Conference Big Ten Conference AP No. 7 Head coach Thad Matta | Coaches No. 3 2011–12 record 31–8 (13–5 Big Ten) Assistant coach Dave Dickerson | |
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The 2011–12 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach is Thad Matta, in his 8th season with the Buckeyes. The team plays its home games at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and is a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season championship for the third year in the row with a 13–5 conference record, sharing it with Michigan and Michigan State. In the postseason, the team invited the 2012 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, where they beat Purdue and Michigan before losing to Michigan State in the championship, and they also invited the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, where they beat Loyola, Gonzaga, Cincinnati, and an upset of Syracuse before losing to Kansas in the Final Four to finish the season with 31–8 in overall record.
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Previous season
Ohio State, led by experienced seniors and player of the year candidate Jared Sullinger, started the season 24–0. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 1 for six weeks during the regular season, as well as entering postseason play, and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament with an overall regular season record of 29–2 along with a Big Ten tournament championship. After defeating UT–San Antonio and George Mason in the first two rounds of the tournament, Ohio State fell to the Kentucky Wildcats, who would eventually go on to the Final Four, 62–60, ending their season in the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row.