2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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.

2002 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2001–02
Teams	65
Finals site	Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia
Champions	Maryland Terrapins (1st title, 1st title game, 2nd Final Four)
Runner-up	Indiana Hoosiers (6th title game, 8th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Kansas Jayhawks (11th Final Four) Oklahoma Sooners (4th Final Four)
Winning coach	Gary Williams (1st title)
MOP	Juan Dixon (Maryland)
Attendance	720,433
Top scorers	Juan Dixon (Maryland) Jared Jeffries (Indiana) (155 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2001 2003»

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:

• Sacramento: Oregon (M2), USC (S4)
• Albuquerque: Arizona (W3), Ohio State (W4)
• Dallas: Oklahoma (W2), Mississippi State (M3)
• St. Louis: Kansas (M1), Kentucky (E4)
• Chicago: Georgia (E3), Illinois (M4)
• Pittsburgh: Cincinnati (W1), Pittsburgh (S3)
• Washington, D.C.: Maryland (E1), Connecticut (E2)
• Greenville: 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.)

Schedule and venues

Dayton

Washington, D.C.

Pittsburgh

Greenville

Chicago

St. Louis

Dallas

Albuquerque

Sacramento

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2002 play-in game (orange) and first and second rounds (green)

San Jose

Madison

Lexington

Syracuse

Atlanta

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2002 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2002 tournament:

Opening Round

• March 12
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second Rounds

• March 14 and 16
  • ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California (Host: University of the Pacific)
  • BI-LO Center, Greenville, South Carolina (Hosts: Southern Conference, Furman University)
  • Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
  • University Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
• March 15 and 17
  • American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • MCI Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University)
  • Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: Duquesne University)
  • United Center, Chicago, Illinois (Host: Big Ten Conference)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 21 and 23
  • South Regional
    • Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
  • West Regional
    • Compaq Center at San Jose, San Jose, California (Host: Santa Clara University)
• March 22 and 24
  • East Regional
    • Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University)
  • Midwest Regional
    • Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin–Madison)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• March 30 and April 1
  • Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Tech)

Qualifying teams

Further information: 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams

Automatic bids

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	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	Illinois–Chicago	2nd	1998
Ivy League	Penn	19th	2000
MAAC	Siena	3rd	1999
MAC	Kent State	3rd	2001
MEAC	Hampton	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

Listed by region and seeding

East Regional – Syracuse Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Maryland ACC 26–4 At-large #2 Connecticut Big East 24–6 Automatic #3 Georgia SEC 21–9 At-large #4 Kentucky SEC 20–9 At-large #5 Marquette C-USA 26–6 At-large #6 Texas Tech Big 12 23–8 At-large #7 NC State ACC 22–10 At-large #8 Wisconsin Big Ten 18–12 At-large #9 St. John's Big East 20–11 At-large #10 Michigan State Big Ten 19–11 At-large #11 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 26–7 At-large #12 Tulsa WAC 26–6 At-large #13 Valparaiso Mid-Continent 25–7 Automatic #14 Murray State OVC 19–12 Automatic #15 Hampton MEAC 26–6 Automatic #16 Siena MAAC 16–18 Automatic Alcorn State SWAC 21–9 Automatic

Midwest Regional – Madison Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Kansas Big 12 29–3 At-large #2 Oregon Pac-10 23–8 At-large #3 Mississippi State SEC 26–7 Automatic #4 Illinois Big Ten 24–8 At-large #5 Florida SEC 22–8 At-large #6 Texas Big 12 20–11 At-large #7 Wake Forest ACC 20–12 At-large #8 Stanford Pac-10 19–9 At-large #9 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 28–3 Automatic #10 Pepperdine WCC 22–8 At-large #11 Boston College Big East 20–11 At-large #12 Creighton Missouri Valley 22–8 Automatic #13 San Diego State Mountain West 21–11 Automatic #14 McNeese State Southland 21–8 Automatic #15 Montana Big Sky 16–14 Automatic #16 Holy Cross Patriot 18–14 Automatic

South Regional – Lexington Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Duke ACC 29–3 Automatic #2 Alabama SEC 26–7 At-large #3 Pittsburgh Big East 27–5 At-large #4 USC Pac-10 22–9 At-large #5 Indiana Big Ten 20–11 At-large #6 California Pac-10 21–8 At-large #7 Oklahoma State Big 12 23–8 At-large #8 Notre Dame Big East 21–10 At-large #9 Charlotte C-USA 18–11 At-large #10 Kent State MAC 27–5 Automatic #11 Penn Ivy League 25–6 Automatic #12 Utah Mountain West 21–8 At-large #13 UNC Wilmington CAA 22–9 Automatic #14 Central Connecticut State NEC 27–4 Automatic #15 Florida Atlantic Atlantic Sun 19–11 Automatic #16 Winthrop Big South 19–11 Automatic

West Regional – San Jose Seed School Conference Record Berth Type #1 Cincinnati C-USA 30–3 Automatic #2 Oklahoma Big 12 27–4 Automatic #3 Arizona Pac-10 22–9 Automatic #4 Ohio State Big Ten 23–7 Automatic #5 Miami (FL) Big East 24–7 At-large #6 Gonzaga WCC 29–3 Automatic #7 Xavier Atlantic 10 25–5 Automatic #8 UCLA Pac-10 19–11 At-Large #9 Ole Miss SEC 20–10 At-large #10 Hawaii WAC 27–5 Automatic #11 Wyoming Mountain West 21–8 At-large #12 Missouri Big 12 21–11 At-large #13 Davidson Southern 21–9 Automatic #14 UC Santa Barbara Big West 20–10 Automatic #15 Illinois–Chicago Horizon 20–13 Automatic #16 Boston University America East 22–9 Automatic

Bids by conference

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

Final Four

At Georgia Dome, Atlanta

National semifinals

• March 30, 2002
  • Maryland (E1) 97, Kansas (M1) 88

  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.

  • Indiana (S5) 73, Oklahoma (W2) 64

  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.

Championship game

Main article: 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

• April 1, 2002
  • Maryland (E1) 64, Indiana (S5) 52

  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).

Bracket

Opening Round game

Winner advances to 16th seed in East Regional vs. (1) Maryland.

	Opening Round game March 12
	16a	Siena	81
	16b	Alcorn State	77

East Regional — Syracuse, New York

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Maryland	85
	16	Siena	70
						1	Maryland	87
	Washington, D.C. - Fri/Sun
						8	Wisconsin	57
	8	Wisconsin	80
	9	St. John's	70
											1	Maryland	78
											4	Kentucky	68
	5	Marquette	69
	12	Tulsa	71
						12	Tulsa	82
	St. Louis - Thu/Sat
						4	Kentucky	87
	4	Kentucky	83
	13	Valparaiso	68
																1	Maryland	90
																2	Connecticut	82
	6	Texas Tech	68
	11	Southern Illinois	76
						11	Southern Illinois	77
	Chicago - Fri/Sun
						3	Georgia	75
	3	Georgia	85
	14	Murray State	68
											11	Southern Illinois	59
											2	Connecticut	71
	7	NC State	69
	10	Michigan State	58
						7	NC State	74
	Washington, D.C. - Fri/Sun
						2	Connecticut	77
	2	Connecticut	78
	15	Hampton	67

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Sunday, March 24

box score

#1 Maryland Terrapins 90, #2 Connecticut Huskies 82
Scoring by half: 44–37, 46–45
Pts: L. Baxter – 29 Rebs: L. Baxter – 9 Asts: S. Blake – 6		Pts: C. Butler – 33 Rebs: C. Butler – 7 Asts: C. Butler – 4

Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY Attendance: 29,252 Referees: Tom Rucker, Zelton Steed, Dick Cartmell

Midwest Regional — Madison, Wisconsin

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kansas	70
	16	Holy Cross	59
						1	Kansas	86
	St. Louis - Thu/Sat
						8	Stanford	63
	8	Stanford	84
	9	Western Kentucky	68
											1	Kansas	73
											4	Illinois	69
	5	Florida	82
	12	Creighton	832OT
						12	Creighton	60
	Chicago - Fri/Sun
						4	Illinois	72
	4	Illinois	93
	13	San Diego State	64
																1	Kansas	104
																2	Oregon	86
	6	Texas	70
	11	Boston College	57
						6	Texas	68
	Dallas - Fri/Sun
						3	Mississippi State	64
	3	Mississippi State	70
	14	McNeese State	58
											6	Texas	70
											2	Oregon	72
	7	Wake Forest	83
	10	Pepperdine	74
						7	Wake Forest	87
	Sacramento - Thu/Sat
						2	Oregon	92
	2	Oregon	81
	15	Montana	62

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Sunday, March 24

box score

#1 Kansas Jayhawks 104, #2 Oregon Ducks 86
Scoring by half: 48–42, 56–44
Pts: N. Collison – 25 Rebs: D. Gooden – 20 Asts: A. Miles – 8		Pts: F. Jones – 32 Rebs: R. Johnson – 10 Asts: L. Ridnour – 7

Kohl Center – Madison, WI Attendance: 16,310 Referees: Jim Burr, Leslie Jones, Tom Lopes

South Regional — Lexington, Kentucky

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Duke	84
	16	Winthrop	37
						1	Duke	84
	Greenville - Thu/Sat
						8	Notre Dame	77
	8	Notre Dame	82
	9	Charlotte	63
											1	Duke	73
											5	Indiana	74
	5	Indiana	75
	12	Utah	56
						5	Indiana	76
	Sacramento - Thu/Sat
						13	UNC Wilmington	67
	4	USC	89
	13	UNC Wilmington	93OT
																5	Indiana	81
																10	Kent State	69
	6	California	82
	11	Pennsylvania	75
						6	California	50
	Pittsburgh - Fri/Sun
						3	Pittsburgh	63
	3	Pittsburgh	71
	14	Central Connecticut State	54
											3	Pittsburgh	73
											10	Kent State	78OT
	7	Oklahoma State	61
	10	Kent State	69
						10	Kent State	71
	Greenville - Thu/Sat
						2	Alabama	58
	2	Alabama	86
	15	Florida Atlantic	78

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Saturday, March 23 7:00 p.m. EST

box score

#5 Indiana Hoosiers 81, #10 Kent State Golden Flashes 69
Scoring by half: 40–28, 41–41
Pts: D. Fife – 17 Rebs: J. Jeffries – 7 Asts: T. Coverdale, K. Hornsby – 7		Pts: A. Gates – 22 Rebs: A. Gates, D. Shaw – 8 Asts: T. Huffman – 4

Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY Attendance: 22,435 Referees: Mark Whitehead, Scott Thornley, Tom Nunez

West Regional — San Jose, California

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Cincinnati	90
	16	Boston University	52
						1	Cincinnati	101
	Pittsburgh - Fri/Sun
						8	UCLA	1052OT
	8	UCLA	80
	9	Ole Miss	58
											8	UCLA	73
											12	Missouri	82
	5	Miami (FL)	80
	12	Missouri	93
						12	Missouri	83
	Albuquerque - Thu/Sat
						4	Ohio State#	67
	4	Ohio State#	69
	13	Davidson	64
																12	Missouri	75
																2	Oklahoma	81
	6	Gonzaga	66
	11	Wyoming	73
						11	Wyoming	60
	Albuquerque - Thu/Sat
						3	Arizona	68
	3	Arizona	86
	14	UC-Santa Barbara	81
											3	Arizona	67
											2	Oklahoma	88
	7	Xavier	70
	10	Hawaii	58
						7	Xavier	65
	Dallas - Fri/Sun
						2	Oklahoma	78
	2	Oklahoma	71
	15	Illinois-Chicago	63

# — Ohio State vacated all 32 games including its NCAA Tournament appearance from the 2001–02 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Ohio State removing the wins from its own record.

Regional Final Summary

CBS

Saturday, March 23

box score

#2 Oklahoma Sooners 81, #12 Missouri Tigers 75
Scoring by half: 41–32, 40–43
Pts: H. Price – 18 Rebs: Q. White, D, Selvy – 7 Asts: Q. White – 7		Pts: R. Paulding – 22 Rebs: T. Bryant – 9 Asts: W. Stokes, R. Paulding – 4

Compaq Center – San Jose, CA Attendance: 18,040 Referees: John Cahill, Terry Moore, John Hughes

Final Four — Atlanta, Georgia

	National semifinals					National Championship Game
	E1	Maryland	97
	M1	Kansas	88
						E1	Maryland	64
						S5	Indiana	52
	S5	Indiana	73
	W2	Oklahoma	64

Broadcast information

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.

CBS Sports announcers

• Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Bonnie Bernstein – First and Second Rounds at Washington, D.C.; East Regional at Syracuse, New York; Final Four and National Championship at Atlanta, Georgia
• Dick Enberg/Matt Guokas/Armen Keteyian – First and Second Rounds at St. Louis, Missouri; South Regional at Lexington, Kentucky
• Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser – First and Second Rounds at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Midwest Regional at Madison, Wisconsin
• Gus Johnson/Dan Bonner/Solomon Wilcots – First and Second Rounds at Albuquerque, New Mexico; West Regional at San Jose, California
• Kevin Harlan/Jon Sundvold/Spencer Tillman – First and Second Rounds at Greenville, South Carolina
• Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Dwayne Ballen – First and Second Rounds at Sacramento, California
• Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel/Brett Haber – First and Second Rounds at Dallas, Texas
• Tim Brando/Eddie Fogler/Charles Davis – First and Second Rounds at Chicago, Illinois

Westwood One announcers

• Marty Brennaman and Larry Conley, 1st and 2nd Rounds at Greenville, South Carolina and South Regionals at Lexington, Kentucky