2003 Big East men's basketball tournament

August 2023 March 2026 2003 Big East Men's 12 Madison Square Garden New York City Pittsburgh 1st Ben Howland 1st Julius Page Pittsburgh Carmelo Anthony Syracuse Ben Gordon Connecticut 50 The 2003 Big East men's basketball tournament, a part of the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place from March 12–15, 2003, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner will receive the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA tournament. It was a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the four highest seeds (two from each Big East division) receive byes in the first round. The 6 Big East teams with the best conference records from both the East and West Divisions of the Big East Conference were invited to participate. Boston College, who had an identical 10–6 record as Connecticut, received the #1 seed from the East Division due to a tie breaker. Likewise, Syracuse, who had an identical 13–3 conference record to Pitt, received the #1 seed from West Division due to tiebreakers. Virginia Tech from the East Division and Rutgers from the West Division failed to make the tournament.2007–08 Big East Media Guide January 2017 medicmedic Pittsburgh defeated Connecticut, 74–56, in the finals to earn its first Big East tournament championship. Bracket First roundMarch 12, 2003 QuarterfinalsMarch 13, 2003 SemifinalsMarch 14, 2003 Championship GameMarch 15, 2003 W5 Georgetown 46 E4 Villanova 41 E6 Miami 52 W3 Seton Hall 67 E5 St. John's 83 W4 #17 Notre Dame 80 W6 West Virginia 50 E3 Providence 73 W1 #11 Syracuse 74 W5 Georgetown 69 E2 Connecticut 83 W3 Seton Hall 70 E1 Boston College 82* E5 St. John's 75 W2 #5 Pittsburgh 67 E3 Providence 57 W1 #11 Syracuse 67 E2 Connecticut 80 E1 Boston College 48 W2 #5 Pittsburgh 61 E2 Connecticut 56 W2 #5 Pittsburgh 74 * denotes an overtime (OT) period Note: By finishing in last place during the regular season in their respective divisions, Virginia Tech and Rutgers did not qualify for the tournament. Championship game On March 15, Pittsburgh won their first-ever Big East tournament, defeating Connecticut 74–56. They led by one at half-time, but quickly extended their lead in the second half. Jaron Brown led the Panthers with a career-high 19 points. Brown converted all six of his free throw attempts and was 6-of-9 from the field. He added ten rebounds to notch his fourth career double-double. Julius Page and Brandin Knight finished with 16 points apiece, and Chevon Troutman had 12. Page, a junior, averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 47.1 percent shooting (16-for-37) in the three tournament games. He won the Tournament MVP award. Knight averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 steals, and 3.3 rebounds in the tournament. It was the third straight title game reached for Pittsburgh. Howland and the Panthers lost to Uconn in double overtime in 2002. It tied the largest margin of victory for a Panther team in the Big East tournament. They also defeated Boston College by eighteen, winning 88–70 on March 8, 2000. The win was Pittsburgh's ninth in a row, tying their season high. They also won nine in a row to begin the season.http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031503aaa.html Game recap & notes – Pittsburghpanthers.com 2011-01-12 2012-03-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20120325092423/http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031503aaa.html dead Awards Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Julius Page, Pittsburgh All-Tournament Team Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh Ben Gordon, Connecticut Emeka Okafor, Connecticut Craig Smith, Boston College Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse References 2 External links Big East website Tournament Category:Big East men's basketball tournament Category:College basketball tournaments in New York City Category:Sports competitions in Manhattan Big East men's basketball tournament Big East men's basketball tournament Category:2000s in Manhattan