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Zach Pekale | NCAA.com | March 24, 2023

2012 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records

Anthony Davis, Kentucky beat Kansas for 2012 title

Kentucky captured the program's eighth national championship at the 2012 NCAA tournament, beating Kansas 67-59 in the title game.

The Wildcats made their second straight Final Four appearance after coming up short in 2011. This time, the postseason's top overall seed won its six games by an average of 11.8 points as Anthony Davis was named Most Outstanding Player.

No. 2 seed Kansas opposed Kentucky for the national title. It was the Jayhawks' first appearance in the Final Four since winning the 2008 championship. No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 4 seed Louisville* rounded out the national semifinals.

* β€” Louisville's participation in the 2012 NCAA tournament was later vacated.

Upsets were also a factor in the 2012 NCAA tournament. For the first time ever, two 15-seeds won in the same tournament as Norfolk State upset Missouri and Lehigh eliminated Duke. Additionally, No. 13 seed Ohio reached the Sweet 16 and took top-seeded North Carolina to overtime.

2012 NCAA tournament: Bracket

Click or tap here for a closer look at the bracket.

Here is the 2012 NCAA tournament bracket

2012 NCAA tournament: Scores

  • First Four
    • South: No. 16 Western Kentucky 59, No. 16 Mississippi Valley State 58
    • West: No. 14 BYU 78, No. 14 Iona 72
    • Midwest: No. 16 Vermont 71, No. 16 Lamar 59
    • Midwest: No. 12 South Florida 65, No. 12 California 54
  • First Round (Round of 64)
    • East Regional
      • No. 1 Syracuse 72, No. 16 UNC Asheville 65
      • No. 2 Ohio State 78, No. 15 Loyola (Md.) 59
      • No. 3 Florida State 66, No. 14 St. Bonaventure 63
      • No. 4 Wisconsin 73, No. 13 Montana 49
      • No. 5 Vanderbilt 79, No. 12 Harvard 70
      • No. 6 Cincinnati 65, No. 11 Texas 59
      • No. 7 Gonzaga 77, No. 10 West Virginia 54
      • No. 8 Kansas State 70, No. 9 Southern Miss 64
    • West Regional
      • No. 1 Michigan State 89, No. 16 Long Island 67
      • No. 15 Norfolk State 86, No. 2 Missouri 84 | Watch full game
      • No. 3 Marquette 88, No. 14 BYU 68
      • No. 4 Louisville 69, No. 13 Davidson 62
      • No. 5 New Mexico 75, No. 12 Long Beach State 68
      • No. 6 Murray State 58, No. 11 Colorado State 41
      • No. 7 Florida 71, No. 10 Virginia 45
      • No. 9 Saint Louis 61, No. 8 Memphis 54
    • South Regional
      • No. 1 Kentucky 81, No. 16 Western Kentucky 66
      • No. 15 Lehigh 75, No. 2 Duke 70 | Watch full game
      • No. 3 Baylor 68, No. 14 South Dakota State 60
      • No. 4 Indiana 79, No. 13 New Mexico State 66
      • No. 12 VCU 62, No. 5 Wichita State 59
      • No. 11 Colorado 68, No. 6 UNLV 64
      • No. 10 Xavier 67, No. 7 Notre Dame 63
      • No. 8 Iowa State 77, No. 9 UConn 64
    • Midwest Regional
      • No. 1 North Carolina 77, No. 16 Vermont 58
      • No. 2 Kansas 65, No. 15 Detroit 50
      • No. 3 Georgetown 74, No. 14 Belmont 59
      • No. 13 Ohio 65, No. 4 Michigan 60
      • No. 12 South Florida 58, No. 5 Temple 44
      • No. 11 NC State 79, No. 6 San Diego State 65
      • No. 10 Purdue 72, No. 7 Saint Mary's 69
      • No. 8 Creighton 58, No. 7 Alabama 57
  • Second Round (Round of 32)
    • East Regional
      • No. 1 Syracuse 75, No. 8 Kansas State 59
      • No. 2 Ohio State 73, No. 7 Gonzaga 66
      • No. 6 Cincinnati 62, No. 3 Florida State 56
      • No. 4 Wisconsin 60, No. 5 Vanderbilt 57
    • West Regional
      • No. 1 Michigan State 65, No. 9 Saint Louis 61
      • No. 7 Florida 84, No. 15 Norfolk State 50
      • No. 3 Marquette 62, No. 6 Murray State 53
      • No. 4 Louisville 59, No. 5 New Mexico 56
    • South Regional
      • No. 1 Kentucky 87, No. 8 Iowa State 71
      • No. 10 Xavier 70, No. 15 Lehigh 58
      • No. 3 Baylor 80, No. 11 Colorado 63
      • No. 4 Indiana 63, No. 12 VCU 61
    • Midwest Regional
      • No. 1 North Carolina 87, No. 8 Creighton 73
      • No. 2 Kansas 63, No. 10 Purdue 60
      • No. 11 NC State 66, No. 3 Georgetown 63
      • No. 13 Ohio 62, No. 12 South Florida 56
  • Sweet 16
    • East Regional
      • No. 1 Syracuse 64, No. 4 Wisconsin 63
      • No. 2 Ohio State 81, No. 6 Cincinnati 66
    • West Regional
      • No. 4 Louisville 57, No. 1 Michigan State 44
      • No. 7 Florida 68, No. 3 Marquette 58
    • South Regional
      • No. 1 Kentucky 102, No. 4 Indiana 90
      • No. 3 Baylor 75, No. 10 Xavier 70
    • Midwest Regional
      • No. 1 North Carolina 73, No. 13 Ohio 65 (OT)
      • No. 2 Kansas 60, No. 11 NC State 57
  • Elite Eight
    • East Regional
      • No. 2 Ohio State 77, No. 1 Syracuse 70
    • West Regional
      • No. 4 Louisville 72, No. 7 Florida 68
    • South Regional
      • No. 1 Kentucky 82, No. 3 Baylor 70
    • Midwest Regional
      • No. 2 Kansas 80, No. 1 North Carolina 67
  • Final Four (New Orleans, Louisiana)
    • National semifinals
      • No. 1 Kentucky 69, No. 4 Louisville 61
      • No. 2 Kansas 64, No. 2 Ohio State 62
    • National championship

2012 NCAA tournament: Upsets

The following double-digit seeds won games (not counting the First Four):

TEAM SCORE OPPONENT
FIRST ROUND (Round of 64)
No. 15 Lehigh 75-70 No. 2 Duke
No. 15 Norfolk State 86-84 No. 2 Missouri
No. 13 Ohio 65-60 No. 4 Michigan
No. 12 South Florida 58-44 No. 5 Temple
No. 12 VCU 62-59 No. 5 Wichita State
No. 11 Colorado 68-64 No. 6 UNLV
No. 11 NC State 79-65 No 6 San Diego State
No. 10 Purdue 72-69 No. 7 Saint Mary's
No. 10 Xavier 67-63 No. 7 Notre Dame
SECOND ROUND (Round of 32)
No. 13 Ohio 62-56 No. 12 South Florida
No. 11 NC State 66-63 No. 3 Georgetown
No. 10 Xavier 70-58 No. 15 Lehigh

2012 NCAA tournament: Stats, records

Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses:

Scoring offense

  1. Missouri (1) β€” 84.0
  2. Kentucky (6) β€” 81.3
  3. Indiana (3) β€” 77.3
  4. North Carolina (4) β€” 76.0
  5. Ohio State (5) β€” 74.2

Scoring defense

  1. Murray State (2) β€” 51.5
  2. South Florida (3) β€” 53.3
  3. Florida (4) β€” 56.3
  4. Wisconsin (3) β€”56.7
  5. Colorado State, Alabama, and Temple (1 each) β€” 58.0

Rebounding margin

  1. Western Kentucky (2) β€” +9.5
  2. Florida (4) β€” +9.0
  3. Baylor (4) β€” +8.3
  4. Michigan State (3), Duke (1) and Colorado State (1) β€” +8.0

Individual scoring

  1. Jake Cohen, Davidson (1) β€” 24.0
  2. Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State and Rob Jones, Saint Mary's (1 each) β€” 23.0
  3. Tu Holloway, Xavier (3) β€” 22.7

Individual rebounding

  1. Pierce Hornung, Colorado State (1) β€” 17.0
  2. Clint Chapman, Texas, Rob Jones, Saint Mary's and T.J. Robinson, Long Beach State (1 each) β€” 14.0
  3. Draymond Green, Michigan State (3) β€” 13.7

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