2011–12 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 June 2025 Basketball 2011–12 Duke Blue Devils Duke Blue Devils basketball mark.svg 125 Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 14 8 27–7 13–3 Mike Krzyzewski 32nd Chris Collins Steve Wojciechowski Jeff Capel Cameron Indoor Stadium Maui Invitational champions NCAA tournament round of 64 The 2011–12 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Returning as head coach was Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. The team played its home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They ended the season with 27–7 overall record, 13–3 in ACC play, finishing in 2nd place. In the 2012 ACC men's basketball tournament they reached the semifinals, when they were defeated by eventual champs Florida State. They earned a #2 seed in the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, but lost to #15 seed Lehigh in the round of 64. Previous season Following the 2009–2010 basketball team, the 2010–11 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team began the season ranked #1 in the nation and held that title for the first nine weeks of the season going 15–0, until being defeated for the first time on January 12 again Florida State. The only non-conference loss during the regular season came again St. John's weeks later. Duke split the two regular season match ups within state archrival North Carolina who would eventually clinch the ACC regular season championship against Duke in the last game of the season, a 81–67 Duke loss. However, Duke would beat North Carolina in the ACC tournament, which allowed Duke to take the conference tournament title and go 2–1 against the Tar Heels on the season. Duke would end up a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, defeating Hampton and Michigan in the first two rounds of the tournament, and eventually lost to the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen, ending Duke's bid for a second straight championship, ending the season with an overall 32–5 record. Class of 2011 signees no no 2010 Quinn Cook PG Hyattsville, MD Oak Hill Academy 6 0 180 11/12/2010 4 4 4 4 Michael Gbinije SF Chester, VA Benedictine 6 7 194 11/12/2010 4 4 5 4 Alex Murphy SF South Kingstown, RI South Kingstown 6 8 215 5/5/2011 4 4 NR 4 Marshall Plumlee C Warsaw, IN Christ School 6 11 215 11/12/2010 4 4 4 4 Austin Rivers SG Winter Park, FL Winter Park 6 4 189 11/12/2010 5 5 5 5 2011 Duke Basketball Commitment List 2011 Duke Basketball Commits ESPN duke 167 150 8 10 2 6 23 December 2017 http://rivals.yahoo.com/duke/basketball/recruiting/commitments/2011/duke-2 yes Roster 2011 Duke Blue Devils y yes Austin Rivers y 0 G 6 4 200 FR Winter Park, FL Winter Park Quinn Cook y 2 G 6 0 175 FR Bowie, MD Oak Hill Academy Tyler Thornton y 3 G 6 1 195 SO Washington, D.C. Gonzaga Mason Plumlee y 5 F 6 11 235 JR Warsaw, IN Christ School Alex Murphy basketball y 12 F 6 8 220 FR Wakefield, RI South Kingstown Michael Gbinije y 13 G 6 7 205 FR Chester, VA Benedictine Josh Hairston 15 F 6 7 235 SO Fredericksburg, VA Montrose Christian Andre Dawkins y 20 G 6 4 200 JR Chesapeake, VA Atlantic Shores Christian Miles Plumlee y 21 C 6 11 245 SR Warsaw, IN Christ School Seth Curry y 30 G 6 2 180 JR Charlotte, NC Charlotte Christian Ryan Kelly 34 F 6 11 230 JR Raleigh, NC Ravenscroft y basketball Marshall Plumlee y 40 C 7 1 240 FR Warsaw, IN Christ School Todd Zafirovski 52 F 6 9 240 JR Lake Forest, IL Lake Forest Academy Mike Krzyzewski Chris Collins Steve Wojciechowski Jeff Capel Season summary After a series of victories in exhibition games overseas in China and Dubai, Duke returned to Durham and kicked off the season with home victories over two foes. The team then traveled to New York City's Madison Square Garden to face Michigan State in the Champions Classic. Duke's five-point victory was Mike Krzyzewski's 903rd win of his career, placing him atop the list of the winningest coaches in Division I history. Coach K surpassed his former coach and mentor, Bob Knight, as Knight watched courtside while doing the color commentary for ESPN. Duke's squad next participated in the Maui Invitational, and defeated two ranked opponents in #15 Michigan and Big 12 favorite and 14th ranked Kansas in the semifinals and championship, respectively. Tyler Thornton hit two key three-pointers with less than a minute and half to secure the 7-point victory in the championship game. Ryan Kelly was named MVP of the tournament for his performance, including 17 points against Kansas. As part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Duke traveled to Columbus, Ohio in its first true road test of the season to face Big Ten favorite and #2 ranked Ohio State. OSU roared out to an 11–0 lead and never relinquished, ending up routing Duke by 22 points. Duke returned home and earned another win before heading to Madison Square Garden again to defeat the Washington Huskies.https://bleacherreport.com/articles/977647-duke-blue-blue-devils-escape-msg-with-win-over-washington-huskies Duke Blue Devils Escape MSG with Win over Washington Huskies Curtis Clontz Bleacher Report May 31, 2018 June 30, 2025 The team then rattled off a few more victories before facing another challenging road battle in Philadelphia against the Temple Owls. The game was a back-and-forth affair, but Khalif Wyatt of Temple made two key 3s in leading his team to the five-point victory. The ACC season began with Duke earning four victories, including against #16 Virginia. However, their ACC winning streak was snapped by Florida State when Michael Snaer hit a buzzer beating three-pointer to stun the Duke home crowd. After victories over Maryland, St. John's, and Virginia Tech, Duke again lost at home to Miami in overtime by 4 after going 0–6 from the free throw stripe in the extra session. Duke was in a second-place tie in the league standings with FSU. That set up a showdown with league-leading and fifth ranked North Carolina. Carolina came in as a heavy favorite in the rivalry game, but the Blue Devils stuck with the Tar Heels for most of the game behind a barrage of three-pointers. Tyler Zeller of Carolina dominated the first half with his shooting and rebounding, but the Tar Heels only secured a 3-point lead going into the intermission. Carolina then extended their lead to 10 with about 3 minutes remaining, which set up a furious comeback rally by the gritty Devils. Duke hit 14 threes in the game and Austin Rivers led the effort with 29 points. Tyler Thornton began the comeback with a 3 with about two minutes remaining. Ryan Kelly also chipped in with a baseline jumper late, and the Tar Heels couldn't seal the victory as they missed key free throws in the closing moments. The Blue Devils trailed by three when Zeller accidentally tipped in an errant three-point attempt by Duke, which put Duke within 1. Zeller made a free throw on the other end and Duke had 13.9 seconds left to draw up a play. After a screen on Rivers' defender, Zeller made the defensive switch and Rivers sank a long-range three over the outstretched arms of the 7-footer as time expired. The Rivers' shot is yet another performance to be added to the rivalry's lore and the buzzer beating play has been viewed by nearly 2 million people on YouTube. Following the emotional high from the comeback victory against Duke's chief rival, the squad did not let up, reeling off 6 straight victories against ACC opponents. This streak included the largest second-half comeback victory in Coach K's tenure when the NC State Wolfpack held a 16-point lead going into intermission. They extended the lead to 20 with 11 1 2 minutes remaining in the game, but Duke rallied back and ended up with a 5-point victory. The team also had a road test at Florida State and came away with an impressive revenge victory to bring them back to the top of the ACC standings. That set up another season-ending showdown with North Carolina with the regular season ACC championship and #1 seed in the ACC tournament on the line. In front a home crowd and senior night, the Devils came out trailing and the Tar Heels made a statement in a game in which they never trailed. Duke got to within 11 in the second half, but it ended as an 18-point thumping at the hands of Duke's rival. Duke earned the #2 seed in the ACC tournament. As the Blue Devils prepared for the ACC tournament in nearby Greensboro, Duke's third leading scorer and rebounder as well as the highest percentage shooter from 3-point land, Ryan Kelly, suffered what was reported as a sprained foot. With Kelly out of the lineup, Duke went small as they narrowly defeated the pesky Virginia Tech Hokies in the second round after receiving a bye. That set up the rubber match with Florida State with a trip to the championship game on the line. Florida State build a double digit lead on Duke in the second half, but Duke fought back, bringing the status of the game into question. Rivers layup with 42 seconds remaining brought the Devils to within 1. However, the Seminoles responded with points of their own and Rivers badly missed a long three-pointer with 6 seconds remaining. The Devils corralled the rebound after a loose ball scramble ended up in the hands of Curry, but he could only manage a desperation heave that rimmed out as time expired, securing the 3-point victory for Florida State. The Seminoles went on to defeat North Carolina for the ACC championship the next day. Duke earned a #2 seed in the South Regional in the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with the overall #1 seed and tournament favorite Kentucky at the top of the region, exactly 20 years after the famous buzzer beating shot by Christian Laettner against Kentucky in the Elite 8. Kelly continued to be listed as day to day and Duke was matched up with Lehigh from the Patriot League in the round of 64. The Devils were favored by 12.5 points in the matchup, but Lehigh looked to be the better team that night. NBA prospect C.J. McCollum lit up the Devils for 30 points in leading the Mountain Hawks to a 5-point upset victory, while the Devils struggled mightily from 3-point land going 6 for 26. It was the second 15 seed that defeated a 2 seed that day as Missouri also fell victim to the upset bug after it had only happened four times previously in history. Kelly did not make an appearance in the matchup and shortly thereafter had surgery and was sidelined for 6–8 weeks. The loss resulted in a disappointing finish for the Duke squad after a successful season, which included the comeback victory against North Carolina (who earned a #1 seed in the tournament) and wins versus #1 seed and Big Ten Champion Michigan State and #2 seed and Big 12 regular season champion Kansas in the championship of the Maui Invitational. Schedule yes yes yes yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Duke Blue Devils| Exhibition October 29 7:00 p.m. yes 6 Bellarmine Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC 87–62 9,314 – November 2 7:00 p.m. yes 6 Shaw Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC 80–66 9,314 – |- !colspan=9 style=Duke Blue Devils| Regular Season November 11 9:00 p.m. yes 6 Belmont Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC Maui Invitational tournament ESPNU 77–76 Tied 16 Ma. Plumlee 14 Ma. Plumlee 6 9,314 1–0 November 12 4:30 p.m. yes 6 Presbyterian Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPNU 96–55 Kelly 17 Mi. Plumlee 11 Rivers 6 9,314 2–0 November 15 7:00 p.m. yes yes 6 Michigan State Madison Square Garden New York, NY Champions Classic ESPN 74–69 Dawkins 26 Curry 7 Curry 4 19,979 3–0 November 18 6:00 p.m. yes 6 Davidson Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPNU 82–69 Tied 17 Ma. Plumlee 13 Tied 3 9,314 4–0 November 21 5:30 p.m. yes yes 6 Tennessee Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI Maui Invitational – Quarterfinals ESPN2 77-67 Rivers 18 Ma. Plumlee 13 Curry 4 2,400 5–0 November 22 7:00 p.m. yes yes 6 Michigan 15 Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI Maui Invitational – Semifinals ESPN 82–75 Rivers 20 Tied 5 Tied 3 2,400 6–0 November 23 10:00 p.m. yes yes 6 Kansas 14 Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI Maui Invitational – Championship ESPN 68–61 Tied 17 Ma. Plumlee 12 Tied 3 2,400 7–0 November 29 9:30 p.m. yes yes 3 Ohio State 2 Value City Arena Columbus, OH ACC–Big Ten Challenge ESPN 63–85 Rivers 22 Ma. Plumlee 8 Cook 4 18,809 7–1 December 7 7:00 p.m. yes 7 Colorado State Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN2 87–64 Rivers 17 Ma. Plumlee 10 Curry 8 9,314 8–1 December 10 12:00 p.m. yes yes 7 Washington Madison Square Garden New York, NY CBS 86–80 Rivers 18 Ma. Plumlee 9 Tied 3 15,525 9–1 December 19 7:00 p.m. yes 7 UNC Greensboro Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN3 90–63 Ma. Plumlee 15 Tied 13 Tied 2 9,314 10–1 December 30 7:00 p.m. yes 7 Western Michigan Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN2 110–70 Ma. Plumlee 15 Ma. Plumlee 13 Tied 2 9,314 11–1 January 1 5:00 p.m. yes 7 Penn Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPNU 85–55 Kelly 18 Ma. Plumlee 14 Cook 9 9,314 12–1 January 4 7:00 p.m. yes yes 5 Temple Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA ESPN2 73–78 Mi. Plumlee 17 Ma. Plumlee 13 Ma. Plumlee 4 20,420 12–2 January 7 12:00 p.m. yes 5 Georgia Tech Philips Arena Atlanta, GA ESPNU 81–74 Kelly 21 Ma. Plumlee 8 Cook 5 9,277 13–2 (1–0) January 12 9:00 p.m. 8 Virginia 16 Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN 61–58 Ma. Plumlee 12 Tied 7 Thornton 3 9,314 14–2 (2–0) January 15 6:00 p.m. yes 8 Clemson Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC ESPNU 73–66 Dawkins 24 Mi. Plumlee 14 Tied 2 10,000 15–2 (3–0) January 19 7:00 p.m. 4 Wake Forest Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN 91–73 Dawkins 21 Kelly 10 Thornton 8 9,314 16–2 (4–0) January 21 4:00 p.m. 4 Florida State Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN 73–76 Rivers 19 Mi. Plumlee 8 Thornton 4 9,314 16–3 (4–1) January 25 9:00 p.m. yes 8 Maryland Comcast Center College Park, MD Duke–Maryland rivalry ESPN 74–61 Ma. Plumlee 23 Ma. Plumlee 12 Ma. Plumlee 4 17,950 17–3 (5–1) January 28 12:00 p.m. yes 8 St. John's Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPN 83–76 Kelly 16 Ma. Plumlee 17 Rivers 5 9,314 18–3 (5–1) February 2 7:00 p.m. yes 7 Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA ESPN 75–60 Rivers 18 Ma. Plumlee 6 Rivers 5 9,847 19–3 (6–1) February 5 3:00 p.m. 7 Miami Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ESPNU 74–78 Curry 22 Ma. Plumlee 13 Tied 4 OT 9,314 19–4 (6–2) February 8 9:00 p.m. yes 9 North Carolina 5 Dean E. Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC Carolina–Duke rivalry ESPN 85–84 Rivers 29 Ma. Plumlee 14 Thornton 3 21,750 20–4 (7–2) February 11 4:00 p.m. 9 Maryland Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC Duke–Maryland rivalry ESPN 73–55 Curry 19 Mi. Plumlee 22 Rivers 4 9,314 21–4 (8–2) February 16 9:00 p.m. 5 NC State Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ACC Network 78–73 Curry 26 Ma. Plumlee 10 Thornton 3 9,314 22–4 (9–2) February 19 6:00 p.m. yes 5 Boston College Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA ESPNU 75–50 Curry 18 Mi. Plumlee 10 Tied 3 8,606 23–4 (10–2) February 23 7:00 p.m. yes 5 Florida State 15 Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL ESPN 74–66 Dawkins 22 Mi. Plumlee 8 Rivers 4 12,100 24–4 (11–2) February 25 12:00 p.m. 5 Virginia Tech Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC ACC Network 70–65 Rivers 23 Mi. Plumlee 15 Thornton 3 OT 9,314 25–4 (12–2) February 28 9:00 p.m. yes 3 Wake Forest LJVM Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC ESPNU 79–71 Kelly 23 Mi. Plumlee 11 Cook 3 11,917 26–4 (13–2) March 3 7:00 p.m. 3 North Carolina 6 Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC Carolina–Duke rivalry and ESPN College GameDay ESPN 70–88 Ma. Plumlee 17 Mi. Plumlee 11 Tied 3 9,314 26–5 (13–3) |- !colspan=12 style=Duke Blue Devils| ACC Tournament March 9 7:00 p.m. 5 2 Virginia Tech 10 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA Quarterfinals ESPN2/ACC Network 60–56 Rivers 17 Ma. Plumlee 10 Curry 5 19,520 27–5 March 10 3:00 p.m. 5 2 Florida State 17 3 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA Semifinals ESPN/ACC Network 59–62 Rivers 17 Mi. Plumlee 11 Curry 2 19,520 27–6 |- !colspan=12 style=Duke Blue Devils| NCAA tournament March 16 7:15 p.m. yes yes 8 2 S Lehigh 15 S Greenboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Second Round CBS 70–75 Tied 19 Ma. Plumlee 12 Thornton 6 16,523 27–7 AP Eastern Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region Rankings 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings AP 0 18 6 6 6 3 (2) 7 7 7 7 5 8 4 8 7 10 5 5 4 6 8 Coaches 0 19 6 6 6 4 5 5 5 5 3 6 4 6 5 9 4 4 3 6 8 14 *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time the AP did. References Duke Category:Duke Blue Devils men's basketball seasons Duke Duke Duke