2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
2003 Final Four logo
Season	2002–03
Teams	65
Finals site	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	Syracuse (1st title, 3rd title game, 4th Final Four)
Runner-up	Kansas (7th title game, 12th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Marquette (3rd Final Four) Texas (3rd Final Four)
Winning coach	Jim Boeheim (1st title)
MOP	Carmelo Anthony Syracuse
Attendance	715,010
Top scorer	Carmelo Anthony Syracuse (21 points)
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «2002 2004»

The 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Superdome. A total of 64 games were played.

The Final Four consisted of Kansas, making their second straight appearance, Marquette, making their first appearance since they won the national championship in 1977, Syracuse, making their first appearance since 1996, and Texas, making their 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 their first national championship in three tries under Jim Boeheim, defeating Kansas 81-78 in what would be Roy Williams' final game as head coach of the team; he would depart to become the head coach at North Carolina, a position he still holds as of the 2015–2016 season.

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. Those victories helped earn Boeheim the national title that had eluded him in 1987 and 1996.

Locations

The 2003 play-in game was played on Tuesday, March 18, at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, as it had been since its inception in 2001.

Spokane

Salt Lake City

Oklahoma City

Indianapolis

Tampa

Boston

Nashville

Birmingham

2003 first and second rounds (note: the play-in game was held in Dayton, Ohio)

Anaheim

Minneapolis

San Antonio

Albany

New Orleans

2003 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The first and second-round games were played at the following sites:

March 20 and 22

Ford Center, Oklahoma City (Host: Big 12 Conference)

Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City (Host: University of Utah)

RCA Dome, Indianapolis (Hosts: Butler University and Horizon League)

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: Washington State University)

March 21 and 23

Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)

FleetCenter, Boston (Host: Boston College)

Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)

St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

The regional final sites were:

March 27 and 29

Midwest Regional, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis (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 (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four at the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, hosted by the Sun Belt Conference and the University of New Orleans. The semi-final games were held on April 5 and the final on April 7, 2003.

Qualifying teams

East Regional – Albany
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Berth Type
#1	Oklahoma	Kelvin Sampson	Big 12	24-6	Tournament Champion
#2	Wake Forest	Skip Prosser	ACC	24-5	At-Large Bid
#3	Syracuse	Jim Boeheim	Big East	24-5	At-Large Bid
#4	Louisville	Rick Pitino	Conference USA	24-6	Tournament Champion
#5	Mississippi State	Rick Stansbury	SEC	21-9	At-Large Bid
#6	Oklahoma State	Eddie Sutton	Big 12	21-9	At-Large Bid
#7	Saint Joseph's	Phil Martelli	Atlantic 10	23-6	At-Large Bid
#8	California	Ben Braun	Pac-10	21-8	At-Large Bid
#9	North Carolina State	Herb Sendek	ACC	18-12	At-Large Bid
#10	Auburn	Cliff Ellis	SEC	20-11	At-Large Bid
#11	Pennsylvania	Fran Dunphy	Ivy League	22-5	Regular Season Champion
#12	Butler	Todd Lickliter	Horizon	25-5	At-Large Bid
#13	Austin Peay	Dave Loos	OVC	23-7	Tournament Champion
#14	Manhattan	Bobby Gonzalez	MAAC	23-6	Tournament Champion
#15	East Tennessee State	Ed DeChellis	Southern	20-10	Tournament Champion
#16	South Carolina State	Cy Alexander	MEAC	20-10	Tournament Champion

South Regional – San Antonio
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Berth Type
#1	Texas	Rick Barnes	Big 12	22-6	At-Large Bid
#2	Florida	Billy Donovan	SEC	24-7	At-Large Bid
#3	Xavier	Thad Matta	Atlantic 10	25-5	At-Large Bid
#4	Stanford	Mike Montgomery	Pac-10	23-8	At-Large Bid
#5	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	Big East	21-9	At-Large Bid
#6	Maryland	Gary Williams	ACC	19-9	At-Large Bid
#7	Michigan State	Tom Izzo	Big Ten	19-12	At-Large Bid
#8	LSU	John Brady	SEC	21-10	At-Large Bid
#9	Purdue	Gene Keady	Big Ten	18-10	At-Large Bid
#10	Colorado	Ricardo Patton	Big 12	20-11	At-Large Bid
#11	UNC Wilmington	Brad Brownell	CAA	24-6	Tournament Champion
#12	BYU	Steve Cleveland	Mountain West	23-8	At-Large Bid
#13	San Diego	Brad Holland	WCC	18-11	Tournament Champion
#14	Troy State	Don Maestri	Atlantic Sun	26-5	Tournament Champion
#15	Sam Houston St.	Bob Marlin	Southland	24-9	Tournament Champion
#16	UNC Asheville	Eddie Biedenbach	Big South	14-16	Tournament Champion
	Texas Southern	Ronnie Courtney	SWAC	18-12	Tournament Champion

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Berth Type
#1	Kentucky	Tubby Smith	SEC	29-3	Tournament Champion
#2	Pittsburgh	Ben Howland	Big East	26-4	Tournament Champion
#3	Marquette	Tom Crean	Conference USA	23-5	At-Large Bid
#4	Dayton	Oliver Purnell	Atlantic 10	24-5	Tournament Champion
#5	Wisconsin	Bo Ryan	Big Ten	22-7	At-Large Bid
#6	Missouri	Quin Snyder	Big 12	21-10	At-Large Bid
#7	Indiana	Mike Davis	Big Ten	20-12	At-Large Bid
#8	Oregon	Ernie Kent	Pac-10	23-9	Tournament Champion
#9	Utah	Rick Majerus	Mountain West	24-7	At-Large Bid
#10	Alabama	Mark Gottfried	SEC	17-11	At-Large Bid
#11	Southern Illinois	Bruce Weber	Missouri Valley	24-6	At-Large Bid
#12	Weber State	Joe Cravens	Big Sky	26-5	Tournament Champion
#13	Tulsa	John Phillips	WAC	22-9	Tournament Champion
#14	Holy Cross	Ralph Willard	Patriot	26-4	Tournament Champion
#15	Wagner	Dereck Whittenburg	Northeast	21-10	Tournament Champion
#16	IUPUI	Ron Hunter	Mid-Continent	20-13	Tournament Champion

West Regional – Anaheim
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Berth Type
#1	Arizona	Lute Olson	Pac-10	25-3	At-Large Bid
#2	Kansas	Roy Williams	Big 12	25-7	At-Large Bid
#3	Duke	Mike Krzyzewski	ACC	24-6	Tournament Champion
#4	Illinois	Bill Self	Big Ten	24-6	Tournament Champion
#5	Notre Dame	Mike Brey	Big East	22-9	At-Large Bid
#6	Creighton	Dana Altman	Missouri Valley	29-4	Tournament Champion
#7	Memphis	John Calipari	Conference USA	23-6	At-Large Bid
#8	Cincinnati	Bob Huggins	Conference USA	17-11	At-Large Bid
#9	Gonzaga	Mark Few	WCC	23-8	At-Large Bid
#10	Arizona State	Rob Evans	Pac-10	19-11	At-Large Bid
#11	Central Michigan	Jay Smith	MAC	24-6	Tournament Champion
#12	UW-Milwaukee	Bruce Pearl	Horizon	24-7	Tournament Champion
#13	WKU	Dennis Felton	Sun Belt	24-8	Tournament Champion
#14	Colorado State	Dale Layer	Mountain West	19-13	Tournament Champion
#15	Utah State	Stew Morrill	Big West	24-8	Tournament Champion
#16	Vermont	Tom Brennan	America East	21-11	Tournament Champion

Bids by conference

Bids by Conference
Bids	Conference(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

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, Complete Game on YouTube

  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.^[1]

  • Kansas (W2) 94, Marquette (M3) 61, Complete Game on YouTube

  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. Like Boeheim, Kansas coach Roy Williams was just one win away from winning his first ever National Championship.^[2]

Championship Game

• April 7, 2003
  • Syracuse (E3) 81, Kansas (W2) 78, Complete Game on YouTube

  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.^[3] In Jim Boeheim's 27 years as head coach at Syracuse his team had been to two Final Fours, and finished runner-up each time (1987, 1996).^[3] Roy Williams, during his fifteen seasons as Kansas head coach, had reached the Final Four four times, and finished runner up once (1991).^[3] 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. Warrick, however, then blocked Michael Lee's three point attempt with 0.7 seconds remaining on the game clock. After Kirk Hinrich's three-pointer at the buzzer went over the net, Syracuse's victory gave them, and Jim Boeheim, their first ever national championship. Carmelo Anthony was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) with 21 points in the win. Syracuse also avenged a second-round loss to Kansas two years earlier.^[4]

Bracket

East Regional — Albany, New York

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Oklahoma	71
	16	South Carolina St	54
						1	Oklahoma	74
	Oklahoma City
						8	California	65
	8	California	76*
	9	North Carolina State	74
											1	Oklahoma	65
											12	Butler	54
	5	Mississippi St	46
	12	Butler	47
						12	Butler	79
	Birmingham
						4	Louisville	71
	4	Louisville	86
	13	Austin Peay	64
																1	Oklahoma	47
																3	Syracuse	63
	6	Oklahoma St	77
	11	Pennsylvania	63
						6	Oklahoma St	56
	Boston
						3	Syracuse	68
	3	Syracuse	76
	14	Manhattan	65
											3	Syracuse	79
											10	Auburn	78
	7	Saint Joseph's	63
	10	Auburn	65*
						10	Auburn	68
	Tampa
						2	Wake Forest	62
	2	Wake Forest	76
	15	East Tennessee State	73

South Regional — San Antonio, Texas

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Texas	82
	16	UNC-Asheville	61
						1	Texas	77
	Birmingham
						9	Purdue	67
	8	LSU	56
	9	Purdue	80
											1	Texas	82
											5	Connecticut	78
	5	Connecticut	58
	12	BYU	53
						5	Connecticut	85
	Spokane
						4	Stanford	74
	4	Stanford	77
	13	San Diego	69
																1	Texas	85
																7	Michigan St	76
	6	Maryland	75
	11	UNC-Wilmington	73
						6	Maryland	77
	Nashville
						3	Xavier	64
	3	Xavier	71
	14	Troy St	59
											6	Maryland	58
											7	Michigan St	60
	7	Michigan St	79
	10	Colorado	64
						7	Michigan St	68
	Tampa
						2	Florida	46
	2	Florida	85
	15	Sam Houston St	55

Midwest Regional — Minneapolis, Minnesota

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kentucky	95
	16	IUPUI	64
						1	Kentucky	74
	Nashville
						9	Utah	54
	8	Oregon	58
	9	Utah	60
											1	Kentucky	63
											5	Wisconsin	57
	5	Wisconsin	81
	12	Weber State	74
						5	Wisconsin	61
	Spokane
						13	Tulsa	60
	4	Dayton	71
	13	Tulsa	84
																1	Kentucky	69
																3	Marquette	83
	6	Missouri	72
	11	Southern Illinois	71
						6	Missouri	92
	Indianapolis
						3	Marquette	101*
	3	Marquette	72
	14	Holy Cross	68
											3	Marquette	77
											2	Pittsburgh	74
	7	Indiana	67
	10	Alabama	62
						7	Indiana	52
	Boston
						2	Pittsburgh	74
	2	Pittsburgh	87
	15	Wagner	61

West Regional — Anaheim, California

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Arizona	80
	16	Vermont	51
						1	Arizona	96**
	Salt Lake City
						9	Gonzaga	95
	8	Cincinnati	69
	9	Gonzaga	74
											1	Arizona	88
											5	Notre Dame	71
	5	Notre Dame	70
	12	UW–Milwaukee	69
						5	Notre Dame	68
	Indianapolis
						4	Illinois	60
	4	Illinois	65
	13	Western Kentucky	60
																1	Arizona	75
																2	Kansas	78
	6	Creighton	73
	11	Central Michigan	79
						11	Central Michigan	60
	Salt Lake City
						3	Duke	86
	3	Duke	67
	14	Colorado State	57
											3	Duke	65
											2	Kansas	69
	7	Memphis	71
	10	Arizona State	84
						10	Arizona St	76
	Oklahoma City
						2	Kansas	108
	2	Kansas	64
	15	Utah St	61

Final Four — New Orleans, Louisiana

	National Semifinals					National Championship Game
	E3	Syracuse	95
	S1	Texas	84
						E3	Syracuse	81
						W2	Kansas	78
	M3	Marquette	61
	W2	Kansas	94

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 on 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 and Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser – First & Second Round at Boston, Massachusetts; Midwest Regional at Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Gus Johnson and Len Elmore/Solomon Wilcots – First & Second Round at Indianapolis, Indiana; East Regional at Albany, New York
• Kevin Harlan and Jay Bilas – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel – First & Second Round at Tampa, Florida
• Craig Bolerjack and Dan Bonner – First & Second Round at Birmingham, Alabama
• Tim Brando and Bob Wenzel – First & Second Round at Spokane, Washington

See also

• 2003 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

References

1. CNN Sports Illustrated. "2003 NCAA National Semifinals: (E3) Syracuse 95, (S1) Texas 84". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
2. CNN Sports Illustrated. "2003 NCAA National Semifinals: (W2) Kansas 94, (MW3) Marquette 61". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
3. Wojciechowski, Gene (April 6, 2003). "Boeheim, Williams say title won't define careers". ESPN.com. ESPN the Magazine. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
4. CNN Sports Illustrated. "2003 NCAA National Championship: (E3) Syracuse 81, (W2) Kansas 78". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2008-03-06.