2011–12 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2011–12 North Carolina Tar Heels North Carolina Tar Heels logo.svg 140px Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 6 4 32–6 14–2 Roy Williams 9th Steve Robinson 9th Jerod Haase 9th C. B. McGrath 9th Dean E. Smith Center ACC Regular Season Champions NCAA tournament Elite Eight The 2011–12 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2011–2012 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Roy Williams, who was in his 9th season as UNC's head men's basketball coach. The 2011–12 North Carolina team finished the regular season with a final record of 32–6, and with a 14–2 record in ACC regular season play, winning the conference regular season championship outright. They were invited to the 2012 ACC men's basketball tournament, where they beat Maryland and North Carolina State before falling to Florida State in the championship game. They were also invited to the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament reaching the Elite Eight where they were defeated by Kansas. This was the second time UNC lost to Kansas in the NCAA Tournament with Roy Williams as UNC head coach. Roy Williams previously coached Kansas from 1988–2003. Kansas later fell to Kentucky 59–67 in the National Championship Game. The Tar Heels won their previous three games in the NCAA Tournament by an average of 13.7 points. In the second-round game versus Creighton, starting UNC point guard Kendall Marshall broke his right wrist with 10:56 remaining in the second half. Kendall Marshall did not play in UNC's two following games in the NCAA Tournament, a 73–65 overtime win over Ohio in the Sweet 16 and a 80–67 loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight. The loss to Kansas was UNC's second straight loss in the Elite Eight, after losing to Kentucky the year before. Pre-season Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Justin Knox 25 F 6'9" 240 Senior Tuscaloosa, Alabama Graduated Daniel Bolick 3 G 5'10" 175 Senior Carrboro, North Carolina Graduated Van Hatchell 13 G 6'4" 185 Senior Chapel Hill, North Carolina Graduated Class of 2011 Signees no no 2011 James Michael McAdoo F Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk Christian High School 6 8 216 2010-11-10 5 5 5 98 P. J. Hairston G Greensboro, North Carolina Hargrave Military Academy 6 5 220 2010-11-10 5 5 5 97 Desmond Hubert C Cream Ridge, New Jersey New Egypt High School 6 9 207 2011-04-14 3 3 3 90 Jackson Simmons F Sylva, North Carolina Smoky Mountain High School 6 8 200 2010-08-17 3 2 3 89 Stilman White G Wilmington, North Carolina John T. Hoggard High School 6 0 170 2011-04-14 3 2 1 78 2011 North Carolina 2011 Basketball Commitments 2011 North Carolina Commits ESPN northcarolina 78 153 9 6 5 2011-08-25 yes Roster 2011 North Carolina Tar Heels y yes Dexter Strickland y 1 G 6 3 180 JR y Rahway, NJ St. Patrick H.S. C Leslie McDonald y 2 G 6 4 215 JR yes y Memphis, TN Briarcrest Christian School Luke Davis n 4 G 6 0 165 SO yes Raleigh, NC Ravenscroft School I Kendall Marshall y 5 G 6 3 186 SO Dumfries, VA Bishop O'Connell H.S. Stilman White n 11 G 6 0 170 FR Wilmington, NC Hoggard H.S. Desmond Hubert n 14 F 6 10 205 FR Cream Ridge, NJ New Egypt H.S. P. J. Hairston y 15 G 6 6 217 FR Greensboro, NC Hargrave Military Academy Jackson Simmons 21 F 6 7 212 FR Sylva, NC Smoky Mountain H.S. David Dupont 22 G 6 5 195 SR Greensboro, NC Grimsley H.S. W Justin Watts y 24 G 6 4 210 SR Durham, NC Jordan H.S. Patrick Crouch 30 G 5 11 175 SR Asheville, NC T.C. Roberson H.S. W John Henson basketball y 31 F 6 10 220 JR Tampa, FL Sickles H.S. Stewart Cooper 34 G 6 5 205 SR Winston-Salem, NC Forsyth Country Day W Reggie Bullock y 35 G 6 7 200 SO Kinston, NC Kinston H.S. Harrison Barnes y 40 F 6 8 210 SO Ames, IA Ames H.S. James Michael McAdoo y 43 F 6 9 228 FR Norfolk, VA Norfolk Christian H.S. Tyler Zeller y 44 C 7 0 250 SR Washington, IN Washington H.S. Roy Williams (UNC) Steve Robinson (Radford) Jerod Haase (Kansas) C. B. McGrath (Kansas) http://www.goheels.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=667867&SPID=12965&DB_LANG=C&SITE=UNC&DB_OEM_ID=3350&Q_SEASON=2011 2012-07-14 Note that the roster is subject to change. Season Non-conference play The Tar Heels started out as a near-unanimous #1 in all major polls. They opened the season against Michigan State in the inaugural Carrier Classic, which they won handily 67–55. They were not seriously tested until the finals of the 2011 Las Vegas Invitational, in which they were upset by UNLV 90–80. After a close win over Wisconsin and an equally close loss to Kentucky, they made it relatively unscathed through the rest of the nonconference slate, with the only close game being against Long Beach State. Conference play The ACC schedule opened with dominating wins over Boston College and Miami. However, in their third conference game, the Tar Heels suffered a 90–57 flogging at the hands of Florida State — easily the worst loss Williams had suffered in his nine years in Chapel Hill. They quickly rebounded and won their next five games with relative ease. They were well on their way to making Duke their sixth straight victim, but Duke came back from 10 points down with two minutes to go to win the game on an Austin Rivers 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Tar Heels would not lose again for the rest of the season, though they got a scare from Virginia before hanging on for a 54–51 win. An easy win over Maryland set up the seventh winner-take-all game in the 93-year history of the Carolina-Duke rivalry,UNC-Duke Postgame Notes http://www.tarheelblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030412aaa.html Tarheelblue.com 2012-03-04 November 19, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201119203144/https://goheels.com/ dead with the winner clinching the ACC regular-season title and the number-one seed in the 2012 ACC tournament. The Tar Heels dominated from start to finish, leading by as much as 26 North Carolina dominates Duke to claim ACC title http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=320630150 https://web.archive.org/web/20120307015036/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=320630150 dead March 7, 2012 ESPN.com 2012-03-04 before going on to an 88–70 win—in the process, winning their 29th ACC regular season title and their fifth outright title in eight years. Schedule thumb|The Tar Heels return to the court after halftime of the game against Boston College. yes yes |- !colspan=12 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| Exhibition |- October 28, 2011 7:30 pm yes 1 2011 UNC Pembroke Braves UNC Pembroke Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC Zeller 18 Zeller 11 Bullock 5 100–58 16,852 (77.5%) – |- !colspan=12 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| Regular season November 11, 2011 7:00 pm yes yes 1 Michigan State USS Carl Vinson San Diego, CA Carrier Classic ESPN Barnes 17 Henson 7 Marshall; Strickland 5 67–55 8,111 (100%) 1–0 November 13, 2011 4:00 pm yes yes 1 UNC Asheville Kimmel Arena Asheville, NC ESPNU Zeller 27 Henson 12 Marshall 15 91–75 3,280 (96.5%) 2–0 November 20, 2011 2:00 pm yes 1 Mississippi Valley State Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 2011 Las Vegas Invitational FSN Barnes; Henson 18 Henson 14 Marshall 8 101–75 18,160 (83.5%) 3–0 November 22, 2011 7:30 pm yes 1 Tennessee State Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC Las Vegas Invitational ESPN3 Bullock 23 Henson 10 Marshall 15 102–69 17,509 (80.5%) 4–0 November 25, 2011 10:00 pm yes yes 1 South Carolina Orleans Arena Paradise, NV Las Vegas Invitational semifinals ESPN2 Barnes 21 Henson 8 Marshall 14 87–62 unavailable 5–0 November 26, 2011 10:30 pm yes yes 1 UNLV Orleans Arena Paradise, NV Las Vegas Invitational championship ESPN2 Barnes; Hairston 15 Henson 8 Marshall 8 80–90 7,523 (100%) 5–1 November 30, 2011 9:30 pm yes 5 Wisconsin 9 Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ACC – Big Ten Challenge ESPN Barnes 20 Henson 21 Marshall 7 60–57 21,750 (100%) 6–1 December 3, 2011 12:00 pm yes yes 5 Kentucky 1 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY CBS Barnes; Zeller 14 Hensen; Zeller 8 Marshall 8 72–73 24,398 (100%) 6–2 December 6, 2011 7:00 pm yes 4 Evansville Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPNU Barnes 17 Henson 12 Marshall 6 97–48 15,623 (71.8%) 7–2 December 10, 2011 7:00 pm yes 4 Long Beach State Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPN3 Henson 24 Henson 10 Marshall 16 84–78 20,426 (93.9%) 8–2 December 17, 2011 6:00 pm yes 5 Appalachian State Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPNU Zeller 31 Zeller 10 Marshall 13 97–82 20,892 (96.1%) 9–2 December 19, 2011 7:00 pm yes 5 2011 Nicholls State Colonels Nicholls State Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPNU McAdoo; Strickland 14 Henson; Zeller 11 Marshall 7 99–49 18,072 (83.1%) 10–2 December 21, 2011 7:00 pm yes 5 Texas Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPN2 Barnes 26 Zeller 11 Marshall 9 82–63 21,750 (100%) 11–2 December 29, 2011 7:00 pm yes 5 Elon Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPN2 Zeller 19 Zeller 13 Marshall 8 100–62 20,880 (96%) 12–2 January 1, 2012 3:00 pm yes 5 2011 Monmouth Hawks Monmouth Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPNU Henson 21 Zeller 11 Marshall 11 102–65 18,614 (85.6%) 13–2 January 7, 2012 2:30 pm no 3 Boston College Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ACC Network Barnes 25 Henson; Zeller 8 Marshall 11 83–60 20,582 (94.6%) 14–2 1–0 January 10, 2012 9:00 pm 3 Miami (FL) Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ACC Network Zeller 16 Henson 14 Marshall 7 73–56 20,096 (92.4%) 15–2 2–0 January 14, 2012 2:00 pm yes 3 Florida State Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL ESPN College GameDay ESPN Barnes 15 Zeller 14 Marshall 4 57–90 12,100 (100%) 15–3 2–1 January 19, 2012 9:00 pm y 8 Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA ESPN Barnes 27 Henson 16 Marshall 8 82–68 9,847 (100%) 16–3 3–1 January 26, 2012 7:00 pm 7 NC State Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC Carolina-State Rivalry, Homecoming ESPN Zeller 21 Zeller 17 Marshall 11 74–55 21,750 (100%) 17–3 4–1 January 29, 2012 6:00 pm 7 Georgia Tech Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPNU Barnes 23 Henson; McAdoo 6 Marshall 12 93–81 21,017 (96.6%) 18–3 5–1 January 31, 2012 9:00 pm y 5 Wake Forest LJVM Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC ESPNU Zeller 18 Zeller 18 Marshall 6 68–53 12,865 (87.7%) 19–3 6–1 February 4, 2012 4:00 pm y 5 Maryland Comcast Center College Park, MD ESPN Zeller 22 Henson 12 Marshall 16 83–74 17,950 (100%) 20–3 7–1 February 8, 2012 9:00 pm 5 Duke 9 Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC Carolina-Duke rivalry ESPN Barnes 25 Henson 17 Marshall 8 84–85 21,750 (100%) 20–4 7–2 February 11, 2012 1:00 pm 5 Virginia 19 Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ACC Network Zeller 25 Barnes 11 Marshall 6 70–52 20,496 (94.2%) 21–4 8–2 February 15, 2012 7:00 pm y 8 Miami (FL) BankUnited Center Coral Gables, FL ESPN Barnes 23 Henson 11 Marshall 9 73–64 7,071 (88.3%) 22–4 9–2 February 18, 2012 4:00 pm 8 Clemson Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPN Barnes 24 Henson 8 Marshall 13 74–52 21,750 (100%) 23–4 10–2 February 21, 2012 8:00 pm y 7 NC State RBC Center Raleigh, NC Carolina-State Rivalry ACC Network Marshall 22 Henson 13 Marshall 13 86–74 19,710 (99.9%) 24–4 11–2 February 25, 2012 4:00 pm y 7 Virginia 25 John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA ESPN Zeller 20 Henson 11 Marshall 6 54–51 14,273 (97.8%) 25–4 12–2 February 29, 2012 7:00 pm 6 Maryland Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC ESPN Zeller 30 Henson 9 Marshall 8 88–64 21,750 (100%) 26–4 13–2 March 3, 2012 7:00 pm yes 6 Duke 3 Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC Carolina-Duke Rivalry, ESPN College GameDay ESPN Marshall 20 Henson; Zeller 10 Marshall 10 88–70 9,314 (100%) 27–4 14–2 |- !colspan=9 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| ACC tournament March 9, 2012 Noon yes 4 1 Maryland 8 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA Quarterfinals ESPN2/ACC Network Barnes; Bullock 15 McAdoo 8 Marshall 12 85–69 19,520 (100%) 28–4 March 10, 2012 1:00 pm yes 4 1 NC State 5 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA Semifinals ESPN/ACC Network Zeller 23 Zeller 9 Marshall 10 69–67 19,520 (100%) 29–4 March 11, 2012 1:00 pm y 4 1 Florida State 17 3 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA Championship Game ESPN/ACC Network Barnes 21 Zeller 12 Marshall 9 82–85 19,520 (100%) 29–5 |- !colspan=9 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| NCAA tournament March 16, 2012 4:10 pm yes yes 4 1 MW Vermont 16 MW Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Second Round TBS McAdoo; Zeller 17 Zeller 15 Marshall 10 77–58 16,422 30–5 March 18, 2012 5:15 pm yes yes 4 1 MW Creighton 19 8 MW Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Third Round CBS Marshall 18 Henson 10 Marshall 11 87–73 18,722 31–5 March 23, 2012 7:47 pm yes yes 4 1 MW Ohio 13 MW Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, MO Sweet Sixteen TBS Zeller 20 Zeller 22 White 6 73–65 OT 21,471 32–5 March 25, 2012 5:05 pm yes yes 4 1 MW Kansas 6 2 MW Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, MO Elite Eight CBS McAdoo 15 Bullock 7 White 7 67–80 23,565 32–6 AP Poll Eastern Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region Rankings 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 19 19 AP https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings 2011–12 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings October 21, 2010 ESPN ESPN Internet Ventures https://web.archive.org/web/20100209082909/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings February 9, 2010 live 1 1 1 5 4 5 5 5 3 3 8 7 5 5 8 7 6 4 4 Coaches 1 1 1 5 6 6 6 6 4 3 8 8 6 5 7 7 6 4 5 Team players drafted into the NBA Year Round Pick Player NBA club 2012 1 7 Harrison Barnes Golden State Warriors 2012 1 13 Kendall Marshall Phoenix Suns 2012 1 14 John Henson Milwaukee Bucks 2012 1 17 Tyler Zeller Cleveland Cavaliers 2013 1 25 Reggie Bullock Los Angeles Clippers 2014 1 26 P.J. Hairston Miami Heat https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2012.html 2012 NBA draft https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2013.html 2013 NBA draft https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2014.html 2014 NBA draft References North Carolina Category:North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball seasons North Carolina Tar Tar