2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2003 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. The 65th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Louisiana Superdome. A total of 64 games were played.

2003 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2002–03
Teams	65
Finals site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	Syracuse Orangemen (1st title, 3rd title game, 4th Final Four)
Runner-up	Kansas Jayhawks (7th title game, 12th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Marquette Golden Eagles (3rd Final Four) Texas Longhorns (3rd Final Four)
Winning coach	Jim Boeheim (1st title)
MOP	Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse)
Attendance	54,524
Top scorer	Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) (121 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2002 2004»

The Final Four consisted of Kansas, making its second straight appearance; Marquette, making its first appearance since they won the national championship in 1977; Syracuse, making its first appearance since 1996; and Texas, making its 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 its first national championship in three tries under 27th-year head coach Jim Boeheim, who would ultimately retire after the 2022–2023 season. This was also Roy Williams’s final game as Kansas head coach; he would depart after the season to become head coach at North Carolina.

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.

Schedule and venues

Dayton

Spokane

Salt Lake City

Oklahoma City

Indianapolis

Tampa

Boston

Nashville

Birmingham

2003 play-in game (orange) and first and second rounds (green)

Anaheim

Minneapolis

San Antonio

Albany

New Orleans

2003 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2003 tournament:

Opening Round

• March 18
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second Rounds

• March 20 and 22
  • Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
  • RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University and Horizon League)
  • Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: Washington State University)
• March 21 and 23
  • BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)
  • FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College)
  • Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)
  • St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 27 and 29
  • Midwest Regional
    • Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (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, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 5 and 7
  • Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Sun Belt Conference and University of New Orleans)

Qualifying teams

Further information: 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams

Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2003 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	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	Duke	27th	2002
America East	Vermont	1st	Never
Atlantic 10	Dayton	12th	2000
Atlantic Sun	Troy State	1st	Never
Big 12	Oklahoma	22nd	2002
Big East	Pittsburgh	15th	2002
Big Sky	Weber State	13th	1999
Big South	UNC Asheville	1st	Never
Big Ten	Illinois	23rd	2002
Big West	Utah State	15th	2001
Colonial	UNC Wilmington	3rd	2002
C-USA	Louisville	30th	2000
Horizon	UW–Milwaukee	1st	Never
Ivy League	Penn	20th	2002
MAAC	Manhattan	5th	1995
MAC	Central Michigan	4th	1987
MEAC	South Carolina State	5th	2000
Mid-Con	IUPUI	1st	Never
Missouri Valley	Creighton	14th	2002
Mountain West	Colorado State	8th	1990
Northeast	Wagner	1st	Never
Ohio Valley	Austin Peay	5th	1996
Pac-10	Oregon	8th	2002
Patriot	Holy Cross	11th	2002
SEC	Kentucky	45th	2002
Southern	East Tennessee State	6th	1992
Southland	Sam Houston State	1st	Never
Sun Belt	Western Kentucky	19th	2002
SWAC	Texas Southern	4th	1995
WAC	Tulsa	14th	2002
West Coast	San Diego	3rd	1987

Listed by region and seeding

East Regional – Albany Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Oklahoma Big 12 24–6 Automatic #2 Wake Forest ACC 24–5 At-large #3 Syracuse Big East 24–5 At-large #4 Louisville C-USA 24–6 Automatic #5 Mississippi State SEC 20–10 At-large #6 Oklahoma State Big 12 21–9 At-large #7 Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 23–6 At-large #8 California Pac-10 21–8 At-large #9 North Carolina State ACC 18–12 At-large #10 Auburn SEC 20–11 At-large #11 Pennsylvania Ivy League 22–5 Automatic #12 Butler Horizon 25–5 At-large #13 Austin Peay OVC 23–7 Automatic #14 Manhattan MAAC 23–6 Automatic #15 East Tennessee State Southern 20–10 Automatic #16 South Carolina State MEAC 20–10 Automatic

South Regional – San Antonio Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Texas Big 12 22–6 At-large #2 Florida SEC 24–7 At-large #3 Xavier Atlantic 10 25–5 At-large #4 Stanford Pac-10 23–8 At-large #5 Connecticut Big East 21–9 At-large #6 Maryland ACC 19–9 At-large #7 Michigan State Big Ten 19–12 At-large #8 LSU SEC 21–10 At-large #9 Purdue Big Ten 18–10 At-large #10 Colorado Big 12 20–11 At-large #11 UNC Wilmington CAA 24–6 Automatic #12 BYU Mountain West 23–8 At-large #13 San Diego WCC 18–11 Automatic #14 Troy State Atlantic Sun 26–5 Automatic #15 Sam Houston State Southland 23–6 Automatic #16 UNC Asheville Big South 14–16 Automatic Texas Southern SWAC 18–12 Automatic

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Kentucky SEC 29–3 Automatic #2 Pittsburgh Big East 26–4 Automatic #3 Marquette C-USA 23–5 At-large #4 Dayton Atlantic 10 24–5 Automatic #5 Wisconsin Big Ten 22–7 At-large #6 Missouri Big 12 21–10 At-large #7 Indiana Big Ten 20–12 At-large #8 Oregon Pac-10 23–9 Automatic #9 Utah Mountain West 24–7 At-large #10 Alabama SEC 17–11 At-large #11 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 24–6 At-large #12 Weber State Big Sky 26–5 Automatic #13 Tulsa WAC 22–9 Automatic #14 Holy Cross Patriot 26–4 Automatic #15 Wagner Northeast 21–10 Automatic #16 IUPUI Mid-Continent 20–13 Automatic

West Regional – Anaheim Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Arizona Pac-10 25–3 At-large #2 Kansas Big 12 25–7 At-large #3 Duke ACC 24–6 Automatic #4 Illinois Big Ten 24–6 Automatic #5 Notre Dame Big East 22–9 At-large #6 Creighton Missouri Valley 29–4 Automatic #7 Memphis C-USA 23–6 At-large #8 Cincinnati C-USA 17–11 At-large #9 Gonzaga WCC 23–8 At-large #10 Arizona State Pac-10 19–11 At-large #11 Central Michigan Mid-American 24–6 Automatic #12 UW–Milwaukee Horizon 24–7 Automatic #13 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 24–8 Automatic #14 Colorado State Mountain West 19–13 Automatic #15 Utah State Big West 24–8 Automatic #16 Vermont America East 21–11 Automatic

BYU bracketing switch

When the bracket was first revealed, it contained a mistake that would have forced BYU, a Mormon-run school, to play its potential Elite 8 game on a Sunday, which is against school policy. As a solution, the selection committee had a plan to switch BYU, the 12 seed in the Friday-Sunday South regional, with the team that reached the Sweet 16 in the Thursday-Saturday Midwest regional (either Wisconsin, Weber State, Dayton, or Tulsa) should the Cougars advance to the Sweet 16.^[1] BYU lost its first-round game to Connecticut, which meant no switches were necessary.

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

  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.^[2]

  • Kansas (W2) 94, Marquette (M3) 61

  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. Dwyane Wade led Marquette in scoring with 19 points in the loss. Like Boeheim, Kansas coach Roy Williams was just one win away from winning his first ever National Championship.^[3]

Championship game

Main article: 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

2003 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Trophy

• April 7, 2003
  • Syracuse (E3) 81, Kansas (W2) 78

  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.^[4] In Jim Boeheim's 27 years as head coach at Syracuse his team had been to two previous Final Fours, and finished runner-up each time (1987, 1996).^[4] Roy Williams, during his fifteen seasons as Kansas head coach, had reached the Final Four three previous times, and finished runner up once (1991).^[4] 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; free throws were a major problem throughout the game for Kansas, who went 12-for-30 in attempts. Warrick then blocked Michael Lee's three point attempt with 1.5 seconds remaining on the game clock, followed by Kirk Hinrich's three-pointer at the buzzer going over the net. Kansas' free throw struggles would prove costly in giving Syracuse and Jim Boeheim their first ever national championship. Carmelo Anthony was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) with 20 points and 10 Rebounds in the win. Syracuse also avenged a second-round loss to Kansas two years earlier.^[5]

Bracket

Opening Round game

Winner advances to 16th seed in South Regional vs. (1) Texas.

	Opening Round game March 18
	16a	UNC Asheville	92OT
	16b	Texas Southern	84

East Regional – Albany, New York

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

South Regional – San Antonio, Texas

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Texas	82
	16	UNC Asheville	61
						1	Texas	77
	Birmingham - Fri/Sun
						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 - Thu/Sat
						4	Stanford	74
	4	Stanford	77
	13	San Diego	69
																1	Texas	85
																7	Michigan State	76
	6	Maryland	75
	11	UNC Wilmington	73
						6	Maryland	77
	Nashville - Fri/Sun
						3	Xavier	64
	3	Xavier	71
	14	Troy State	59
											6	Maryland	58
											7	Michigan State	60
	7	Michigan State	79
	10	Colorado	64
						7	Michigan State	68
	Tampa - Fri/Sun
						2	Florida	46
	2	Florida	85
	15	Sam Houston State	55

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis, Minnesota

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kentucky	95
	16	IUPUI	64
						1	Kentucky	74
	Nashville - Fri/Sun
						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 - Thu/Sat
						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 - Thu/Sat
						3	Marquette	101OT
	3	Marquette	72
	14	Holy Cross	68
											3	Marquette	77
											2	Pittsburgh	74
	7	Indiana	67
	10	Alabama	62
						7	Indiana	52
	Boston - Fri/Sun
						2	Pittsburgh	74
	2	Pittsburgh	87
	15	Wagner	61

West Regional – Anaheim, California

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Arizona	80
	16	Vermont	51
						1	Arizona	962OT
	Salt Lake City - Thu/Sat
						9	Gonzaga	95
	8	Cincinnati	69
	9	Gonzaga	74
											1	Arizona	88
											5	Notre Dame	71
	5	Notre Dame	70
	12	Milwaukee	69
						5	Notre Dame	68
	Indianapolis - Thu/Sat
						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 Thu/Sat
						3	Duke	68
	3	Duke	67
	14	Colorado State	57
											3	Duke	65
											2	Kansas	69
	7	Memphis	71
	10	Arizona State	84
						10	Arizona State	76
	Oklahoma City - Thu/Sat
						2	Kansas	108
	2	Kansas	64
	15	Utah State	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 (Elite Eight) onward 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/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser – First & Second Round at Boston, Massachusetts; Midwest Regional at Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Gus Johnson/Len Elmore/Solomon Wilcots – First & Second Round at Indianapolis, Indiana; East Regional at Albany, New York
• Kevin Harlan/Jay Bilas/Dwayne Ballen – First & Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Darren Horton – First & Second Round at Tampa, Florida
• Craig Bolerjack/Dan Bonner/Brett Haber – First & Second Round at Birmingham, Alabama
• Tim Brando/Bob Wenzel/Leslie Maxie – First & Second Round at Spokane, Washington

Westwood One announcers

First and second rounds

Doug Kennedy and Richard Larsen

Regionals

Final Four

See also

• 2003 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2003 National Invitation Tournament
• 2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2003 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament