2002 Conference USA men's basketball tournament

The 2002 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was held March 6–9 at the Firstar Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[2]

2002 Conference USA men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	2001–02
Teams	12
Site	Firstar Center Cincinnati, OH
Champions	Cincinnati (3rd title)
Winning coach	Bob Huggins (3rd title)
MVP	Steve Logan (Cincinnati)
Conference USA men's basketball tournaments ← 2001 2003 →

2001–02 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
American
No. 5 Cincinnati †	14	–	2		.875			31	–	4		.886
No. 12 Marquette	13	–	3		.813			26	–	7		.788
Charlotte	11	–	5		.688			18	–	12		.600
Saint Louis	9	–	7		.563			15	–	16		.484
Louisville	8	–	8		.500			19	–	13		.594
East Carolina	5	–	11		.313			12	–	18		.400
DePaul	2	–	14		.125			9	–	19		.321
National
Memphis	12	–	4		.750			27	–	9		.750
Houston	9	–	7		.563			18	–	15		.545
South Florida	8	–	8		.500			19	–	13		.594
TCU	6	–	10		.375			16	–	15		.516
UAB	6	–	10		.375			13	–	17		.433
Tulane	5	–	11		.313			14	–	15		.483
Southern Miss	4	–	12		.250			10	–	17		.370
† 2002 Conference USA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Top-seeded Cincinnati defeated Marquette in the championship game, 77–63, to clinch their third Conference USA men's tournament championship.

The Bearcats, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA tournament. They were joined in the tournament by fellow C-USA members Marquette and Charlotte, both of whom earned at-large bids.

Format

Conference USA added two new teams, East Carolina and TCU, bringing total membership to fourteen. ECU was placed in the American Division, and TCU into the National Division.

Even with the league expansion, there were no new changes to the tournament format. The top four teams were given byes into the quarterfinal round while the next eight teams were placed into the first round. The two teams at the bottom of the conference standings, therefore, did not qualify for the tournament. All remaining tournament seeds were determined by regular season conference records.

Bracket

	First round Wednesday, March 6					Quarterfinals Thursday, March 7					Semifinals Friday, March 8					Championship Saturday, March 9
						1	#5 Cincinnati	79
						8	South Florida	57
	9	UAB	62
	8	South Florida	65
											1	#5 Cincinnati	71
											4	Charlotte	55
	5	Saint Louis	47
	12	Tulane	50
						12	Tulane	69
						4	Charlotte	78
																1	#5 Cincinnati	77
																2	#13 Marquette	63
						3	Memphis	74
						6	Houston	80
	11	East Carolina	49
	6	Houston	58
											6	Houston	73
											2	#13 Marquette	85
	7	Louisville	110
	10	TCU	86
						7	Louisville	76
						2	#13 Marquette	84