| Year: | 2002 |
| Teams: | 65 |
| Finalfourarena: | Georgia Dome |
| Finalfourcity: | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Champions: | Maryland Terrapins |
| Titlecount: | 1st |
| Champgamecount: | 1st |
| Champffcount: | 2nd |
| Runnerup: | Indiana Hoosiers |
| Gamecount: | 6th |
| Runnerffcount: | 8th |
| Semifinal1: | Kansas Jayhawks |
| Finalfourcount: | 11th |
| Semifinal2: | Oklahoma Sooners |
| Finalfourcount2: | 4th |
| Coach: | Gary Williams |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mop: | Juan Dixon |
| Mopteam: | Maryland |
| Attendance: | 720,433 |
| Topscorer: | Juan Dixon |
| Topscorerteam: | Maryland |
| Topscorer2: | Jared Jeffries |
| Topscorer2team: | Indiana |
| Points: | 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. It 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:
Oregon (M2), USC (S4)
Arizona (W3), Ohio State (W4)
Oklahoma (W2), Mississippi State (M3)
Kansas (M1), Kentucky (E4)
Cincinnati (W1), Pittsburgh (S3)
Maryland (E1), Connecticut (E2)
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.
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 beat 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.)
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2002 tournament:
Opening Round
First and Second Rounds
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
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).
| Conference | School | data-sort-type="number" | Appearance | Last bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | Duke | 26th | 2001 | |
| America East | Boston University | 6th | 1997 | |
| Atlantic 10 | Xavier | 14th | 2001 | |
| Atlantic Sun | Florida Atlantic | 1st | Never | |
| Big 12 | Oklahoma | 21st | 2001 | |
| Big East | Connecticut | 23rd | 2000 | |
| Big Sky | Montana | 5th | 1997 | |
| Big South | Winthrop | 4th | 2001 | |
| Big Ten | Ohio State | 22nd | 2001 | |
| Big West | UC Santa Barbara | 3rd | 1990 | |
| Colonial | UNC Wilmington | 2nd | 2000 | |
| C-USA | Cincinnati | 21st | 2001 | |
| Horizon | 2nd | 1998 | ||
| Ivy League | Penn | 19th | 2000 | |
| MAAC | Siena | 3rd | 1999 | |
| MAC | Kent State | 3rd | 2001 | |
| MEAC | 2nd | 2001 | ||
| Mid-Con | Valparaiso | 6th | 2000 | |
| Missouri Valley | Creighton | 13th | 2001 | |
| Mountain West | San Diego State | 4th | 1985 | |
| Northeast | Central Connecticut State | 2nd | 2000 | |
| Ohio Valley | Murray State | 11th | 1999 | |
| Pac-10 | Arizona | 21st | 2001 | |
| Patriot | Holy Cross | 10th | 2001 | |
| SEC | Mississippi State | 5th | 1996 | |
| Southern | Davidson | 7th | 1998 | |
| Southland | McNeese State | 2nd | 1989 | |
| Sun Belt | Western Kentucky | 18th | 2001 | |
| SWAC | Alcorn State | 6th | 1999 | |
| WAC | Hawaii | 4th | 2001 | |
| West Coast | Gonzaga | 5th | 2001 |
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| Bids | Conference | Schools | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Forest | |
| 3 | 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 | ||
At Georgia Dome, Atlanta
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.[1]
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.[2]
See main article: 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.
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).[3]
Winner advances to 16th seed in East Regional vs. (1) Maryland.
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.