2011–12 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season

The 2011–12 CAA men's basketball season marked the 27th season of Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball, taking place between November 2011 and March 2012. Practices commenced in October 2011, and the season ended with the 2012 CAA men's basketball tournament.

2011–12 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November, 2011 – March, 2012
Number of teams	12
TV partner(s)	Comcast Network, ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Drexel
Runners-up	VCU
Season MVP	Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
Tournament
Champions	VCU
Runners-up	Drexel
Finals MVP	Darius Theus (VCU)

2011–12 CAA men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Drexel	16	–	2		.889			29	–	7		.806
VCU†	15	–	3		.833			29	–	7		.806
George Mason	14	–	4		.778			24	–	9		.727
Old Dominion	13	–	5		.722			21	–	13		.618
Delaware	12	–	6		.667			18	–	14		.563
Georgia State	11	–	7		.611			22	–	11		.667
Northeastern	9	–	9		.500			14	–	17		.452
James Madison	5	–	13		.278			12	–	20		.375
UNCW	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
William & Mary	4	–	14		.222			6	–	26		.188
Hofstra	3	–	15		.167			10	–	22		.313
Towson	1	–	17		.056			1	–	31		.031
† 2012 CAA tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Preseason

Coaching changes

• Ron Hunter was hired to be the new head coach for Georgia State on March 21, 2011.
• Pat Skerry replaced Pat Kennedy as head coach for Towson after finishing 0–18 in CAA play during the 2010–11 season.

Preseason poll

Rank	Team
1	Drexel
2	George Mason
3	VCU
4	Old Dominion
5	James Madison
6	William & Mary
7	Delaware
8	Hofstra
9	Northeastern
10	UNC Wilimgton
11	Georgia State
12	Towson

Preseason All-Conference Teams

Award	Recipients
First Team	Kent Bazemore (Old Dominion) Bradford Burgess (VCU) Samme Givens (Drexel) Quinn McDowell (William & Mary) Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
Second Team	Chris Fouch (Drexel) Devon Moore (James Madison) Mike Moore (Hofstra) Keith Rendleman (UNC Wilmington) Devon Saddler (Delaware)

CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion

Regular season

Head coaches

• Monté Ross, Delaware
• Bruiser Flint, Drexel
• Paul Hewitt, George Mason
• Ron Hunter, Georgia State
• Mo Cassara, Hofstra
• Matt Brady, James Madison
• Bill Coen, Northeastern
• Blaine Taylor, Old Dominion
• Pat Skerry, Towson
• Buzz Peterson, UNC Wilmington
• Shaka Smart, VCU
• Tony Shaver, William & Mary

Notes

Rankings

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week

Main article: 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
Delaware	AP
	C
Drexel	AP
	C
George Mason	AP
	C
Georgia State	AP
	C
Hofstra	AP
	C
James Madison	AP
	C
Northeastern	AP
	C
Old Dominion	AP
	C
Towson	AP
	C
UNC Wilmington	AP
	C
VCU	AP
	C
William & Mary	AP
	C

Postseason

Conference tournament

Main article: 2012 CAA men's basketball tournament

• March 2–5, 2012: Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Tournament, Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia

VCU defeated Drexel, 59–56, in the finals of the 2012 CAA tournament to win the conference. They earned an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Bracket

	First round Friday, March 2					Quarterfinals Saturday, March 3					Semifinals Sunday, March 4					Championship Game Monday, March 5
						1	Drexel	59
						9	UNC Wilmington	47
	8	James Madison	59
	9	UNC Wilmington	70
											1	Drexel	68
											4	Old Dominion	51
						4	Old Dominion	88
						5	Delaware	74
	5	Delaware	72
	12	Towson	65
																1	Drexel	56
																2	VCU	59
						2	VCU	75
						7	Northeastern	65
	7	Northeastern	57
	10	William & Mary	49
											2	VCU	74
											3	George Mason	64
						3	George Mason	61
						6	Georgia State	59
	6	Georgia State	85
	11	Hofstra	50

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The CAA had one bid to the NCAA Division I tournament, that being the automatic bid of the VCU Rams.

Seed	Region	School	First Four	Round of 64	Round of 32	Sweet 16	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship
12	South	VCU	Bye	W vs. (5) Wichita State 62–59	L vs. (4) Indiana 61–63
	Bids	W-L (%):	0–0 –	1–0 1.000	0–1 .000	0–0 –	0–0 –	0–0 –	TOTAL: 1–1 .500