2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament August 2023 March 2026 2003 2003FinalFour.png 65 Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Syracuse Orangemen 1st 3rd 4th Kansas Jayhawks 7th 12th Marquette Golden Eagles 3rd Texas Longhorns 3rd Jim Boeheim 1st Carmelo Anthony Syracuse 54,524 Carmelo Anthony Syracuse 121 The 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 65th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Louisiana Superdome. A total of 64 games were played. The Final Four consisted of Kansas, making its second straight appearance; Marquette, making its first appearance since they won the national championship in 1977; Syracuse, making its first appearance since 1996; and Texas, making its first appearance since 1947. Texas was the only top seed to advance to the Final Four; the other three (Arizona, Kentucky, and Oklahoma) advanced as far as the Elite Eight but fell. Syracuse won its first national championship in three tries under 27th-year head coach Jim Boeheim, who would ultimately retire after the 2022–2023 season. This was also Roy Williams’s final game as Kansas head coach; he would depart after the season to become head coach at North Carolina. Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Syracuse beat four Big 12 teams on its way to the title: Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. Schedule and venues USA 450 right 2003 play-in game (orange) and first and second rounds (green) USA orange pog.svg 39.7404 -84.1792 right #FFFFFF Dayton UD Arena USA green pog.svg 47.658780 -117.426047 left #FFFFFF Spokane Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena USA green pog.svg 40.760779 -111.891047 left #FFFFFF Salt Lake City Jon M. Huntsman Center USA green pog.svg 35.467560 -97.516428 left #FFFFFF Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena Ford Center USA green pog.svg 39.768403 -86.158068 left #FFFFFF Indianapolis RCA Dome USA green pog.svg 27.950575 -82.457178 bottom #FFFFFF Tampa Tampa Bay Times Forum St. Pete Times Forum USA green pog.svg 42.358486 -71.060097 left #FFFFFF Boston TD Garden FleetCenter USA green pog.svg 36.162664 -86.781602 top #FFFFFF Nashville Bridgestone Arena USA green pog.svg 33.520661 -86.802490 bottom #FFFFFF Birmingham Amway Arena TD Waterhouse Centre USA 450 right 2003 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red) USA blue pog.svg 33.835293 -117.914504 left #FFFFFF Anaheim Honda Center Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim USA blue pog.svg 44.983334 -93.266670 bottom #FFFFFF Minneapolis Herbert H. Hump Metrodome USA blue pog.svg 29.424122 -98.493628 left #FFFFFF San Antonio Alamodome USA blue pog.svg 42.652579 -73.756232 left #FFFFFF Albany Times Union Center Pepsi Arena USA red pog.svg 29.951066 -90.071532 bottom #FFFFFF New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome Louisiana Superdome The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2003 tournament: Opening Round March 18 University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton) First and Second Rounds March 20 and 22 Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Big 12 Conference) Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah) RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University and Horizon League) Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: Washington State University) March 21 and 23 BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference) FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College) Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University) St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 27 and 29 Midwest Regional Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota) West Regional Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference) March 28 and 30 East Regional Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York (Host: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Siena College) South Regional Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 5 and 7 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Sun Belt Conference and University of New Orleans) Qualifying teams 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams Automatic bids The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2003 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid). ConferenceSchoolAppearanceLast bidACCDuke27th2002America EastVermont1stNeverAtlantic 10Dayton12th2000Atlantic SunTroy State1stNeverBig 12Oklahoma22nd2002Big EastPittsburgh15th2002Big SkyWeber State13th1999Big SouthUNC Asheville1stNeverBig TenIllinois23rd2002Big WestUtah State15th2001ColonialUNC Wilmington3rd2002C-USALouisville30th2000HorizonUW–Milwaukee1stNeverIvy LeaguePenn20th2002MAACManhattan5th1995MACCentral Michigan4th1987MEACSouth Carolina State5th2000Mid-ConIUPUI1stNeverMissouri ValleyCreighton14th2002Mountain WestColorado State8th1990NortheastWagner1stNeverOhio ValleyAustin Peay5th1996Pac-10Oregon8th2002PatriotHoly Cross11th2002SECKentucky45th2002SouthernEast Tennessee State6th1992SouthlandSam Houston State1stNeverSun BeltWestern Kentucky19th2002SWACTexas Southern4th1995WACTulsa14th2002West CoastSan Diego3rd1987 Listed by region and seeding East Regional – AlbanySeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Oklahoma Big 12 24–6 Automatic#2 Wake Forest ACC 24–5 At-large#3 Syracuse Big East 24–5 At-large#4 Louisville C-USA 24–6 Automatic#5 Mississippi State SEC 20–10 At-large#6 Oklahoma State Big 12 21–9 At-large#7 Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 23–6 At-large#8 California Pac-10 21–8 At-large#9 North Carolina State ACC 18–12 At-large#10 Auburn SEC 20–11 At-large#11 Pennsylvania Ivy League 22–5 Automatic#12 Butler Horizon 25–5 At-large#13 Austin Peay OVC 23–7 Automatic#14 Manhattan MAAC 23–6 Automatic#15 East Tennessee State Southern 20–10 Automatic#16 South Carolina State MEAC 20–10 AutomaticSouth Regional – San AntonioSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Texas Big 12 22–6 At-large#2 Florida SEC 24–7 At-large#3 Xavier Atlantic 10 25–5 At-large#4 Stanford Pac-10 23–8 At-large#5 Connecticut Big East 21–9 At-large#6 Maryland ACC 19–9 At-large#7 Michigan State Big Ten 19–12 At-large#8 2002 LSU Tigers LSU SEC 21–10 At-large#9 Purdue Big Ten 18–10 At-large#10 Colorado Big 12 20–11 At-large#11 UNC Wilmington CAA 24–6 Automatic#12 BYU Mountain West 23–8 At-large#13 San Diego WCC 18–11 Automatic#14 Troy State Atlantic Sun 26–5 Automatic#15 Sam Houston State Southland 23–6 Automatic#16 UNC Asheville Big South 14–16 Automatic Texas Southern SWAC 18–12 Automatic Midwest Regional – MinneapolisSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Kentucky SEC 29–3 Automatic#2 Pittsburgh Big East 26–4 Automatic#3 Marquette C-USA 23–5 At-large#4 Dayton Atlantic 10 24–5 Automatic#5 Wisconsin Big Ten 22–7 At-large#6 Missouri Big 12 21–10 At-large#7 Indiana Big Ten 20–12 At-large#8 Oregon Pac-10 23–9 Automatic#9 Utah Mountain West 24–7 At-large#10 Alabama SEC 17–11 At-large#11 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 24–6 At-large#12 Weber State Big Sky 26–5 Automatic#13 Tulsa WAC 22–9 Automatic#14 Holy Cross Patriot 26–4 Automatic#15 Wagner Northeast 21–10 Automatic#16 IUPUI Mid-Continent 20–13 Automatic West Regional – AnaheimSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Arizona Pac-10 25–3 At-large#2 Kansas Big 12 25–7 At-large#3 Duke ACC 24–6 Automatic#4 Illinois Big Ten 24–6 Automatic#5 Notre Dame Big East 22–9 At-large#6 Creighton Missouri Valley 29–4 Automatic#7 Memphis C-USA 23–6 At-large#8 Cincinnati C-USA 17–11 At-large#9 Gonzaga WCC 23–8 At-large#10 Arizona State Pac-10 19–11 At-large#11 Central Michigan Mid-American 24–6 Automatic#12 UW–Milwaukee Horizon 24–7 Automatic#13 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 24–8 Automatic#14 Colorado State Mountain West 19–13 Automatic#15 Utah State Big West 24–8 Automatic#16 Vermont America East 21–11 Automatic BYU bracketing switch When the bracket was first revealed, it contained a mistake that would have forced BYU, a Mormon-run school, to play its potential Elite 8 game on a Sunday, which is against school policy. As a solution, the selection committee had a plan to switch BYU, the 12 seed in the Friday-Sunday South regional, with the team that reached the Sweet 16 in the Thursday-Saturday Midwest regional (either Wisconsin, Weber State, Dayton, or Tulsa) should the Cougars advance to the Sweet 16.https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/ncaatourney03/story?id=1524804 BYU would switch regionals if it wins two Katz Andy March 16, 2003 ESPN.com April 16, 2022 BYU lost its first-round game to Connecticut, which meant no switches were necessary. Bids by conference Bids by ConferenceBidsConference(s) 6 Big 12, SEC 5 Big Ten, Pac-10 4 ACC, Big East, C-USA 3 Atlantic 10, Mountain West 2 Horizon, Missouri Valley, WCC 1 19 others Final Four thumb|200px|The Louisiana Superdome was host of the Final Four and National Championship in 2003. At Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans National semifinals April 5, 2003 Syracuse (E3) 95, Texas (S1) 84 Freshman Carmelo Anthony scored 33 points leading the Syracuse Orangemen past the Texas Longhorns in the night cap of the national semifinal doubleheader. Syracuse opened up a comfortable 2nd half lead, but that was trimmed to four with just 1:08 remaining. However, freshman Gerry McNamara iced the game with clutch foul shooting in the final minutes. The win put Syracuse and coach Jim Boeheim one win away from their first ever National Championship. Texas was the last number one seed remaining in the tournament.CNN Sports Illustrated CNNSI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2003/04/05/5151_recap.html https://web.archive.org/web/20031017215122/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2003/04/05/5151_recap.html dead October 17, 2003 2003 NCAA National semifinals: (E3) Syracuse 95, (S1) Texas 84 2008-03-06 Kansas (W2) 94, Marquette (M3) 61 The Kansas Jayhawks routed the Marquette Golden Eagles by 33 points, the fourth largest blowout in Final Four history. Keith Langford led the Jayhawks with 24 points, and Kirk Hinrich and Aaron Miles each added 18 points. Dwyane Wade led Marquette in scoring with 19 points in the loss. Like Boeheim, Kansas coach Roy Williams was just one win away from winning his first ever National Championship.CNN Sports Illustrated CNNSI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2003/04/05/5150_recap.html https://web.archive.org/web/20030422022613/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2003/04/05/5150_recap.html dead April 22, 2003 2003 NCAA National semifinals: (W2) Kansas 94, (MW3) Marquette 61 2008-03-06 Championship game 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game thumb|230x230px|2003 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Trophy April 7, 2003 Syracuse (E3) 81, Kansas (W2) 78 Leading up to the championship game, much of the conversation revolved around how, no matter the outcome, one of the well-known head coaches would win their first championship.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney03/columnist?id=1534793&name=wojciechowski_gene https://web.archive.org/web/20030604083305/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney03/columnist?id=1534793&name=wojciechowski_gene dead June 4, 2003 Boeheim, Williams say title won't define careers Wojciechowski Gene April 6, 2003 ESPN.com ESPN the Magazine November 16, 2013 In Jim Boeheim's 27 years as head coach at Syracuse his team had been to two previous Final Fours, and finished runner-up each time (1987, 1996). Roy Williams, during his fifteen seasons as Kansas head coach, had reached the Final Four three previous times, and finished runner up once (1991). Syracuse dominated with a hot shooting first half to lead by 11 at the break. Gerry McNamara connected on an impressive six three-pointers in the half, which were his 18 points for the game. Kansas fought back to within 80–78 in the final minute and had a chance to tie after Hakim Warrick missed a pair of free throws in the final moments; free throws were a major problem throughout the game for Kansas, who went 12-for-30 in attempts. Warrick then blocked Michael Lee's three point attempt with 1.5 seconds remaining on the game clock, followed by Kirk Hinrich's three-pointer at the buzzer going over the net. Kansas' free throw struggles would prove costly in giving Syracuse and Jim Boeheim their first ever national championship. Carmelo Anthony was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) with 20 points and 10 Rebounds in the win. Syracuse also avenged a second-round loss to Kansas two years earlier.CNN Sports Illustrated CNNSI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2003/04/07/5154_recap.html https://web.archive.org/web/20030605101239/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2003/04/07/5154_recap.html dead June 5, 2003 2003 NCAA national championship: (E3) Syracuse 81, (W2) Kansas 78 2008-03-06 Bracket Opening Round game Winner advances to 16th seed in South Regional vs. (1) Texas. Opening Round gameMarch 18 16a UNC Asheville 92OT 16b Texas Southern 84 East Regional – Albany, New York Regional semifinals Regional Finals 1 Oklahoma City - Thu/Sat Birmingham - Fri/Sun Boston - Fri/Sun Tampa - Fri/Sun Oklahoma 71 16 South Carolina State 54 8 California 76OT 9 NC State 74 5 Mississippi St 46 12 Butler 47 4 Louisville 86 13 Austin Peay 64 6 Oklahoma State 77 11 Pennsylvania 63 3 Syracuse 76 14 Manhattan 65 7 Saint Joseph's 63 10 Auburn 65OT 2 Wake Forest 76 15 East Tennessee State 73 1 Oklahoma 74 8 California 65 12 Butler 79 4 Louisville 71 6 Oklahoma State 56 3 Syracuse 68 10 Auburn 68 2 Wake Forest 62 1 Oklahoma 65 12 Butler 54 3 Syracuse 79 10 Auburn 78 1 Oklahoma 47 3 Syracuse 63 South Regional – San Antonio, Texas Regional semifinals Regional Finals 1 Birmingham - Fri/Sun Spokane - Thu/Sat Nashville - Fri/Sun Tampa - Fri/Sun Texas 82 16 UNC Asheville 61 8 LSU 56 9 Purdue 80 5 Connecticut 58 12 BYU 53 4 Stanford 77 13 San Diego 69 6 Maryland 75 11 UNC Wilmington 73 3 Xavier 71 14 Troy State 59 7 Michigan State 79 10 Colorado 64 2 Florida 85 15 Sam Houston State 55 1 Texas 77 9 Purdue 67 5 Connecticut 85 4 Stanford 74 6 Maryland 77 3 Xavier 64 7 Michigan State 68 2 Florida 46 1 Texas 82 5 Connecticut 78 6 Maryland 58 7 Michigan State 60 1 Texas 85 7 Michigan State 76 Midwest Regional – Minneapolis, Minnesota Regional semifinals Regional Finals 1 Nashville - Fri/Sun Spokane - Thu/Sat Indianapolis - Thu/Sat Boston - Fri/Sun Kentucky 95 16 IUPUI 64 8 Oregon 58 9 Utah 60 5 Wisconsin 81 12 Weber State 74 4 Dayton 71 13 Tulsa 84 6 Missouri 72 11 Southern Illinois 71 3 Marquette 72 14 Holy Cross 68 7 Indiana 67 10 Alabama 62 2 Pittsburgh 87 15 Wagner 61 1 Kentucky 74 9 Utah 54 5 Wisconsin 61 13 Tulsa 60 6 Missouri 92 3 Marquette 101OT 7 Indiana 52 2 Pittsburgh 74 1 Kentucky 63 5 Wisconsin 57 3 Marquette 77 2 Pittsburgh 74 1 Kentucky 69 3 Marquette 83 West Regional – Anaheim, California Regional semifinals Regional Finals 1 Salt Lake City - Thu/Sat Indianapolis - Thu/Sat Salt Lake City Thu/Sat Oklahoma City - Thu/Sat Arizona 80 16 Vermont 51 8 Cincinnati 69 9 Gonzaga 74 5 Notre Dame 70 12 Milwaukee 69 4 Illinois 65 13 Western Kentucky 60 6 Creighton 73 11 Central Michigan 79 3 Duke 67 14 Colorado State 57 7 Memphis 71 10 Arizona State 84 2 Kansas 64 15 Utah State 61 1 Arizona 962OT 9 Gonzaga 95 5 Notre Dame 68 4 Illinois 60 11 Central Michigan 60 3 Duke 86 10 Arizona State 76 2 Kansas 108 1 Arizona 88 5 Notre Dame 71 3 Duke 65 2 Kansas 69 1 Arizona 75 2 Kansas 78 Final Four – New Orleans, Louisiana National semifinals National Championship Game E3 Syracuse 95 S1 Texas 84 M3 Marquette 61 W2 Kansas 94 E3 Syracuse 81 W2 Kansas 78 Broadcast information Originally, CBS Sports was to have shown all 63 games of the tournament following the opening round, which was on ESPN. However, because of the start of the Iraq War the night before, the afternoon games on Thursday and Friday were moved to ESPN while retaining CBS graphics and production. CBS News then joined other broadcast and non-broadcast outlets in showing extended news coverage. Thursday and Friday night's games were shown on CBS, albeit with frequent news updates. To make up for lost advertising revenue, an additional time slot was opened the following Sunday evening for more CBS telecasts. 2003 also marked the debut of Mega March Madness as an exclusive package on DirecTV. This offered additional game broadcasts not available to the viewer's home market during the first three rounds of the tournament. All games from the 4th round (Elite Eight) onward were national telecasts. Westwood One had exclusive national radio coverage. CBS Sports announcers Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Bonnie Bernstein – First & Second Round at Nashville, Tennessee; West Regional at Anaheim, California; Final Four at New Orleans, Louisiana Dick Enberg/Matt Guokas/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Armen Keteyian – First & Second Round at Salt Lake City, Utah; South Regional at San Antonio, Texas Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser – First & Second Round at Boston, Massachusetts; Midwest Regional at Minneapolis, Minnesota Gus Johnson/Len Elmore/Solomon Wilcots – First & Second Round at Indianapolis, Indiana; East Regional at Albany, New York Kevin Harlan/Jay Bilas/Dwayne Ballen – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Darren Horton – First & Second Round at Tampa, Florida Craig Bolerjack/Dan Bonner/Brett Haber – First & Second Round at Birmingham, Alabama Tim Brando/Bob Wenzel/Leslie Maxie – First & Second Round at Spokane, Washington Westwood One announcers First and second rounds Doug Kennedy and Richard Larsen Regionals Final Four See also 2003 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament 2003 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament 2003 National Invitation Tournament 2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2003 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament References Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Ncaa NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Basketball Category:Basketball competitions in San Antonio