2011–12 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2011–12 Vanderbilt Commodores Vanderbilt Commodores logo.svg 150 Southeastern Conference SEC 19 20 25–11 10–6 Kevin Stallings 13th Brad Frederick 13th Dan Muller 12th Tom Richardson 9th David Cason 1st Memorial Gymnasium SEC tournament champions NCAA tournament Round of 32 The 2011–12 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Commodores, members of the Southeastern Conference, were coached by Kevin Stallings, and celebrated their 60th season in their current home arena, Memorial Gymnasium. After a 21–10 regular season that fell short of lofty preseason expectations, the Commodores captured their first SEC Tournament Championship in 61 seasons on March 11, 2012, by defeating Georgia, Ole Miss, and top-ranked Kentucky in consecutive days.http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=320710096 https://web.archive.org/web/20120315051901/http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=320710096 dead March 15, 2012 Vanderbilt ends Kentucky's 24-game win streak to win SEC tournament March 11, 2012 March 11, 2012 In the 2012 NCAA tournament they defeated Harvard in the second round before falling in the third round to Wisconsin to finish the season 25–11. Before the season The Commodores came off a 2010–11 season that ended with a second-round (first game) upset by Richmond in the NCAA tournament. This continued a recent history of tournament disappointments for Vanderbilt, whose last three NCAA appearances had all ended with a first-game loss to a double-digit seed.http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/6847643/festus-ezeli-continues-learn-game https://web.archive.org/web/20111011163910/http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/6847643/festus-ezeli-continues-learn-game dead October 11, 2011 Festus Ezeli continues to learn the game Andy Katz Andy Katz ESPN.com August 9, 2011 August 15, 2011 During the offseason, the coaching staff saw one change when assistant King Rice was hired as head coach at Monmouth.http://www.gomuhawks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=62254&SPID=6806&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=14300&ATCLID=205126034 Monmouth to Announce King Rice as New Head Men's Basketball Coach Monmouth University Sports Information April 1, 2011 August 19, 2011 Rice was replaced by David Cason, a former player under Stallings at Illinois State who had spent the previous six seasons as an assistant with Tulsa.http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041511aaa.html David Cason named to Vanderbilt MBB staff Vanderbilt University Sports Information April 15, 2011 August 19, 2011 Class of 2011 signees no no 2011 Kedren Johnson PG Lewisburg, Tennessee Marshall County 6 4 195 2010-09-22 4 4 93 Shelby Moats PF Waconia, Minnesota Waconia 6 7.5 225 2010-09-26 3 3 89 Dai-Jon Parker SG Alpharetta, Georgia Milton 6 3 175 2010-11-05 4 4 96 2011 Vanderbilt 2011 Basketball Commitments 2011 Vanderbilt Basketball Commits ESPN vanderbilt 189 238 23 30 2011-08-18 yes 2011–12 outlook In a major offseason development, three of the Commodores' most important players—Festus Ezeli, John Jenkins, and Jeffery Taylor—all spurned the NBA draft and announced they would return for the 2011–12 season.https://insider.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story?id=6836994&_slug_=cbb-vanderbilt-commodores-2011-12-summer-buzz-preview&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%253a%252f%252finsider.espn.go.com%252fncb%252fstory%253fid%253d6836994%2526_slug_%253dcbb-vanderbilt-commodores-2011-12-summer-buzz-preview CBB Summer Buzz: Vanderbilt Elena Bergeron ESPN.com August 9, 2011 August 19, 2011 (full article behind paywall; cited information in free preview)https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=6397537 John Jenkins returning to Vanderbilt Associated Press ESPN.com April 20, 2011 August 19, 2011 Jenkins, the SEC's leading scorer in 2010–11 at 19.5 points per game,http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/Portals/3/SEC%20Website/menshoops/CONFLDRS.HTM#conf.wki Individual Basketball Statistics 2010–11 SEC Men's Basketball Statistics Southeastern Conference April 2, 2011 August 19, 2011 was chosen for the All-SEC first team.http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/NEWS/tabid/473/Article/222025/2011-sec-mens-hoops-awards-announced.aspx 2011 SEC Men’s Hoops Awards Announced Southeastern Conference March 8, 2011 August 19, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110716030100/http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/NEWS/tabid/473/Article/222025/2011-sec-mens-hoops-awards-announced.aspx 16 July 2011 live Ezeli, who averaged 13 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in a breakout season, was named to the All-SEC second team, and was also named by multiple sources as one of the most improved players in the country. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1182629/index.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20110304225533/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1182629/index.htm dead March 4, 2011 How Did I Get Here? Pablo S. Torre Sports Illustrated March 7, 2011 August 19, 2011 Taylor averaged 14.7 points while being named to the All-SEC second team, as well as the SEC All-Defensive Team. Ezeli, Jenkins, and Taylor were all named by Basketball Prospectus in its 2011–12 preseason outlook as among the top 20 players in college basketball, making Vanderbilt the only Division I men's team with three top-20 performers. These decisions meant that Vanderbilt would return all five of its starters from last season, all of them seniors except for Jenkins, a junior.https://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/33847/summer-buzz-vanderbilt-commodores Summer Buzz: Vanderbilt Commodores Eamonn Brennan College Basketball Nation Blog ESPN.com August 9, 2011 August 19, 2011 Another returning starter, point guard Brad Tinsley, led the SEC in assists in 2010–11 with 4.6 per game. The Commodores thus were widely projected as a preseason top-10 team, with ESPN's Hall of Fame commentator Dick Vitale going so far as to rank them #5 in his preseason top 40.https://www.espn.com/espn/dickvitale/story/_/id/6787669/dick-vitale-preseason-top-10-unc-takes-top-spot Dickie V Preseason Top 40: Top 10 Dick Vitale Dick Vitale ESPN.com July 26, 2011 August 19, 2011 Less than a month before the start of the season, the NCAA suspended Ezeli 6 games after accepting a meal and hotel room from a Vanderbilt alumnus during a summer trip. He was able to practice with the team during the suspension, and was also eligible to play in the team's preseason exhibition game (but was unable to play in that game). Ezeli came off his suspension for the Xavier game on November 28;https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7116601/vanderbilt-commodores-center-festus-ezeli-suspended-first-six-games-season Festus Ezeli suspended six games Associated Press ESPN.com October 17, 2011 October 28, 2011 however, he suffered a sprained knee during a late-October practice,http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313150238 https://web.archive.org/web/20111116054531/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313150238 dead November 16, 2011 No. 7 Vanderbilt 78, Oregon 64 Associated Press ESPN.com November 11, 2011 November 12, 2011 and did not return until the Davidson game on December 7.http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313412166 https://web.archive.org/web/20120319171940/http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313412166 dead March 19, 2012 Vanderbilt 87, Davidson 83 Associated Press ESPN.com December 7, 2011 December 16, 2011 Roster 2011 Vanderbilt Commodores y y Brad Tinsley y 1 g 6 3 210 s Oregon City, OR Oregon City Kedren Johnson 2 g 6 4 215 f Lewisburg, TN Marshall County Festus Ezeli y 3 c 6 11 255 s y Benin City, Nigeria Igbinedion Education Center Lance Goulbourne n 5 g/f 6 8 230 s Brooklyn, NY The Hun School (Princeton, New Jersey) Kyle Fuller 11 g 6 1 200 so Moreno Valley, CA Rancho Verde Jordan Smart 12 g/f 6 6 200 j y Lexington, KY Lexington Catholic Aaron Noll 14 f 6 7 220 s Fort Mitchell, KY Covington Catholic John Jenkins basketball y 23 g 6 4 220 j Hendersonville, TN Station Camp Dai-Jon Parker 24 g 6 3 190 f Baton Rouge, LA Milton (Milton, GA) Steve Tchiengang 33 f 6 9 245 s Douala, Cameroon Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) Shelby Moats 34 f 6 8 225 f Waconia, MN Waconia James Siakam 35 f 6 6 201 f y Douala, Cameroon Brehm Prep (Carbondale, IL) Josh Henderson 40 c 6 11 230 f y Roanoke, VA Cave Spring Jeffery Taylor y 44 g/f 6 7 225 s Norrköping, Sweden Hobbs (Hobbs, NM) Rod Odom 45 f 6 9 215 so Central Islip, NY Middlesex School (Concord, MA) y Kevin Stallings (Purdue) Brad Frederick (North Carolina) Dan Muller (Illinois State) Tom Richardson (St. Xavier (IL)) David Cason (Illinois State) http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/vand-m-baskbl-mtt.html 2011-08-19 Schedule yes yes |- !colspan=12| Exhibition Nov. 7, 2011 7:00 p.m. yes 7 Xavier (LA) Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Taylor 17 Goulbourne 8 Fuller 4 102–67 11,844 |- !colspan=12| Regular season Nov. 11, 2011 9:00 p.m. yes 7 Oregon Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN FSN Jenkins 24 Taylor 11 Taylor 4 78–64 14,316 1–0 Nov. 13, 2011 1:00 p.m. yes 7 Cleveland State Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Legends Classic – Preliminary round ESPNU Jenkins 17 Tchiengang 11 Tied 2 58–71 13,503 1–1 Nov. 15, 2011 7:00 p.m. yes 18 Bucknell Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Legends Classic – Preliminary round Taylor 17 Goulbourne 9 Henderson 4 80–68   12,543 2–1 Nov. 19, 2011 5:30 p.m. yes yes 18 NC State Izod Center East Rutherford, NJ Legends Classic – Semifinal ESPN3 Jenkins 28 Tchiengang 11 Taylor 5 86–79   3–1 Nov. 21, 2011 9:00 p.m. yes yes 18 Oregon State Izod Center East Rutherford, NJ Legends Classic – Championship ESPN3 Jenkins 14 Taylor 13 Tied 2 https://archive.today/20130124064359/http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313250204 64–62 3,294 4–1 Nov. 25, 2011 8:00 p.m. yes 18 Monmouth Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Jenkins 18 Goulbourne 10 Taylor 5 95–73 12,807 5–1 Nov. 28, 2011 6:00 p.m. yes 20 Xavier 11 Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN ESPN2 Jenkins 20 Tied 7 Tinsley 7 70–82 OT 14,316 5–2 Dec. 2, 2011 7:30 p.m. yes yes 20 Louisville 6 KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY SEC–Big East Challenge ESPN Jenkins 27 Goulbourne 8 Tinsley 5 60–62 OT 22,728 5–3 Dec. 7, 2011 6:00 p.m. yes yes Davidson John M. Belk Arena Davidson, NC Taylor 30 Goulbourne 7 Johnson 3 87–83 4,475 6–3 Dec. 17, 2011 4:30 p.m. yes 25 Indiana State Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN CSS Taylor 21 Tied 6 Tinsley 3 55–61 13,310 6–4 Dec. 19, 2011 7:00 p.m. yes Longwood Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Taylor 29 Goulbourne 10 Tinsley 3 99–71 12,886 7–4 Dec. 21, 2011 7:00 p.m. yes Lafayette Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN FSN Jenkins 27 Tchiengang 9 Tinsley 10 89–58 13,034 8–4 Dec. 29, 2011 8:00 p.m. yes yes Marquette 14 Bradley Center Milwaukee, WI ESPN2 Taylor 19 Goulbourne 16 Tinsley 8 74–57 15,684 9–4 Jan. 2, 2012 7:00 p.m. yes Miami (OH) Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Jenkins 26 Ezeli 7 Tinsley 4 69–62 13,162 10–4 Jan. 7, 2012 12:30 p.m. Auburn Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN SECN Jenkins 17 Ezeli 8 Tinsley 6 65–35 13,473 11–4 (1–0) Jan. 10, 2012 8:00 p.m. yes South Carolina Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC ESPNU Jenkins 14 Goulbourne 10 Tinsley 9 67–57 8,353 12–4 (2–0) Jan. 14, 2012 3:00 p.m. Georgia Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN SECN Jenkins 18 Taylor 9 Tinsley 4 77–66 14,316 13–4 (3–0) Jan. 19, 2012 6:00 p.m. yes Alabama Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL ESPN Jenkins 20 Ezeli 10 Tinsley 4 69–59 12,202 14–4 (4–0) Jan. 21, 2012 6:00 p.m. Mississippi State 18 Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN ESPN2 Jenkins 21 Ezeli 14 Tinsley 5 77–78 OT 14,316 14–5 (4–1) Jan. 24, 2012 6:00 p.m. Tennessee Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Super Tuesday ESPNU Taylor 23 Ezeli 9 Tinsley 4 65–47 14,316 15–5 (5–1) Jan. 28, 2012 1:00 p.m. yes Middle Tennessee Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Jenkins 26 Goulbourne 8 Tinsley 4 84–77 14,316 16–5 Jan. 31, 2012 8:00 p.m. yes 25 Arkansas Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR ESPN Jenkins 19 Taylor 6 Tinsley 6 74–82 13,678 16–6 (5–2) Feb. 4, 2012 12:00 p.m. yes 25 Florida 12 O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL CBS Taylor 25 Goulbourne 11 Tinsley 6 65–73 11,270 16–7 (5–3) Feb. 8, 2012 8:00 p.m. LSU Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN CSS Ezeli 21 Tied 6 Tinsley 5 76–61 13,610 17–7 (6–3) Feb. 11, 2012 8:00 p.m. Kentucky 1 Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN ESPN College GameDay ESPN Jenkins 15 Taylor 9 Tied 4 63–69 14,316 17–8 (6–4) Feb. 16, 2012 8:00 p.m. yes Ole Miss Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS ESPN2 Taylor 28 Taylor 9 Tinsley 4 102–76   5,954 18–8 (7–4) Feb. 19, 2012 12:00 p.m. yes Georgia Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA FSN Jenkins 28 Goulbourne 6 Tied 2 61–52   7,823 19–8 (8–4) Feb. 22, 2012 7:00 p.m. South Carolina Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN SECN Jenkins 21 Goulbourne 8 Tinsley 5 59–48   14,316 20–8 (9–4) Feb. 25, 2012 11:00 a.m. yes Kentucky 1 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY CBS Taylor 19 Taylor 9 Johnson 2 74–83 24,388 20–9 (9–5) Feb. 28, 2012 8:00 p.m. Florida 16 Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN Super Tuesday/Senior Night ESPN Jenkins 22 Taylor 6 Tinsley 4 77–67   14,316 21–9 (10–5) Mar. 3, 2012 3:00 p.m. yes Tennessee Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN ESPN Jenkins 18 Goulbourne 7 Tied 4 61–68 22,172 21–10 (10–6) |- !colspan=12| 2012 SEC tournament Mar. 9, 2012 9:00 p.m. yes (3) (11) Georgia New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA Quarterfinals SECN Jenkins 15 Goulbourne 6 Tinsley 3 63–41   10,526 22–10 |- Mar. 10, 2012 3:30 p.m. yes (3) (7) Ole Miss New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA Semifinalfinals ABC Jenkins 23 Goulbourne 12 Tied 3 63–41   18,523 23–10 |- Mar. 11, 2012 12:00 p.m. yes (3) (1) Kentucky New Orleans Arena New Orleans, LA Championship ABC Taylor 18 Taylor 11 Tinsley 4 71–64   18,114 24–10 |- !colspan=12|2012 NCAA tournament Mar. 15, 2012 3:40 p.m. yes 20 (5) (12) Harvard The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico First Round TNT Jenkins 27 Ezeli 11 Tinsley 4 79–70   10,774 25–10 |- Mar. 17, 2012 5:10 p.m. yes 20 (5) (4) Wisconsin 14 The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico Second Round TNT Ezeli 14 Tied 11 Goulbourne 2 57–60   12,128 25–11 |- AP Poll Central Time (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses Notes and references Vanderbilt Category:Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball seasons Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball Category:2011 in Nashville, Tennessee Category:2012 in Nashville, Tennessee