll.[4] Augustus Gilchrist was selected as a 2011–12 Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.[5]
Season Highlights
During the season, three USF players were honored by the Big East for their play. Jawanza Poland was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll on January 23,[6] and Hugh Robertson received the same honor on February 13.[7] Freshman Point Guard Anthony Collins was named the Big East Rookie of the Week on February 20,[8] and a week later was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll on February 27.[9]
At the conclusion of the regular season, Head Coach Stan Heath was named the Big East Coach of the Year. This was the first individual post-season award USF has received in the Big East.[10] Anthony Collins was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team.[11]
USF finished the regular season with a 19–12 overall record, and a 12–6 conference record. Their conference performance was the best in school history and resulted in being tied for 4th in the conference standings and receiving the #6 seed in the Big East Tournament.
After a 20-year drought, USF was selected to the 2012 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992. USF defeated California in the "First Four" in Dayton, Ohio, giving the school its first win in the NCAA Tournament. USF advanced to the main bracket as a #12 seed and played in Nashville, Tennessee. In the 2nd round, USF upset 5th seeded Temple, and fell in the 3rd round to 13th seeded Ohio.
USF finished the season with a final record of 22–14. This season set some historical records for the program; a tie for the most wins in a season (22, matching the total in 1982–83), most regular-season conference wins in a season (12 – it was the first time USF had ever had double-digit conference wins), and the first NCAA tournament win. In the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, USF received a single vote, their first vote in the Coaches Poll in team history and only vote until the 2023–24 season.[12]
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region.
