2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

2002–03 Big East men's basketball standings
	East
	West
	† 2003 Big East Tournament winner; As of March 31, 2003; Rankings from Coaches' Poll; *Did not qualify for 2003 Big East Tournament

Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
NCAA National Champions; Big East Regular Season Co-Champions
National Championship vs. Kansas, W, 81–78
Conference	Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Ranking
Coaches	#1
AP	#13
2002–03 record	30–5 (13–3 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Boeheim
Assistant coach	Bernie Fine
Assistant coach	Mike Hopkins
Assistant coach	Troy Weaver
Home arena	Carrier Dome
« 2001–02	2003–04 »

The 2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in NCAA men's basketball competition in the 2002–03 Division I season. (At that time, "Orangemen" was exclusively used to refer to Syracuse men's teams; women's teams were known as "Orangewomen".) The Head Coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 27th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 30–5 (13–3) record, while capturing its first modern-era NCAA Championship.

The team had just one senior, guard Kueth Duany. He was joined in the starting lineup by forwards Hakim Warrick (sophomore), Carmelo Anthony (freshman), center Craig Forth (sophomore), and guard Gerry McNamara (freshman). Other key contributors included guards Josh Pace (sophomore) and Billy Edelin (freshman), and center Jeremy McNeil (junior).

Season recap

Things did not start well for Syracuse. Guards DeShaun Williams^[2] and James Thues^[3] both left the team. Williams transferred to Iona while Thues left for Detroit. Freshman point guard Billy Edelin was suspended for 12 games for participating in a non-sanctioned basketball league. Syracuse then started its season with a loss against Memphis, despite Carmelo Anthony's 27 points, a then-high for a Syracuse freshman debut.^[4]

But things turned around, as Syracuse went 13–3 in the Big East, with several memorable wins. McNamara would establish himself as a clutch player, nailing a game-winning 3-pointer as then-No. 17 Syracuse notched an 82–80 win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame in February.^[5] In an upset of then-No. 24 Syracuse over then-No. 2 Pittsburgh, McNeil, a career 49.1% free throw shooter, hit two key free throws, and added a game-winning tip in a 67–65 upset.^[6]

The Orangemen would play five Big 12 teams throughout the year, including games against Missouri^[7] in the regular season, and against Oklahoma (Elite Eight), Oklahoma State (second round), Texas (National Semifinal) and then Kansas (National Championship game).^[8]

In the championship game against Kansas, with Syracuse leading by three with under 15 seconds left, Warrick missed two free throws that would've sealed the game with Syracuse hanging on to a three-point lead, 81–78. With 1.5 seconds left and the score still the same, Kansas' Michael Lee was open on the baseline for a potential game-tying 3-pointer. But Warrick used his long arms to block Lee's attempt and Syracuse captured its first ever national championship.^[9]

Coincidentally, the game was played in Super Dome in New Orleans, where Syracuse had lost the National Championship to Indiana in 1987 on a last second shot by Keith Smart.^[10]

Roster

Name	Number	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	PPG	APG	RPG
Hakim Warrick	1	F	6–9	219	Sophomore	Philadelphia, PA	14.8	1.6	8.5
Gerry McNamara	3	G	6–2	182	Freshman	Scranton, PA	13.3	4.4	2.3
Josh Pace	5	G/F	6–5	190	Sophomore	Griffin, GA	4.3	1.9	2.7
Kueth Duany	13	G/F	6–6	190	Senior	Sudan/Bloomington, IN	11.0	2.0	3.7
Billy Edelin	14	G	6–4	195	Freshman	Silver Spring, MD	9.0	2.5	3.4
Carmelo Anthony	15	F	6–8	230	Freshman	Baltimore, MD	22.2	2.2	10.0
Matt Gorman	24	F/C	6–9	235	Freshman	Watertown, NY	2.3	0.1	2.1
Jeremy McNeil	34	C	6–8	257	Junior	San Antonio, TX	3.3	0.2	4.2
Craig Forth	51	C	7-1	255	Sophomore	Albany, NY	3.8	0.9	3.3

References

[1] ttp://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/2003.html

[2] Williams to leave Orangemen – News

[3] Thues transfers to Detroit Mercy – Sports

[4] Memphis Holds Off Syracuse, 70–63

[5] The Daily Orange

[6] USATODAY.com – Syracuse blocks Pittsburgh from first coronation at No. 1

[7] NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball – Missouri vs. Syracuse

[8] Fresh-squeezed orangeman: Carmelo Anthony carries Syracuse to its first NCAA championship and proves to have the juiciest game of any college freshman—ever | Sporting News, Th...

[9] The Daily Orange

[10] ESPN.com – ESPN 25 – 60: Smart's jumper wins NCAA title for Indiana

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v t e Syracuse Orange men's basketball
Venues	Archbold Gymnasium (1908–1947; 1952–1955) State Fair Coliseum (1947–1951) Onondaga County War Memorial (1951–1952; 1955–1962) Manley Field House (1962–1980) JMA Wireless Dome (1980–present) Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center (practice)
Rivalries	UConn Georgetown Villanova
Culture & lore	"McNamara's Band" Otto the Orange Scandal 6-overtime game Syracuse Sports Network
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

Season recap

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2002–03 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Boston College	10	–	6	.625	19	–	12	.613
#11 Connecticut	10	–	6	.625	23	–	10	.697
Providence	8	–	8	.500	18	–	14	.563
Villanova	8	–	8	.500	15	–	16	.484
St. John's	7	–	9	.438	21	–	13	.618
Miami	4	–	12	.250	11	–	17	.393
Virginia Tech*	4	–	12	.250	11	–	18	.379
West
#1 Syracuse	13	–	3	.813	30	–	5	.857
#8 Pittsburgh†	13	–	3	.813	28	–	5	.848
Seton Hall	10	–	6	.625	17	–	13	.567
#15 Notre Dame	10	–	6	.625	24	–	10	.706
Georgetown	6	–	10	.375	19	–	15	.559
West Virginia	5	–	11	.313	14	–	15	.483
Rutgers*	4	–	12	.250	12	–	16	.429

† 2003 Big East Tournament winner As of March 31, 2003^[1]; Rankings from Coaches' Poll *Did not qualify for 2003 Big East Tournament