| Division: | III |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Teams: | 62 |
| Finalfourcity: | Salem, Virginia |
| Champions: | Whitewater State Warhawks |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Runnerup: | Cabrini Cavaliers |
| Gamecount: | 1st |
| Semifinal1: | MIT Engineers |
| Finalfourcount: | 1st |
| Semifinal2: | Illinois Wesleyan Titans |
| Finalfourcount2: | 5th |
| Coach: | Pat Miller |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mop: | Chris Davis |
| Mopteam: | UW-Whitewater |
The 2012 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's collegiate basketball national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. It involved 62 teams, beginning on March 1, 2012 and concluded with the championship game on March 17, 2012, at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.
The UW-Whitewater Warhawks won their third Division III title, defeating the Cabrini Cavaliers in the championship game by a score of 63-60.[1]
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2012 tournament:
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2013 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the UAA, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).
The NCAA Selection Committee, by rule, must select one team from the conferences without automatic berths and non-affiliated schools (Pool B). The Selection Committee makes the remaining 19 selections at-large from all conferences (Pool C).
| Conference | School | class=unsortable | Appearance | Last Bid | Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great South | Maryville (Tenn.) | 15th | 2010 | Pool B | |
| SCAC | Birmingham-Southern | 1st | Never | Pool C | |
| Minnesota | Gustavus Adolphus | 13th | 2005 | Pool C | |
| Empire 8 | Hartwick | 6th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| Liberty | Hobart | 2nd | 2001 | Pool C | |
| CCIW | Illinois Wesleyan | 21st | 2011 | Pool C | |
| American Southwest | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 5th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| NESCAC | Middlebury | 5th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| UAA | NYU | 26th | 2006 | Pool C | |
| North Coast | Ohio Wesleyan | 3rd | 2008 | Pool C | |
| Old Dominion | Randolph-Macon | 12th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| Little East | Rhode Island College | 9th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| Skyline | St. Joseph's-Long Island | 2nd | 2009 | Pool C | |
| Capital | St. Mary's (Md.) | 4th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| Heartland | Transylvania | 8th | 2009 | Pool C | |
| Wisconsin | UW-Stevens Point | 11th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| Wisconsin | UW-Whitewater | 17th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| Little East | Western Connecticut | 12th | 2011 | Pool C | |
| CCIW | Wheaton (Ill.) | 8th | 2010 | Pool C | |
| North Coast | Wittenberg | 26th | 2011 | Pool C |
* – Denotes overtime period
Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04)
| Conference |
| Record | Win % | R62 | R32 | S16 | E8 | F4 | CG | NC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 3 | 6-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| CSAC | 1 | 5–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| CCIW | 3 | 8–3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| NEWMAC | 1 | 4–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| North Coast | 3 | 5–3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Centennial | 1 | 3–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Landmark | 1 | 3–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| ODAC | 2 | 2–2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| NESCAC | 2 | 3–2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| Little East | 3 | 4–3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| CUNYAC | 1 | 2–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Northwest | 1 | 2–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| UAA | 2 | 2–2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Capital | 2 | 1–2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Liberty League | 2 | 1–2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Michigan | 2 | 1–2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| SCAC | 2 | 1–2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Skyline | 2 | 1–2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Great Northeast | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Michigan | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Midwest | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| New England | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Northern | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Ohio | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| SUNYAC | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 |