2011–12 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Marty Simmons and they played their home games at the Ford Center and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Purple Aces participated in the 2012 College Basketball Invitational, losing in the first round.

2011–12 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
CBI, First Round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	16–16 (9–9 Missouri Valley)
Head coach	Marty Simmons
Assistant coaches	Jimmy Elgas Carson Harris Chris Hollender
Home arena	Ford Center

2011–12 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 16 Wichita State	16	–	2		.889			27	–	5		.844
No. 19 Creighton †	14	–	4		.778			28	–	5		.848
Evansville	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Illinois State	9	–	9		.500			21	–	14		.600
Northern Iowa	9	–	9		.500			20	–	14		.588
Missouri State	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Drake	9	–	9		.500			18	–	16		.529
Indiana State	8	–	10		.444			18	–	15		.545
Southern Illinois	5	–	13		.278			8	–	23		.258
Bradley	2	–	16		.111			7	–	25		.219
† 2012 MVC tournament winner As of March 19, 2012 Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

In the previous season, the Purple Aces recorded a 15–14 mark overall, including a 9–9 conference record. Led by guard Colt Ryan, the team claimed a win against eventual national runner-up Butler. They were invited to the 2011 College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the quarterfinals.

Roster

This season, they return three starters and their top four scorers, including Colt Ryan. The team features three seniors and five juniors on the roster. However, the only returning front court player taller than 6'6" is Matt Peeler who saw very limited minutes in prior seasons.

2011–12 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 0 Ryan Sawvell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Mundelein, IL G 1 Jordan Nelson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Lincoln, IL F/C 3 Matt Peeler 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Alamogordo, NM G/F 4 Lewis Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Memphis, TN G 5 Troy Taylor 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Jr Anderson, IN F/C 10 Jaylon Moore 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Olive Branch, MS G/F 11 Colt Ryan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Batesville, IN G/F 13 Jordan Jahr 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Austin, TX G 14 Andy Chinn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Tell City, IN G 20 Brandon Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Charlotte, TN G 22 Ned Cox 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr San Antonio, TX F/C 25 Rokas Cesnulevicius 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Alytaus, LT G/F 32 Kenneth Harris 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Saint Louis, MO G/F 34 Denver Holmes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Olathe, KS	Head coach Marty Simmons (Evansville) Assistant coach(es) Jimmy Elgas (Illinois State) Carson Harris (Manchester (IN)) Chris Hollender (Evansville) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2011-10-30

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2011* 4:05 pm		DePauw	W 81–52	—	Ford Center (3,846) Evansville, IN
November 4, 2011* 7:05 pm		Illinois–Springfield	W 74–61	–	Ford Center (3,774) Evansville, IN
Regular season
November 12, 2011* 2:05 pm		Butler	W 80–77 OT	1–0	Ford Center (9,454) Evansville, IN
November 16, 2011* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Indiana	L 73–94	1–1	Ford Center (9,640) Evansville, IN
November 19, 2011* 2:05 pm		Oakland City	W 80–53	2–1	Ford Center (3,481) Evansville, IN
November 23, 2011* 7:00 pm		at UIC	L 75–79	2–2	UIC Pavilion (1,987) Chicago, IL
November 29, 2011* 7:35 pm		Alabama State	W 62–55	3–2	Ford Center (3,462) Evansville, IN
December 3, 2011* 7:05 pm		TCU MWC–MVC Challenge	L 68–70 OT	3–3	Ford Center (5,198) Evansville, IN
December 6, 2011* 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at No. 6 North Carolina	L 48–97	3–4	Dean E. Smith Center (15,623) Chapel Hill, NC
December 10, 2011* 7:05 pm		North Carolina A&T	W 86–65	4–4	Ford Center (3,527) Evansville, IN
December 17, 2011* 1:05 pm		Tennessee Tech	L 70–72	4–5	Ford Center (4,235) Evansville, IN
December 20, 2011* 6:00 pm		at Miami (OH)	W 77–75	5–5	Millett Hall (1,565) Oxford, OH
December 29, 2011 7:00 pm, MVC TV		Southern Illinois	W 78–60	6–5 (1–0)	Ford Center (6,105) Evansville, IN
January 1, 2012 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Northern Iowa	W 76–65	7–5 (2–0)	McLeod Center (3,653) Cedar Falls, IA
January 4, 2012 7:05 pm		Wichita State	L 66–67	7–6 (2–1)	Ford Center (3,916) Evansville, IN
January 7, 2012 1:05 pm		at Illinois State	L 73–75	7–7 (2–2)	Redbird Arena (5,333) Normal, IL
January 10, 2012 6:05 pm		at Indiana State	L 78–80	7–8 (2–3)	Hulman Center (6,790) Terre Haute, IN
January 13, 2012 7:05 pm		Drake	L 60–69	7–9 (2–4)	Ford Center (4,027) Evansville, IN
January 15, 2012 2:05 pm		at Missouri State	W 87–82 OT	8–9 (3–4)	JQH Arena (7,654) Springfield, MO
January 18, 2012 7:05 pm		Bradley	W 90–67	9–9 (4–4)	Ford Center (3,478) Evansville, IN
January 21, 2012 7:05 pm		Illinois State	W 79–71	10–9 (5–4)	Ford Center (6,187) Evansville, IN
January 25, 2012 7:00 pm, MVC TV		at Wichita State	L 74–86	10–10 (5–5)	Charles Koch Arena (10,219) Wichita, KS
January 29, 2012 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Indiana State	L 81–90 2OT	10–11 (5–6)	Ford Center (5,836) Evansville, IN
February 1, 2012 7:00 pm		at Bradley	W 92–62	11–11 (6–6)	Carver Arena (7,638) Peoria, IL
February 4, 2012 2:05 pm		at Southern Illinois	L 52–53	11–12 (6–7)	SIU Arena (3,378) Carbondale, IL
February 7, 2012 7:05 pm		No. 17 Creighton	W 65–57	12–12 (7–7)	Ford Center (5,128) Evansville, IN
February 12, 2012 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Drake	L 54–78	12–18 (8–8)	Knapp Center (3,477) Des Moines, IA
February 15, 2012 7:05 pm		Northern Iowa	W 63–62	13–13 (8–8)	Ford Center (4,177) Evansville, IN
February 18, 2012* 7:05 pm		Western Illinois Sears BracketBusters	W 68–45	14–13	Ford Center (5,147) Evansville, IN
February 21, 2012 7:00 pm, MVC TV		at Creighton	L 92–93 OT	14–14 (8–9)	Qwest Center Omaha (16,447) Omaha, NE
February 25, 2012 1:05 pm		Missouri State	W 75–70 OT	15–14 (9–9)	Ford Center (6,421) Evansville, IN
Missouri Valley tournament
March 2, 2012 8:35 pm, MVC TV	(3)	vs. (6) Missouri State Quarterfinals	W 72–64	16–14	Scottrade Center (14,412) Saint Louis, MO
March 3, 2012 4:05 pm, MVC TV	(3)	vs. (2) No. 25 Creighton Semifinals	L 71–99	16–15	Scottrade Center (16,271) Saint Louis, MO
CBI
March 13, 2012* 7:00 pm, HDNet		Princeton First Round	L 86–95	16–16	Ford Center (3,012) Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.