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2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions; Big East regular season co-champions
National Championship Game, ; W 81-78 vs. Kansas
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 13
Record	30–5 (13–3 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Boeheim (27th season);
Assistant coaches	Bernie Fine (27th season); Mike Hopkins (8th season); Troy Weaver (3rd season);
Home arena	Carrier Dome
	Seasons ← 2001–02 2003–04 →

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
No. 23 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
No. 13 Syracuse	13	–	3	.813	30	–	5	.857
No. 4 Pittsburgh†	13	–	3	.813	28	–	5	.848
Seton Hall	10	–	6	.625	17	–	13	.567
No. 22 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 AP Poll *Did not qualify for 2003 Big East tournament

The 2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in NCAA men's basketball competition in the 2002–03 Division I season. 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 the Superdome in New Orleans, where Syracuse had lost the National Championship to Indiana in 1987 on a last-second shot by Keith Smart.^[10]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 14, 2002*		vs. Memphis Coaches vs. Cancer Classic	L 63–70	0–1	27 – Anthony	11 – Tied	3 – McNamara	Madison Square Garden (8,826) New York, NY
Nov 24, 2002*		Valparaiso	W 81–66	1–1	28 – Anthony	10 – Tied	6 – Pace	Carrier Dome (18,874) Syracuse, NY
Dec 3, 2002*		Colgate	W 98–68	2–1	27 – Anthony	11 – Anthony	7 – Pace	Carrier Dome (15,615) Syracuse, NY
Dec 6, 2002*		Cornell	W 85–62	3–1	21 – Anthony	10 – Tied	5 – Tied	Carrier Dome (16,384) Syracuse, NY
Dec 10, 2003*		UNC Greensboro	W 92–65	4–1	23 – Warrick	8 – Forth	4 – Anthony	Carrier Dome (16,941) Syracuse, NY
Dec 14, 2002*		Binghamton	W 94–58	5–1	24 – Anthony	11 – Anthony	5 – Anthony	Carrier Dome (19,770) Syracuse, NY
Dec 21, 2002*		Georgia Tech	W 92–65	6–1	25 – McNamara	11 – Tied	10 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (18,804) Syracuse, NY
Dec 28, 2002*		Albany	W 109–79	7–1	28 – Anthony	9 – Tied	9 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (18,683) Syracuse, NY
Dec 30, 2002*		Canisius	W 87–69	8–1	25 – Warrick	14 – Anthony	3 – Tied	Carrier Dome (17,305) Syracuse, NY
Jan 8, 2003		at Seton Hall	W 70–66	9–1 (1–0)	20 – Duany	7 – Warrick	5 – McNamara	Continental Airlines Arena (8,415) East Rutherford, NJ
Jan 11, 2003		Boston College	W 82–74	10–1 (2–0)	24 – Tied	15 – Warrick	5 – Tied	Carrier Dome (20,692) Syracuse, NY
Jan 13, 2003* , ESPN		No. 11 Missouri	W 76–69	11–1	20 – Warrick	10 – Anthony	7 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (18,756) Syracuse, NY
Jan 18, 2003		at No. 3 Pittsburgh	L 60–73	11–2 (2–1)	19 – McNamara	10 – Warrick	3 – McNamara	Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 22, 2003		Seton Hall	W 83–65	12–2 (3–1)	22 – Warrick	10 – Warrick	6 – Tied	Carrier Dome (17,119) Syracuse, NY
Jan 26, 2003 , CBS		at Miami	W 54–49	13–2 (4–1)	18 – Warrick	14 – Anthony	4 – Tied	Ryder Center (5,789) Coral Gables, FL
Jan 29, 2003		at Rutgers	L 65–68	13–3 (4–2)	17 – Anthony	11 – Warrick	5 – Tied	Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,007) Piscataway, NJ
Feb 1, 2003		No. 2 Pittsburgh	W 67–65	14–3 (5–2)	20 – Warrick	13 – Anthony	4 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (30,303) Syracuse, NY
Feb 3, 2003	No. 21	Georgetown	W 88–80	15–3 (6–2)	22 – Tied	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Carrier Dome (20,702) Syracuse, NY
Feb 8, 2003	No. 21	at West Virginia	W 94–80	16–3 (7–2)	29 – Anthony	12 – Anthony	12 – McNamara	WVU Coliseum (13,092) Morgantown, WV
Feb 10, 2003	No. 18	at No. 19 Connecticut	L 61–75	16–4 (7–3)	29 – Anthony	11 – Anthony	4 – McNamara	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, CT
Feb 15, 2003	No. 18	No. 9 Notre Dame	W 82–80	17–4 (8–3)	26 – Anthony	12 – Warrick	6 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (32,116) Syracuse, NY
Feb 18, 2003	No. 17	St. John's	W 66–60	18–4 (9–3)	21 – Anthony	13 – Anthony	5 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (21,044) Syracuse, NY
Feb 23, 2003* , CBS	No. 17	at Michigan State	W 76–75	19–4	25 – Anthony	8 – Warrick	4 – Anthony	Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI
Feb 26, 2003	No. 15	West Virginia	W 89–51	20–4 (10–3)	24 – Anthony	10 – Anthony	6 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (19,484) Syracuse, NY
Mar 1, 2003 , ABC	No. 15	at Georgetown	W 93–84 ^OT	21–4 (11–3)	30 – Anthony	18 – Warrick	2 – Tied	MCI Center (17,352) Washington, D.C.
Mar 4, 2003	No. 12	at No. 16 Notre Dame	W 92–88	22–4 (12–3)	26 – Edelin	13 – Warrick	7 – Warrick	Joyce Center (11,450) South Bend, IN
Mar 9, 2003	No. 12	Rutgers	W 83–74	23–4 (13–3)	30 – Anthony	14 – Anthony	7 – McNamara	Carrier Dome (33,071) Syracuse, NY
Big East tournament
Mar 13, 2003	(1 W) No. 11	vs. (5 W) Georgetown Quarterfinals	W 74–69	24–4	21 – Anthony	8 – Forth	3 – McNamara	Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York, NY
Mar 14, 2003	(1 W) No. 11	vs. (2 E) Connecticut Semifinals	L 67–80	24–5	29 – Anthony	15 – Anthony	3 – McNamara	Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2003* , CBS	(3 E) No. 13	vs. (14 E) Manhattan First Round	W 76–65	25–5	17 – Anthony	9 – Anthony	4 – Tied	FleetCenter (18,141) Boston, MA
Mar 23, 2003* , CBS	(3 E) No. 13	vs. (6 E) No. 23 Oklahoma State Second Round	W 68–56	26–5	20 – Edelin	6 – McNamara	8 – Tied	FleetCenter (18,389) Boston, MA
Mar 28, 2003* , CBS	(3 E) No. 13	vs. (10 E) Auburn Sweet Sixteen	W 79–78	27–5	18 – Anthony	8 – Anthony	4 – Edelin	Pepsi Arena (15,093) Albany, NY
Mar 30, 2003* , CBS	(3 E) No. 13	vs. (1 E) No. 3 Oklahoma Elite Eight	W 63–47	28–5	20 – Anthony	10 – Anthony	4 – Warrick	Pepsi Arena (15,207) Albany, NY
Apr 5, 2003* , CBS	(3 E) No. 13	vs. (1 S) No. 5 Texas Final Four	W 95–84	29–5	33 – Anthony	14 – Anthony	4 – Tied	Louisiana Superdome (54,432) New Orleans, LA
Apr 7, 2003* , CBS	(3 E) No. 13	vs. (2 W) No. 6 Kansas National Championship	W 81–78	30–5	20 – Anthony	10 – Anthony	7 – Anthony	Louisiana Superdome (54,524) New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Roster

^[11]

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
Andrew Kouwe	10	PG	6–0	170	Junior	Tampa, FL	1.7	0.3	0.3
Ronneil Herron	11	G	5–11	158	Senior	Warner Robins, GA	1.2	0.0	1.0
Tyrone Albright	2	G	5–11	165	Junior	Syracuse, NY	0.0	0.1	0.3
Gary Hall	23	F	6–6	230	Junior	Tully, NY	0.4	0.4	0.4
Josh Brooks	21	F	6–5	180	Junior	Saranac, NY	0.0	0.0	0.2