The 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 2012 with the 2K Sports Classic and ended with the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four on April 6, 2013 and national championship game on April 8, 2013, both held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
Season headlines October 29 – The AP preseason All-American team was named. Indiana's Cody Zeller was the leading vote-getter, garnering 64 of 65 possible votes. Joining Zeller were Creighton forward Doug McDermott (62 votes), Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan (43), Ohio State forward Deshaun Thomas (26), Michigan guard Trey Burke (16) and Lehigh guard CJ McCollum (16). Burke and McCollum tied in the voting, creating a sixth spot on the team.Cody Zeller an All-America pick, accessed October 29, 2012 December 1 – Respected Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus died at 64 of heart failure. Majerus had been placed on a medical leave of absence prior to the start of the season for medical reasons and was replaced on an interim basis by Jim Crews. Majerus had a record of 517–216 in his 25 years as a head coach, with stops at Marquette, Ball State and Utah prior to taking the job at SLU. His best finish came in 1998 when he led Utah to the NCAA championship game.Coach Rick Majerus dies at 64, accessed December 6, 2012 December 15 – The seven Big East Conference schools that do not sponsor FBS football (DePaul, Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, Villanova, Seton Hall and Marquette, collectively called the "Catholic 7") announced that they would break from the Big East and pursue other conference affiliation. The move leaves Connecticut as the only original Big East member set to remain in the conference.It's Official: An Exodus Will Redraw the Big East, accessed December 16, 2012 February 28 – ESPN reports that the "Catholic 7" will launch their new conference in July 2013, two years ahead of schedule, and will purchase the rights to the "Big East" name from the remaining conference schools. Two Atlantic 10 Conference members, Butler (which had only joined the A10 in July 2012) and Xavier, will reportedly join the new Big East, with Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton also a possibility. March 8 – The Big East split is officially announced. As previously reported, the "Catholic 7" will leave on June 30 with the Big East name. As of the announcement, the "Catholic 7" were the only members of the new Big East, but Butler, Xavier, and Creighton are expected to be added shortly. March 12 – Virginia Tech's Erick Green wins the ACC Player of the Year award, joining Maryland's Len Bias (1985–86) as the only two players of the year who competed for teams with losing ACC records. March 20 – The new Big East is officially launched at a press conference in New York City, with Butler, Creighton, and Xavier joining the "Catholic 7". April 3 – The FBS schools that will retain the charter of the original Big East unveil their future name, the American Athletic Conference, marketed as "The American." The Great West Conference disbanded at the end of the season after four seasons of competition.
Milestones and records November 25 – Lehigh's CJ McCollum scored 26 points in a 91–77 win over Sacred Heart, which made him surpass Rob Feaster as the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer. December 8 – Junior center Jordan Bachynski recorded the first triple-double in Arizona State men's basketball history. The 7'2" Bachynski scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 12 shots in an 87–76 win over Cal State Northridge. December 17 – Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim became the third Division I head coach to win 900 games as the Orange defeated Detroit 72–68. December 19 – Phil Pressey recorded 19 assists for Missouri against UCLA tying the Southeastern Conference single-game assist record (Kenny Higgs, ; Bill Hann, ). January 2 – VCU senior guard Troy Daniels set a school and Atlantic 10 Conference record by hitting 11 three-pointers in a 109–58 win over East Tennessee State. Daniels scored all 33 of his points in the game on three-point shots. Santa Clara guard Kevin Foster, South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters, Evansville guard Colt Ryan, Georgia Southern guard C. J. Reed, Creighton forward Doug McDermott, VMI forward Stan Okoye, Sacred Heart guard Shane Gibson, Ohio guard D. J. Cooper, Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan, Duke guard Seth Curry, Bucknell center Mike Muscala and Florida guard Kenny Boynton each passed the 2,000 point mark for their careers. January 26 – Northern Illinois set several all-time Division I marks of offensive futility in a 42–25 loss to Eastern Michigan: fewest points in a half in the shot clock era (4), lowest field goal shooting percentage for a half (3.2%), and tied the record for fewest field goals made in a half (1).N. Illinois held to 4 points in 1st half. ESPN.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2013. The Huskies shot 1-for-31 in the first half, including 29 straight misses. February 25 – Kansas head coach Bill Self records his 500th win with a 108–96 overtime win at Iowa State.No. 6 Kansas vs. Iowa State final score: Bill Self earns 500th career victory as Jayhawks win 108–96 in OT. Retrieved on February 25, 2013. March 5 – D. J. Cooper of Ohio becomes the first player in the history of college basketball to record 2,000 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds and 300 steals in a career.Cooper Leads Ohio Past Buffalo, 72-69 . Ohio University. Retrieved on March 5, 2013. March 13 – Grambling State loses 59–51 to Alabama A&M in the SWAC tournament, finishing off their winless 0–28 season.Grambling State vs. Alabama A&M final score: Tigers finish season win-less season with SWAC Tournament loss. Retrieved on March 13, 2013.
Conference membership changes
The 2012–13 season saw the second wave of membership changes resulting from a major realignment of NCAA Division I conferences. The cycle began in 2010 with the Big Ten and the then-Pac-10 publicly announcing their intentions to expand. The fallout from these conferences' moves later affected a majority of D-I conferences.
In addition, one school moved from Division II starting this season. This school was ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play until completing its D-I transition in 2016. Finally, one school that had announced a transition to Division II, New Orleans, announced that it would halt its transition and remain in Division I.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Belmont Bruins A-Sun OVC Butler Bulldogs Horizon League Atlantic 10 Denver Pioneers Sun Belt WAC Fresno State Bulldogs WAC Mountain West Hawaii Rainbow Warriors WAC Big West Longwood Lancers Independent Big South Missouri Tigers Big 12 SEC Nevada Wolf Pack WAC Mountain West New Orleans Privateers Division II independent Division I independent North Dakota (no nickname) Great West Big Sky Northern Kentucky Norse GLVC (D-II) A-Sun Omaha Mavericks Independent Summit League Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Summit League Southland Seattle Redhawks Independent WAC Southern Utah Thunderbirds Summit League Big Sky TCU Horned Frogs Mountain West Big 12 Texas A&M Aggies Big 12 SEC Texas State Bobcats Southland WAC UT Arlington Mavericks Southland WAC UTSA Roadrunners Southland WAC VCU Rams CAA Atlantic 10 West Virginia Mountaineers Big East Big 12
New arenas Coastal Carolina left behind one of the smallest venues in Division I basketball, Kimbel Arena (seating a little over 1,000). The Chanticleers remained on campus at the new HTC Center. Troy left its on-campus home since 1962, the original Trojan Arena, for a new on-campus venue also named Trojan Arena.
Major rule changes Beginning in 2012–13, the following rules changes were implemented: College coaches are allowed to practice with players a maximum two hours per week during the Summer (May–August) as long as the student-athletes were enrolled in classes.NCAA changes summer practice limitations, accessed October 12, 2012 Coaches could work their teams for a maximum of two hours a week beginning September 15 until official practice begins on October 13.NCAA changes fall practice limitations, accessed October 12, 2012 There is now unlimited contact, including text messaging, allowed between college coaches and a prospective player in high school and junior college recruiting.NCAA changes July recruiting period, accessed October 12, 2012
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls. 'Associated Press'RankingTeam1Indiana (43)2Louisville (20)3 Kentucky (2)4 Ohio State5 Michigan6 NC State7 Kansas8 Duke9 Syracuse10 Florida11 North Carolina12 Arizona13 UCLA14 Michigan State15 Missouri16 Creighton17 Memphis18 UNLV19 Baylor20 San Diego State21 Gonzaga22 Notre Dame23 Wisconsin24 Cincinnati25 Florida State ESPN/USA Today CoachesRankingTeam1 Indiana (31)2 Louisville (5)3 Kentucky (5)4 Ohio State5 Michigan6 NC State7 Kansas8 Duke9 Syracuse10 Florida11 Arizona12 North Carolina13 UCLA14 Michigan State15 Creighton16 Memphis17 Missouri18 Baylor19 UNLV20 San Diego State21 Wisconsin22 Gonzaga23 Notre Dame24 Florida StateтTexasт
Regular season A number of early-season tournaments marked the beginning of the college basketball season.
Early-season tournaments Name Dates No. teams Champion NIT Season Tip-Off November 12–13, 21, 2316 Michigan 2K Sports Classic^ November 15–164* Alabama Champions Classic November 134 N/A Puerto Rico Tip-Off November 15–16, 188 Oklahoma State Charleston Classic November 20128 Colorado Coaches vs. Cancer Classic^ November 15–164* Florida State Hall of Fame Tip Off November 16–184 Ohio State Paradise Jam tournament November 16–198 New Mexico CBE Hall of Fame Classic November 19–204* Kansas Legends Classic November 19–204* Indiana Maui Invitational tournament November 19–218 Illinois Cancún Challenge November 20–218 Wichita State Great Alaska Shootout November 21–248 Charlotte Battle 4 Atlantis November 22–248 Duke Old Spice Classic November 22–23,258 Gonzaga Anaheim Classic November 22–23,258 California Las Vegas Invitational November 23, 244* Creighton South Padre Island Invitational November 23, 248 Northwestern Hoops for Hope Classic November 23, 254* South Carolina Las Vegas Classic December 22–234* Colorado State Diamond Head Classic December 22–23, 258 Arizona
^The former Coaches vs. Cancer Classic was renamed the 2K Sports Classic in 2012 due to a sponsorship change, and a new tournament named the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic began play in 2012. *Although these tournaments included more teams, only the number listed played for the championship.
Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
Thirty-one conference seasons concluded with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that won their regular-season titles were given the number one seed in their respective conference tournaments. Conference tournament winners received an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament except for the winner of the Great West Conference tournament, although its champion received an automatic bid to the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Ivy League was the only NCAA Division I conference that did not hold a conference tournament, instead sending its regular-season champion to the NCAA tournament.