2003–04 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season April 2025 2003–04 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1998-2005.png 250px November 13, 2003through March 13, 2004 14 ESPN Regular Season Pittsburgh (13–3) Champion Emeka Okafor – Connecticut Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 2004 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Connecticut Ben Gordon – Connecticut Most Valuable Player Basketball 2002–03 2004–05 The 2003–04 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 25th in conference history, and involved its 14 full-time member schools. Pittsburgh was the regular-season champion with a record of 13–3. Connecticut won both the Big East tournament championship and the national championship. Season summary & highlights After three seasons with a divisional structure, the Big East returned to a unitary structure this season. Pittsburgh was the regular-season champion with a record of 13–3. It was Pittsburgh's fifth conference championship or co-championship and second outright championship. Connecticut won its sixth Big East tournament championship. Connecticut won its second national championship. It was the second consecutive national championship for the Big East Conference, Syracuse having won the previous season. Connecticut junior guard Ben Gordon was the 2004 NCAA Tournament's top scorer. Connecticut junior center Emeka Okafor was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. After suffering a 20-point loss at Pittsburgh on February 4, 2004, a number of St. John's players broke curfew to visit an adult club and invited a woman they met there back to their Pittsburgh hotel for sex. After they had sex with her, she demanded payment for it from them, and they refused. She then called police and claimed the players had gang-raped her, but police soon charged her with prostitution and filing a false police report. Meanwhile, St. John's University deemed the players' action to be in violation of team rules and "inconsistent with St. John's mission and values," and expelled or suspended six of them,Rotstein Gary Lash Cindi Smith Pohla February 6, 2004 Woman arrested, not men, in St. John's sex case https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/other-colleges/2004/02/06/Woman-arrested-not-men-in-St-John-s-sex-case/stories/200402060117 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania April 24, 2025 leaving the Red Storm with only four available scholarship players.Vaccaro Mike March 17, 2011 St. John’s reclaims glory after ’04 sex scandal https://nypost.com/2011/03/17/st-johns-reclaims-glory-after-04-sex-scandal/ New York Post New York, New York April 24, 2025 The scandal rocked the St. John's men's basketball program, and the team stumbled to a 6–21 finish. In March 2004, St. John's center Abe Keita claimed that a member of the team's staff had paid him nearly $300 a month for the past four seasons. As a result, on November 26, 2004, St. John's placed itself on two years' probation, withdrew from postseason consideration for the 2004–05 season, and vacated 43 wins in which Keita participated, including the team's 2003 National Invitation Tournament championship. St. John's became the third team in the history of the NIT to be forced to vacate its standing in the tournament.Drape Joe November 27, 2004 St. John's Imposes Penalty After Basketball Inquiry https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/27/sports/ncaabasketball/st-johns-imposes-penalty-after-basketball-inquiry.html New York Times New York, New York April 24, 2025 The season was the last in the Big East for Miami and Virginia Tech, both of which departed for the Atlantic Coast Conference after the end of the season. Miami had been a member of the Big East for 13 seasons, and Virginia Tech left after four years in the Big East. Miami and Virginia Tech became the first schools ever to leave the Big East. Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 7th Connecticut Jim Calhoun 18th Georgetown Craig Esherick 6th Fired March 16, 2004 Miami Perry Clark 4th Notre Dame Mike Brey 4th Pittsburgh Jamie Dixon 1st Big East Coach of the Year Providence Tim Welsh 6th Rutgers Gary Waters 3rd St. John's Mike Jarvis 6th Fired December 19, 2003 Kevin Clark 1st Interim coach; replaced after season Seton Hall Louis Orr 3rd Syracuse Jim Boeheim 28th Villanova Jay Wright 3rd Virginia Tech Seth Greenberg 1st West Virginia John Beilein 2nd Rankings Connecticut and Pittsburgh were ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 25 all season, with Connecticut reaching No. 1. Connecticut finished the season ranked No. 7 and Pittsburgh finished as No. 9. Boston College, Notre Dame, Providence, and Syracuse also spent time in the Top 25, and all but Notre Dame were ranked at the end of the season. + 2003–04 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/2004.html 2003-04 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary April 20, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 11/24 12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/31 1/5 1/12 1/19 1/26 2/2 2/9 2/16 2/23 3/4 3/8 FinalBoston College 25 Connecticut 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 4 6 5 5 8 8 7 9 7 Georgetown Miami Notre Dame 21 21 23 Pittsburgh 22 22 22 20 18 16 15 15 13 8 7 4 4 5 3 6 6 9 Providence 25 23 23 24 19 13 12 20 21 Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall Syracuse 7 7 16 19 19 17 17 17 17 13 20 18 24 19 20 Villanova Virginia Tech West Virginia Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Bryant Matthews VT 22.1 Hakim Warrick Syr 19.8 Chris Thomas ND 19.7 Ryan Gomes Prov 18.9 Ben Gordon Conn 18.5 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Emeka Okafor Conn 11.5 Ryan Gomes Prov 9.4 Bryant Matthews VT 8.9 Hakim Warrick Syr 8.6 Craig Smith BC 8.3 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Taliek Brown Conn 6.5 Andre Barrett SHU 5.9 Chris Thomas ND 4.7 Carl Krauser Pitt 4.5 Ben Gordon Conn 4.5 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG Jamon Gordon VT 2.8 Bryant Matthews VT 2.5 Robert Hite Mia 2.0 Andre Stanley SJU 2.0 Brandon Bowman GU 2.0 Darrel Owens GU 2.0 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Emeka Okafor Conn 4.1 D'or Fischer WVU 4.0 Marcus Douthit Prov 3.2 Herve Lamizana RU 3.1 Craig Forth Syr 2.0 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Emeka Okafor Conn .599 Kelly Whitney SHU .562 Craig Smith BC .553 Hakim Warrick Syr .512 Ryan Gomes Prov .507 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Ben Gordon Conn .433 Gerry McNamara Syr .389 Ricky Shields RU .373 Chris Thomas ND .351 No other qualifiers 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Gerry McNamara Syr .872 Ryan Gomes Prov .870 Gerald Riley GU .844 Ben Gordon Conn .829 Chris Thomas ND .826 end Postseason Big East tournament 2004 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding Teams were seeded in the Big East tournament based on conference record and tiebreakers. The No. 5 through No. 12 seeds played in the first round, and the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds received byes into the quarterfinal round. Teams which finished in 13th place or lower in the conference after the application as necessary of tiebreakers did not qualify for the tournament Seeding was (1) Pittsburgh, (2) Providence, (3) Connecticut, (4) Syracuse, (5) Boston College, (6) Seton Hall, (7) Notre Dame, (8) Virginia Tech, (9) Rutgers, (10) West Virginia, (11) Villanova, and (12) Georgetown. Miami — which finished the regular season tied for 12th but lost its tiebreaker with Georgetown — and 14th-place St. John's did not qualify for the tournament. Bracket First roundWednesday, March 10 QuarterfinalsThursday, March 11 SemifinalsFriday, March 12 FinalSaturday, March 13 high 8 Virginia Tech 61 9 2003 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Rutgers 58 5 Boston College 68 12 Georgetown 57 7 Notre Dame 65 10 West Virginia 64 6 Seton Hall 60 11 2003 Villanova Wildcats Villanova 61 1 #6 Pittsburgh 74 8 Virginia Tech 61 4 Syracuse 54 5 Boston College 57 2 #9 Connecticut 66 7 Notre Dame 58 3 #20 Providence 66 11 Villanova 69 1 #6 Pittsburgh 62 5 Boston College 53 2 #9 Connecticut 84 11 Villanova 67 1 #6 Pittsburgh 58 2 #9 Connecticut 61 NCAA tournament 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Providence lost in the first round and Boston College and Seton Hall in the second round. Pittsburgh and Syracuse were defeated in the regional semifinals. Connecticut won the national championship. Connecticut junior guard Ben Gordon was the tournament's top scorer with 154 points, and Connecticut junior center Emeka Okafor was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final Four Final Connecticut Phoenix 2 15 Vermont, W 70–53 7 DePaul, W 72–55 6 Vanderbilt, W 73–53 8 Alabama, W 87–71 AT1 Duke, W 79–78 SL3 Georgia Tech, W 82–73 Pittsburgh East Rutherford 3 14 UCF, W 53–44 6 Wisconsin, W 59–55 2 Oklahoma State, L 63–51 Syracuse Phoenix 5 12 BYU, W 80–75 4 Maryland, W 72–70 8 Alabama, L 80–71 Boston College St. Louis 6 11 Milwaukee, W 58–51 3 Georgia Tech, L 57–54 Seton Hall Atlanta 8 9 Arizona, W 80–76 1 Duke, L 90–62 Providence St. Louis 5 12 Pacific, L 66–58 National Invitation Tournament 2004 National Invitation Tournament Four Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. They played in two of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Notre Dame lost in the quarterfinals. Rutgers defeated West Virginia in the second round and Villanova in the quarterfinals and finished as the tournament runner-up, losing to Michigan in the final. School Opening round Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Rutgers Bye Temple, W 76–71 West Virginia, W 67–64 Villanova, W 72–60 Iowa State, W 84–81(OT) Michigan, L 62–55 Notre Dame Bye Purdue, W 71–59 Saint Louis, W 77–66 Oregon, L 65–61 Villanova Bye Drexel, W 85–70 Virginia, W 73–63 Rutgers, L 72–60 West Virginia Kent State, W 65–54 Rhode Island, W 79–72 Rutgers, L 67–64 Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, C, Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, C, Jr. Rookie of the Year: Chris Taft, Pittsburgh, F, Fr. Most Improved Player: Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh, G, So. Coach of the Year: Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh (1st season) All-Big East First Team Ben Gordon, Connecticut, G, Jr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Mount Vernon, N.Y. Bryant Matthews, Virginia Tech, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Columbia, S.C. Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 219 lb 0, Philadelphia, Pa. Andre Barrett, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 172 lb 0, The Bronx, N.Y. Ryan Gomes, Providence, F, Jr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 250 lb 0, Waterbury, Conn. Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, C, Jr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 252 lb 0, Houston, Tex. Craig Smith, Boston College, F, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 250 lb 0, Inglewood, Calif. All-Big East Second Team: Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Jr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Indianapolis, Ind. Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh, G, So., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, The Bronx, N.Y. Jaron Brown, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., 6 ft 4 in cm 0, 229 lb 0, Lexington, Ky. Darius Rice, Miami, F, Sr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 222 lb 0, Jackson, Miss. Gerry McNamara, Syracuse, G, So., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 182 lb 0, Scranton, Pa. All-Big East Third Team: Chris Taft, Pittsburgh, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 260 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Hervé Lamizana, Rutgers, F, Sr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Gerald Riley, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 217 lb 0, Milledgeville, Ga. Allan Ray, Villanova, G, So., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, The Bronx, N.Y. Curtis Sumpter, Villanova, F, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 225 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Big East All-Rookie Team: Jared Dudley, Boston College, F, Fr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 225 lb 0, San Diego, Calif. Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut, F, Fr., 6 ft 11 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Josh Boone, Connecticut, C, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 237 lb 0, Mount Airy, Md. Guillermo Diaz, Miami, G, Fr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 192 lb 0, San Juan, Puerto Rico Chris Taft, Pittsburgh, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 260 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Quincy Douby, Rutgers, G, Fr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 175 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Mike Nardi, Villanova, G, Fr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 170 lb 0, Linden, N.J. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 2004 Associated Press All-America teams. 2004 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans Consensus All-America First Team: Ryan Gomes, Providence, Key Stats: 18.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 50.7 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 547 points Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, Key Stats: 17.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 4.1 bpg, 59.9 FG%, 635 points First Team All-America: Ryan Gomes, Providence, Key Stats: 18.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 50.7 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 547 points Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, Key Stats: 17.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 4.1 bpg, 59.9 FG%, 635 points Third Team All-America: Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, Key Stats: 19.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 bpg, 51.2 FG%, 615 points AP Honorable Mention Andre Barrett, Seton Hall Ben Gordon, Connecticut Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh Bryant Matthews, Virginia Tech Chris Thomas, Notre Dame See also 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2003–04 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 2003–04 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2003–04 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2003–04 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 2003–04 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2003–04 Providence Friars men's basketball team 2003–04 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 2003–04 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team 2003–04 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team Notes note References