2001–02 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season April 2025 2001–02 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1998-2005.png 250px November 16, 2001through March 9, 2002 14 ESPN Regular Season Connecticut (East, 13–3) Pittsburgh (West, 13–3) Champion Caron Butler – Connecticut and Brandin Knight – Pittsburgh Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 2002 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Connecticut Caron Butler – Connecticut Most Valuable Player Basketball 2000–01 2002–03 The 2001–02 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 23rd in conference history, and involved its 14 full-time member schools. Connecticut was the regular-season champion of the East Division with a record of 13–3, and Pittsburgh won the West Division, also with a record of 13–3. Connecticut won the Big East tournament championship. Season summary & highlights For the second season, the Big East used a divisional structure, with an East Division and a West Division, each composed of seven teams. The divisional structure lasted through the 2002–03 season. Connecticut won the East Division regular-season championship with a record of 13–3. It was Connecticut's seventh regular-season championship or co-championship. It also was Connecticut's third division championship or co-championship and second outright division title.Under an earlier Big East divisional structure Connectiut won two outright Big East 6 Division championships, in the 1995–96 and 1997–98 season. Pittsburgh won the West Division regular-season championship with a record of 13–3. It was Pittsburgh's third conference championship or co-championship and first division title. Connecticut won its fifth Big East tournament championship. St. John's later had 14 of its regular-season wins this season vacated due to sanctions imposed on the program for the use of an ineligible player. Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 5th Connecticut Jim Calhoun 16th Georgetown Craig Esherick 4th Miami Perry Clark 2nd Notre Dame Mike Brey 2nd Pittsburgh Ben Howland 3rd Big East Coach of the Year Providence Tim Welsh 4th Rutgers Gary Waters 1st St. John's Mike Jarvis 4th Seton Hall Louis Orr 1st Syracuse Jim Boeheim 26th Villanova Jay Wright 1st Virginia Tech Ricky Stokes 3rd West Virginia Gale Catlett 24th Retired March 2, 2002 Rankings Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse spent time in the Associated Press poll Top 25 during the season. Pittsburgh finished at No. 9, Connecticut at No. 10, and Miami at No. 21. + 2001–02 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/2002.html 2001-02 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary April 17, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 11/19 11/26 12/3 12/10 12/17 12/24 12/31 1/7 1/14 1/21 1/28 2/4 2/11 2/18 2/25 3/4 FinalBoston College 17 17 15 13 11 10 11 11 16 Connecticut 25 17 23 19 10 Georgetown 14 16 18 19 18 16 20 24 Miami 24 21 21 24 22 15 12 13 17 22 20 21 Notre Dame Pittsburgh 23 21 14 11 10 7 9 Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall Syracuse 21 18 12 9 13 18 18 16 12 8 12 14 23 Villanova Virginia Tech West Virginia Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Troy Bell BC 21.6 Preston Shumpert Syr 20.7 Caron Butler Conn 20.3 Marcus Hatten SJU 20.1 Michael Sweetney GU 19.0 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Ryan Humphrey ND 10.9 Rashod Kent RU 10.2 Michael Sweetney GU 10.0 Brooks Sales Vill 9.1 Emeka Okafor Conn 9.0 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Chris Thomas ND 7.6 Brandin Knight Pitt 7.2 John Salmons Mia 6.1 Kevin Braswell GU 5.8 Taliek Brown Conn 5.1 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG John Linehan Prov 4.5 Marcus Hatten SJU 3.3 James Thues SJU 2.8 Kevin Braswell GU 2.7 Darius Lane SHU 2.4 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Emeka Okafor Conn 4.1 Ryan Humphrey ND 2.8 James Jones Mia 2.4 Wesley Wilson GU 2.3 Rashod Kent RU 1.8 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Michael Sweetney GU .567 Ryan Gomes Prov .559 Chris Moss WVU .542 Ricky Wright Vill .528 Ryan Humphrey ND .489 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Brian Chase VT .423 Gary Buchanan Vill .423 Darius Lane SHU .389 Brandon Knight Pitt .356 Jerome Coleman RU .346 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Gary Buchanan Vill .911 Chris Thomas ND .889 Troy Bell BC .883 Jonathan Hargett WVU .881 John Salmons Mia .842 end Postseason Big East tournament 2002 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding Two teams — the seventh-place finishers in each division based on conference record, after the application of tiebreakers as necessary — did not qualify for the Big East Tournament. The remaining six teams in each division were seeded No. 1 through No. 6 by division based on conference record, again applying tiebreakers as necessary. Four teams — the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each division — received a bye into the quarterfinal round. Eight teams — the No. 3 through No. 6 seeds in each division — played in the first round. In the first round the No. 3 East seed played the No. 6 West seed, the No. 4 East seed played the No. 5 West seed, the No. 5 East seed played the No. 4 West seed, and the No. 6 East seed played the No. 3 West seed. Seeding in the East Division was (1) Connecticut, (2) Miami, (3) St. John's, (4) Boston College, (5) Villanova, and (6) Providence. Seeding in the West Division was (1) Pittsburgh, (2) Notre Dame, (3) Georgetown, (4) Syracuse, (5) Rutgers, and (6) Seton Hall. The two seventh-place finishers that did not qualify for the tournament were Virginia Tech in the East Division and West Virginia in the West Division. Bracket Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship game W5 Rutgers 55 E4 Boston College 60 E6 Providence 67 W3 Georgetown 68 E5 Villanova 78 W4 Syracuse 64 W6 Seton Hall 58 E3 St. John's 64 W1 #7 Pittsburgh 76 E4 Boston College 62 E2 #20 Miami 84OT W3 Georgetown 76 E1 #19 Connecticut 72 E5 Villanova 70 W2 Notre Dame 82 E3 St John's 63 W1 #7 Pittsburgh 76 E2 #20 Miami 71 E1 #19 Connecticut 82 W2 Notre Dame 77 W1 #7 Pittsburgh 65 E1 #19 Connecticut 742OT NCAA tournament 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Boston College, Miami, and St. John's lost in the first round and Notre Dame in the second round. Pittsburgh lost in the South Region semifinals an Connecticut in the East Region final. School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Connecticut East 2 15 Hampton, W 78–67 7 NC State, W 77–74 11 Southern Illinois, W 71–59 1 Maryland, L 90–82 Pittsburgh South 3 14 Central Connecticut State, W 71–54 6 California, W 63–50 10 Kent State, L 78–73(OT) Notre Dame South 8 9 Charlotte, W 82–63 1 Duke, L 84–77 Miami West 5 12 Missouri, L 93–80 St. John's East 9 8 Wisconsin, L 80–70 Boston College Midwest 11 6 Texas, L 70–57 National Invitation Tournament 2002 National Invitation Tournament Four Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. Three teams accepted their bids and played in three of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Rutgers lost in the first round and Villanova in the quarterfinals. Syracuse was defeated in the semifinals. Georgetown declined its NIT bid. Head coach Craig Esherick explained his controversial decision by saying that Georgetowns home court, the MCI Center, was booked to host the East Regional of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, meaning that accepting the NIT invitation would have required the Hoyas to play on the road in the western United States for two weeks, forcing his players to miss many of their classes. After playing a similar schedule during the previous season in the 2001 NCAA tournament, Esherick had concluded that missing so many classes to play in the NCAA Tournament would have been worth it because of the chance to win a national championship, but that missing them to play in the NIT, a tournament which did not offer a chance for a national championship, was not in the best interest of Georgetowns players.Horn, David, "Georgetown's Esherick the Class Act of March," The Michigan Daily, March 13, 2002. Georgetown became only the second team in history to turn down an NIT bid, and the first to do so since Louisville turned down an invitation to the 1987 NIT.http://dailyutahchronicle.com/2002/03/12/georgetown-declines-nit-bid/ Associated Press, "Georgetown Declines NIT Bid," The Daily Utah Chronicle, March 12, 2002. 2017-02-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20170203163313/http://dailyutahchronicle.com/2002/03/12/georgetown-declines-nit-bid/ 2017-02-03 dead School Opening round Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Syracuse Bye St. Bonaventure, W 76–66 Butler, W 66–65 Richmond, W 62–46 South Carolina, L 66–59 Villanova Bye Manhattan, W 84–69 Louisiana Tech, W 67–64 Temple, L 63–57 Rutgers Bye Yale, L 67–65 Georgetown Declined bid Awards and honors Big East Conference Co-Players of the Year: Caron Butler, Connecticut, F, So. Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh, G, Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: John Linehan, Providence, G, Sr. Rookie of the Year: Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Fr. Most Improved Player: Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh, G, Jr. Coach of the Year: Ben Howland, Pittsburgh (3rd season) All-Big East First Team Caron Butler, Connecticut, F, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 217 lb 0, Racine, Wis. Preston Shumpert, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Muncie, Ind. Marcus Hatten, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 165 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., 6 ft 0 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, East Orange, N.J. Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 235 lb 0, Tulsa, Okla. Michael Sweetney, Georgetown, F, So., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 275 lb 0, Oxon Hill, Md. Troy Bell, Boston College, G, Jr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Minneapolis, Minn. All-Big East Second Team: Darius Rice, Miami, F, So., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 222 lb 0, Jackson, Miss. John Salmons, Miami, G, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 210 lb 0, Plymouth Meeting, Pa. John Linehan, Providence, G, Sr., 5 ft 9 in cm 0, 165 lb 0, Chester, Pa. Rashod Kent, Rutgers, F, Sr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 265 lb 0, Fairmont, W.Va. Ricky Wright, Villanova, F, Jr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, East Chicago, Ind. All-Big East Third Team: James Jones, Miami, F, Jr.., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 225 lb 0, Miami, Fla. Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Fr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Indianapolis, Ind. Kevin Braswell, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, C, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 252 lb 0, Houston, Tex. Deshaun Williams, Syracuse, G, Jr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 205 lb 0, Paterson, N.J. Chris Moss, West Virginia, F, Sr., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 225 lb 0, Chesterfield, Va. Big East All-Rookie Team: Ben Gordon, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Mount Vernon, N.Y. Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, C, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 252 lb 0, Houston, Tex. Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Fr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Indianapolis, Ind. Ryan Gomes, Providence, F, Fr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 250 lb 0, Waterbury, Conn. John Allen, Seton Hall, F, Fr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 207 lb 0, Coatesville, Pa. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 2002 Associated Press All-America teams. 2002 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans Third Team All-America: Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 15.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 7.2 apg, 2.3 spg, 42.7 FG%, 35.6 3P%, 546 points AP Honorable Mention Troy Bell, Boston College Caron Butler, Connecticut John Linehan, Providence Preston Shumpert, Syracuse Notes note See also 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2001–02 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 2001–02 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2001–02 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2001–02 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team 2001–02 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 2001–02 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2001–02 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 2001–02 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team References