| Year: | 2002 |
| Preseason Ap: | Arizona Wildcats |
| Regular Season: | November 10, 2002– March 16, 2003 |
| Tourney Start: | March 17 |
| Nc Date: | April 7, 2003 |
| Champ Stad: | Louisiana Superdome |
| Champ City: | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Champ: | Syracuse Orange |
| Nit Champ: | St. John's Red Storm |
| Playeroftheyear: | T. J. Ford, Texas |
The 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2002, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 7, 2003, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Syracuse Orange and coach Jim Boeheim won their first NCAA national championship with an 81–78 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Beginning in 2002–03, the following rules changes were implemented:[2]
The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls November 13, 2002.[3]
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These schools joined new conferences for the 2002–03 season.
| School | Former conference | New conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division II | Atlantic Sun Conference | ||
| NAIA | NCAA Division I independent | ||
| NCAA Division II | NCAA Division I independent | ||
| NCAA Division III | NCAA Division I independent |
Six schools played as Division I independents.[56] Lipscomb (8–20), an independent in transition from the NAIA to Division I during the season, was not considered a full Division I school during the 2002–03 season.[56]
Source for additional stats categories
| Player | School | PPG | Player | School | RPG | Player | School | APG | Player | School | SPG | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.0 | 12.6 | 8.1 | 4.0 | ||||||||||||
| 27.9 | 12.4 | 8.0 | 3.2 | ||||||||||||
| 26.9 | 12.1 | 7.7 | 3.2 | ||||||||||||
| 25.5 | 12.0 | 7.7 | 3.1 | ||||||||||||
| 25.2 | 11.8 | 7.4 | 2.9 | ||||||||||||
| Player | School | BPG | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | 3FG% | Player | School | FT% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.7 | 67.0 | 49.3 | 95.1 | ||||||||||||
| 4.3 | 66.2 | 48.0 | 94.8 | ||||||||||||
| 4.2 | 64.3 | 45.7 | 92.9 | ||||||||||||
| 3.8 | 63.9 | 45.6 | 92.0 | ||||||||||||
| 3.7 | 62.3 | 45.5 | 91.9 | ||||||||||||
See main article: 2003 National Invitation Tournament.
See main article: 2003 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
| Player | Position | Class | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David West | F | Senior | Xavier | |
| T. J. Ford | G | Sophomore | Texas | |
| Josh Howard | F/G | Senior | Wake Forest | |
| Nick Collison | F | Senior | Kansas | |
| Dwyane Wade | G | Junior | Marquette |
| Player | Position | Class | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollis Price | G | Senior | Oklahoma | |
| Carmelo Anthony | F/G | Freshman | Syracuse | |
| Kyle Korver | F | Senior | Creighton | |
| Troy Bell | G | Senior | Boston College | |
| Jason Gardner | G | Senior | Arizona |
A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.[57]