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2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Edition of USA college basketball tournament
August 2023
March 2026
2002 2002FinalFour.png 65 Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia Maryland Terrapins 1st 1st 2nd Indiana Hoosiers 6th 8th Kansas Jayhawks 11th Oklahoma Sooners 4th Gary Williams 1st Juan Dixon Maryland 720,433 Juan Dixon Maryland Jared Jeffries Indiana 155
The 2002 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 64th annual edition of the tournament began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. A total of 64 games were played.
This was the first year that the tournament used the so-called "pod" system, in which the eight first- and second-round sites are distributed around the four regionals. Teams were assigned to first round spots in order to minimize travel for as many teams as possible. The top seeds at each site were:
Sacramento: Oregon (M2), USC (S4)
Albuquerque: Arizona (W3), Ohio State (W4)
Dallas: Oklahoma (W2), Mississippi State (M3)
St. Louis: Kansas (M1), Kentucky (E4)
Chicago: Georgia (E3), Illinois (M4)
Pittsburgh: Cincinnati (W1), Pittsburgh (S3)
Washington, D.C.: Maryland (E1), Connecticut (E2)
Greenville: Duke (S1), Alabama (S2)
The Final Four consisted of Maryland, making their second consecutive appearance, Kansas, making their first appearance since 1993, Indiana, making their first appearance since 1992, and Oklahoma, making their first appearance since their national runner-up finish in 1988.
Maryland defeated Indiana 64–52 in the championship game to win their first-ever national championship. Juan Dixon of Maryland was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He would go on to be drafted 17th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2002 NBA Draft.
For the second straight tournament, the Elite Eight featured at least one double-digit seed. South Region tenth-seed Kent State and West Region twelfth-seed Missouri played in their respective regional finals, with Kent State losing to Indiana and Missouri losing to Oklahoma. This also marked the first time since 1987 that no team from the states of North Carolina nor Kentucky reached the Final Four.
This tournament was the first since 1974 (the last tournament which only allowed one team per conference) in which the North Carolina Tar Heels were not a participant. The 27-year streak was, at the time, the longest appearance streak in NCAA history, having beaten UCLA's 15-year streak in 1990. It has since been topped by Kansas, whose 35-year streak dates back to 1990 and is still active. (Two other active teams, Michigan State and Gonzaga, also have active 20 year streaks and could beat UNC's streak in 2026 and 2027, respectively.)
Schedule and venues
USA 400 right 2002 play-in game (orange) and first and second rounds (green)
USA orange pog.svg 39.7404 -84.1792 left #FFFFFF Dayton UD Arena
USA green pog.svg 38.907192 -77.036871 bottom #FFFFFF Washington, D.C. Capital One Arena
USA green pog.svg 40.440625 -79.995886 top #FFFFFF Pittsburgh Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) Mellon Arena
USA green pog.svg 34.852618 -82.394010 right #FFFFFF Greenville Bon Secours Wellness Arena
USA green pog.svg 41.878114 -87.629798 left #FFFFFF Chicago United Center
USA green pog.svg 38.627003 -90.199404 bottom #FFFFFF St. Louis The Dome at America's Center
USA green pog.svg 32.780262 -96.800978 left #FFFFFF Dallas American Airlines Arena
USA green pog.svg 35.110703 -106.609991 left #FFFFFF Albuquerque The Pit (arena) University Arena
USA green pog.svg 38.581572 -121.494400 right #FFFFFF Sacramento ARCO Arena
USA 400 right 2002 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red) USA blue pog.svg 37.339386 -121.894955 right #FFFFFF San Jose SAP Center
USA blue pog.svg 43.073052 -89.401230 bottom #FFFFFF Madison Kohl Center
USA blue pog.svg 38.040584 -84.503716 left #FFFFFF Lexington Rupp Arena
USA blue pog.svg 43.048122 -76.147424 left #FFFFFF Syracuse Carrier Dome
USA red pog.svg 33.748995 -84.387982 left #FFFFFF Atlanta Georgia Dome
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2002 tournament:
Opening Round
March 12
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
First and Second Rounds
March 14 and 16
ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California (Host: University of the Pacific)
BI-LO Center, Greenville, South Carolina (Hosts: Southern Conference, Furman University)
Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
University Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
March 15 and 17
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)
MCI Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University)
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: Duquesne University)
United Center, Chicago, Illinois (Host: Big Ten Conference)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
March 21 and 23
South Regional
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
West Regional
Compaq Center at San Jose, San Jose, California (Host: Santa Clara University)
March 22 and 24
East Regional
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University)
Midwest Regional
Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin–Madison)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
March 30 and April 1
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)
Qualifying teams
2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams
Automatic bids
The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2002 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).
ConferenceSchoolAppearanceLast bidACCDuke26th2001America EastBoston University6th1997Atlantic 10Xavier14th2001Atlantic SunFlorida Atlantic1stNeverBig 12Oklahoma21st2001Big EastConnecticut23rd2000Big SkyMontana5th1997Big SouthWinthrop4th2001Big TenOhio State22nd2001Big WestUC Santa Barbara3rd1990ColonialUNC Wilmington2nd2000C-USACincinnati21st2001Horizon2001 Illinois–Chicago Flames Illinois–Chicago2nd1998Ivy LeaguePenn19th2000MAACSiena3rd1999MACKent State3rd2001MEAC2001 Hampton Pirates Hampton2nd2001Mid-ConValparaiso6th2000Missouri ValleyCreighton13th2001Mountain WestSan Diego State4th1985NortheastCentral Connecticut State2nd2000Ohio ValleyMurray State11th1999Pac-10Arizona21st2001PatriotHoly Cross10th2001SECMississippi State5th1996SouthernDavidson7th1998SouthlandMcNeese State2nd1989Sun BeltWestern Kentucky18th2001SWACAlcorn State6th1999WACHawaii4th2001West CoastGonzaga5th2001
Listed by region and seeding
East Regional – SyracuseSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Maryland ACC 26–4 At-large#2 Connecticut Big East 24–6 Automatic#3 Georgia SEC 21–9 At-large#4 Kentucky SEC 20–9 At-large#5 Marquette C-USA 26–6 At-large#6 Texas Tech Big 12 23–8 At-large#7 NC State ACC 22–10 At-large#8 Wisconsin Big Ten 18–12 At-large#9 St. John's Big East 20–11 At-large#10 Michigan State Big Ten 19–11 At-large#11 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 26–7 At-large#12 Tulsa WAC 26–6 At-large#13 Valparaiso Mid-Continent 25–7 Automatic#14 Murray State OVC 19–12 Automatic#15 2001 Hampton Pirates Hampton MEAC 26–6 Automatic#16 Siena MAAC 16–18 Automatic Alcorn State SWAC 21–9 AutomaticMidwest Regional – MadisonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Kansas Big 12 29–3 At-large#2 Oregon Pac-10 23–8 At-large#3 Mississippi State SEC 26–7 Automatic#4 Illinois Big Ten 24–8 At-large#5 Florida SEC 22–8 At-large#6 Texas Big 12 20–11 At-large#7 Wake Forest ACC 20–12 At-large#8 Stanford Pac-10 19–9 At-large#9 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 28–3 Automatic#10 Pepperdine WCC 22–8 At-large#11 Boston College Big East 20–11 At-large#12 Creighton Missouri Valley 22–8 Automatic#13 San Diego State Mountain West 21–11 Automatic#14 McNeese State Southland 21–8 Automatic#15 Montana Big Sky 16–14 Automatic#16 Holy Cross Patriot 18–14 Automatic South Regional – LexingtonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Duke ACC 29–3 Automatic#2 Alabama SEC 26–7 At-large#3 Pittsburgh Big East 27–5 At-large#4 USC Pac-10 22–9 At-large#5 Indiana Big Ten 20–11 At-large#6 California Pac-10 21–8 At-large#7 Oklahoma State Big 12 23–8 At-large#8 Notre Dame Big East 21–10 At-large#9 Charlotte C-USA 18–11 At-large#10 Kent State MAC 27–5 Automatic#11 Penn Ivy League 25–6 Automatic#12 Utah Mountain West 21–8 At-large#13 UNC Wilmington CAA 22–9 Automatic#14 2001 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils Central Connecticut State NEC 27–4 Automatic#15 Florida Atlantic Atlantic Sun 19–11 Automatic#16 Winthrop Big South 19–11 Automatic West Regional – San JoseSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type#1 Cincinnati C-USA 30–3 Automatic#2 Oklahoma Big 12 27–4 Automatic#3 Arizona Pac-10 22–9 Automatic#4 Ohio State Big Ten 23–7 Automatic#5 Miami (FL) Big East 24–7 At-large#6 Gonzaga WCC 29–3 Automatic#7 Xavier Atlantic 10 25–5 Automatic#8 UCLA Pac-10 19–11 At-Large#9 Ole Miss SEC 20–10 At-large#10 Hawaii WAC 27–5 Automatic#11 Wyoming Mountain West 21–8 At-large#12 Missouri Big 12 21–11 At-large#13 Davidson Southern 21–9 Automatic#14 UC Santa Barbara Big West 20–10 Automatic#15 2001 Illinois–Chicago Flames Illinois–Chicago Horizon 20–13 Automatic#16 Boston University America East 22–9 Automatic
Bids by conference
BidsConferenceSchools 6 Big 12 Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech Big East Boston College, Connecticut, Miami (FL), Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's Pac-10 Arizona, California, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC SEC Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss 5 Big Ten Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin 4 ACC Duke, Maryland, NC State, Wake Forest3 C-USA Charlotte, Cincinnati, Marquette Mountain West San Diego State, Utah, Wyoming 2 Missouri Valley Creighton, Southern Illinois WAC Hawaii, Tulsa West Coast Gonzaga, Pepperdine 1 20 other conferences
Final Four
At Georgia Dome, Atlanta
National semifinals
March 30, 2002
Maryland (E1) 97, Kansas (M1) 88
For the second straight year the Maryland Terrapins earned a bid to the Final Four. This time they would take advantage of their trip. After falling behind 13–2 to the Kansas Jayhawks to begin the game, Maryland stormed to a 44–37 lead at halftime. They expanded their lead to 20, 83–63, with 6:11 left in the game. Roy Williams' Kansas squad did not quit and closed the gap to 4 with under a minute remaining, but the Terps survived to advance to the championship, 97–88. Maryland senior Juan Dixon led the contest in scoring with 33.CNN Sports Illustrated CNNSI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/03/30/maj_kaa/ https://web.archive.org/web/20020606040957/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/03/30/maj_kaa/ dead June 6, 2002 2002 NCAA National semifinals: (E1) Maryland 97, (MW1) Kansas 88 2008-03-06
Indiana (S5) 73, Oklahoma (W2) 64
Mike Davis's Indiana Hoosiers continued their Cinderella ride in the NCAA tournament by defeating another higher ranked team, the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma led most of the first half, and took a 34–30 lead into halftime. However, with the score 60–60 late in the 2nd half Indiana broke ahead for good with an easy bucket from Jeff Newton, who led the Hoosiers with 19 points. The Hoosiers outscored the Sooners by 13 in the 2nd half and advanced to the championship game with a 73–64 victory. Oklahoma was coached by Kelvin Sampson, who later in his career would succeed Davis as IU head coach.CNN Sports Illustrated CNNSI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/03/30/oae_iai/ https://web.archive.org/web/20020401222209/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/03/30/oae_iai/ dead April 1, 2002 2002 NCAA National semifinals: (S5) Indiana 73, (W2) Oklahoma 64 2008-03-06 This was the first men's final four where all four teams had a unique nickname among D-I schools.
Championship game
2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
April 1, 2002
Maryland (E1) 64, Indiana (S5) 52
The Maryland Terrapins completed the task they set out to do one year earlier by defeating the Indiana Hoosiers 64–52. Maryland led virtually the entire game except for a brief point with 9:52 left in the basketball game when Indiana took a 44–42 lead. Maryland answered the Hoosier run and ended the game with a 22–8 run to bring home the school's first and coach Gary Williams's only men's basketball National Championship. Senior Juan Dixon was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP).CNN Sports Illustrated CNNSI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/04/01/maj_iai/ https://web.archive.org/web/20020606043201/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/men/recaps/2002/04/01/maj_iai/ dead June 6, 2002 2002 NCAA national championship: (E1) Maryland 64, (S5) Indiana 52 2008-03-06
Bracket
Opening Round game
Winner advances to 16th seed in East Regional vs. (1) Maryland.
Opening Round gameMarch 12 16a Siena 81 16b Alcorn State 77
East Regional — Syracuse, New York
Washington, D.C. - Fri/Sun
St. Louis - Thu/Sat
Chicago - Fri/Sun
Washington, D.C. - Fri/Sun
Regional semifinals Regional Finals
1
Maryland
85
16
Siena
70
8
Wisconsin
80
9
St. John's
70
5
Marquette
69
12
Tulsa
71
4
Kentucky
83
13
Valparaiso
68
6
Texas Tech
68
11
Southern Illinois
76
3
Georgia
85
14
Murray State
68
7
NC State
69
10
Michigan State
58
2
Connecticut
78
15
Hampton
67
1
Maryland
87
8
Wisconsin
57
12
Tulsa
82
4
Kentucky
87
11
Southern Illinois
77
3
Georgia
75
7
NC State
74
2
Connecticut
77
1
Maryland
78
4
Kentucky
68
11
Southern Illinois
59
2
Connecticut
71
1
Maryland
90
2
Connecticut
82
Regional Final Summary
#e3e3e3
Sunday, March 24
box score
#1 Maryland Terrapins
90
#2 Connecticut Huskies
82
L. Baxter – 29
L. Baxter – 9
S. Blake – 6
C. Butler – 33
C. Butler – 7
C. Butler – 4
44–37
46–45
Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY
29,252
Tom Rucker, Zelton Steed, Dick Cartmell
CBS
Midwest Regional — Madison, Wisconsin
St. Louis - Thu/Sat
Chicago - Fri/Sun
Dallas - Fri/Sun
Sacramento - Thu/Sat
Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
1
Kansas
70
16
Holy Cross
59
8
Stanford
84
9
Western Kentucky
68
5
Florida
82
12
Creighton
832OT
4
Illinois
93
13
San Diego State
64
6
Texas
70
11
Boston College
57
3
Mississippi State
70
14
McNeese State
58
7
Wake Forest
83
10
Pepperdine
74
2
Oregon
81
15
Montana
62
1
Kansas
86
8
Stanford
63
12
Creighton
60
4
Illinois
72
6
Texas
68
3
Mississippi State
64
7
Wake Forest
87
2
Oregon
92
1
Kansas
73
4
Illinois
69
6
Texas
70
2
Oregon
72
1
Kansas
104
2
Oregon
86
Regional Final Summary
#e3e3e3
Sunday, March 24
box score
#1 Kansas Jayhawks
104
#2 Oregon Ducks
86
N. Collison – 25
D. Gooden – 20
A. Miles – 8
F. Jones – 32
R. Johnson – 10
L. Ridnour – 7
48–42
56–44
Kohl Center Madison, WI
16,310
Jim Burr, Leslie Jones, Tom Lopes
CBS
South Regional — Lexington, Kentucky
Greenville - Thu/Sat
Sacramento - Thu/Sat
Pittsburgh - Fri/Sun
Greenville - Thu/Sat
Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
1
Duke
84
16
Winthrop
37
8
Notre Dame
82
9
Charlotte
63
5
Indiana
75
12
Utah
56
4
USC
89
13
UNC Wilmington
93OT
6
California
82
11
Pennsylvania
75
3
Pittsburgh
71
14
Central Connecticut State
54
7
Oklahoma State
61
10
Kent State
69
2
Alabama
86
15
Florida Atlantic
78
1
Duke
84
8
Notre Dame
77
5
Indiana
76
13
UNC Wilmington
67
6
California
50
3
Pittsburgh
63
10
Kent State
71
2
Alabama
58
1
Duke
73
5
Indiana
74
3
Pittsburgh
73
10
Kent State
78OT
5
Indiana
81
10
Kent State
69
Regional Final Summary
#e3e3e3
Saturday, March 23
7:00 p.m. EST
box score
#5 Indiana Hoosiers
81
#10 Kent State Golden Flashes
69
D. Fife – 17
J. Jeffries – 7
T. Coverdale, K. Hornsby – 7
A. Gates – 22
A. Gates, D. Shaw – 8
T. Huffman – 4
40–28
41–41
Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
22,435
Mark Whitehead, Scott Thornley, Tom Nunez
CBS
West Regional — San Jose, California
Pittsburgh - Fri/Sun
Albuquerque - Thu/Sat
Albuquerque - Thu/Sat
Dallas - Fri/Sun
Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
1
Cincinnati
90
16
Boston University
52
8
UCLA
80
9
Ole Miss
58
5
Miami (FL)
80
12
Missouri
93
4
Ohio State
69
13
Davidson
64
6
Gonzaga
66
11
Wyoming
73
3
Arizona
86
14
UC-Santa Barbara
81
7
Xavier
70
10
Hawaii
58
2
Oklahoma
71
15
Illinois-Chicago
63
1
Cincinnati
101
8
UCLA
1052OT
12
Missouri
83
4
Ohio State
67
11
Wyoming
60
3
Arizona
68
7
Xavier
65
2
Oklahoma
78
8
UCLA
73
12
Missouri
82
3
Arizona
67
2
Oklahoma
88
12
Missouri
75
2
Oklahoma
81
Ohio State vacated all 32 games including its NCAA tournament appearance from the 2001–02 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal.http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=2362496 OSU gets probation 2006-03-10 ESPN.com 2017-06-05 Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Ohio State removing the wins from its own record.
Regional Final Summary
#e3e3e3
Saturday, March 23
box score
#2 Oklahoma Sooners
81
#12 Missouri Tigers
75
H. Price – 18
Q. White, D, Selvy – 7
Q. White – 7
R. Paulding – 22
T. Bryant – 9
W. Stokes, R. Paulding – 4
41–32
40–43
Compaq Center San Jose, CA
18,040
John Cahill, Terry Moore, John Hughes
CBS
Final Four — Atlanta, Georgia
National semifinals National Championship Game E1
Maryland
97
M1
Kansas
88
S5
Indiana
73
W2
Oklahoma
64
E1
Maryland
64
S5
Indiana
52
Broadcast information
ESPN broadcast the opening-round game, then turned coverage over to CBS Sports for the remaining 63 games. They were carried on a regional basis until the "Elite Eight", at which point all games were shown nationally.
Westwood One had exclusive radio coverage.
ESPN announcers
Mike Tirico and Len Elmore – Opening Round game at Dayton, Ohio
CBS Sports announcers
Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Bonnie Bernstein – First and Second Rounds at Washington, D.C.; East Regional at Syracuse, New York; Final Four and National Championship at Atlanta, Georgia
Dick Enberg/Matt Guokas/Armen Keteyian – First and Second Rounds at St. Louis, Missouri; South Regional at Lexington, Kentucky
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser – First and Second Rounds at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Midwest Regional at Madison, Wisconsin
Gus Johnson/Dan Bonner/Solomon Wilcots – First and Second Rounds at Albuquerque, New Mexico; West Regional at San Jose, California
Kevin Harlan/Jon Sundvold/Spencer Tillman – First and Second Rounds at Greenville, South Carolina
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Dwayne Ballen – First and Second Rounds at Sacramento, California
Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel/Brett Haber – First and Second Rounds at Dallas, Texas
Tim Brando/Eddie Fogler/Charles Davis – First and Second Rounds at Chicago, Illinois
Westwood One announcers
Marty Brennaman and Larry Conley, 1st and 2nd Rounds at Greenville, South Carolina and South Regionals at Lexington, Kentucky
References
See also
2002 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
2002 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
2002 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
2002 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
2002 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
2002 National Invitation Tournament
2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament
2002 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
2002 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
2002 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
2002 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Ncaa
Category:Sports competitions in Madison, Wisconsin
Category:Basketball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament