2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2002, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 7, 2003 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Syracuse Orange and coach Jim Boeheim won their first NCAA national championship with an 81–78 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Season headlines
- The preseason AP All-American team was named on November 12. David West of Xavier was the leading vote-getter. The rest of the team included Luke Walton and Jason Gardner of Arizona, Kirk Hinrich of Kansas and Erwin Dudley of Alabama.
Major rule changes
- Two free-throw lane spaces closest to the free-thrower would remain unoccupied.
- No free throws were awarded to the offended team in bonus for personal fouls committed by a team while in team control or in possession of the ball during a throw-in.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls November 13, 2002.Conference membership changes
These schools joined new conferences for the 2002–03 season.| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Gardner-Webb | NCAA Division II | Atlantic Sun Conference |
| IPFW | NCAA Division II | NCAA Division I Independent |
| Lipscomb | NAIA | NCAA Division I Independent |
| Savannah State | NCAA Division II | NCAA Division I Independent |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | NCAA Division III | NCAA Division I Independent |
Regular season
Conference winners and tournaments
Statistical leaders
Postseason tournaments
NCAA Tournament
Final Four – [Louisiana Superdome], [New Orleans, Louisiana]
National Invitation Tournament
Semifinals & Finals
- Third Place – Texas Tech 71, Minnesota 61
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards
- Wooden Award: T. J. Ford, Texas
- Naismith Award: T. J. Ford, Texas
- Associated Press Player of the Year: David West, Xavier
- NABC Player of the Year: Nick Collison, Kansas
- Oscar Robertson Trophy : David West, Xavier
- Adolph Rupp Trophy: David West, Xavier
- Sporting News Player of the Year: T. J. Ford, Texas
Major freshman of the year awards
- USBWA Freshman of the Year: Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
- Sporting News Freshman of the Year: Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
Major coach of the year awards
- Associated Press Coach of the Year: Tubby Smith, Kentucky
- Henry Iba Award : Tubby Smith, Kentucky
- NABC Coach of the Year: Tubby Smith, Kentucky
- Naismith College Coach of the Year: Tubby Smith, Kentucky
- CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Tubby Smith, Kentucky
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: Tubby Smith, Kentucky
Other major awards
- Pete Newell Big Man Award : David West, Xavier
- NABC Defensive Player of the Year: Emeka Okafor, Connecticut
- Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award : Jason Gardner, Arizona
- Lowe's Senior CLASS Award : David West, Xavier
- Robert V. Geasey Trophy : Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's
- NIT/Haggerty Award : Luis Flores, Manhattan
Coaching changes
| Team | Former Coach | Interim Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Alcorn State | Davey Whitney | Samuel West | ||
| Arkansas-Little Rock | Porter Moser | Steve Shields | ||
| Cal State Fullerton | Donny Daniels | Bob Burton | ||
| Campbell | Billy Lee | Robbie Laing | ||
| Chicago State | Bo Ellis | Kevin Jones | ||
| Clemson | Larry Shyatt | Oliver Purnell | ||
| Cleveland State | Rollie Massimino | Mike Garland | ||
| Columbia | Armond Hill | Joe Jones | ||
| Dayton | Oliver Purnell | Brian Gregory | ||
| Drake | Kurt Kanaskie | Tom Davis | ||
| East Tennessee State | Ed DeChellis | Murry Bartow | ||
| Elon | Mark Simons | Ernie Nestor | ||
| Fordham | Bob Hill | Dereck Whittenburg | ||
| Georgia | Jim Harrick | Dennis Felton | ||
| Georgia State | Lefty Driesell | Michael Perry | ||
| High Point | Jerry Steele | Bart Lundy | ||
| Illinois | Bill Self | Bruce Weber | ||
| Illinois State | Tom Richardson | Porter Moser | ||
| Iowa State | Larry Eustachy | Wayne Morgan | Eustachy quit following the release of pictures of him at a party near the campus of the University of Missouri. | |
| Jackson State | Andy Stoglin | Tevester Anderson | ||
| Kansas | Roy Williams | Bill Self | After turning down the North Carolina job previously, Williams accepted the position at his alma mater. | |
| Marshall | Greg White | Ron Jirsa | ||
| Mount St. Mary's | Jim Phelan | Milan Brown | Phelan retired after 49 years and 830 victories. | |
| Murray State | Tevester Anderson | Mick Cronin | ||
| North Carolina | Matt Doherty | Roy Williams | Doherty resigned after rumors of player unrest. UNC alum Williams is hired away from Kansas. | |
| North Carolina A&T | Curtis Hunter | Jerry Eaves | ||
| Penn State | Jerry Dunn | Ed DeChellis | ||
| Pittsburgh | Ben Howland | Jamie Dixon | ||
| St. Bonaventure | Jan van Breda Kolff | Anthony Solomon | ||
| South Carolina State | Cy Alexander | Ben Betts | ||
| South Florida | Seth Greenberg | Robert McCullum | ||
| Southern | Ben Jobe | Michael Grant | ||
| Southern Illinois | Bruce Weber | Matt Painter | ||
| Tennessee State | Nolan Richardson III | Hosea Lewis | Cy Alexander | Richardson III was suspended and ultimately resigned after allegedly threatening an assistant coach with a gun. |
| UCLA | Steve Lavin | Ben Howland | Lavin was fired following a 10–19 season. | |
| Virginia Tech | Ricky Stokes | Seth Greenberg | ||
| Wagner | Dereck Whittenburg | Mike Deane | ||
| Washington State | Paul Graham | Dick Bennett | ||
| Western Illinois | Jim Kerwin | Derek Thomas | ||
| Western Kentucky | Dennis Felton | Darrin Horn | ||
| Western Michigan | Robert McCullum | Steve Hawkins | ||
| William & Mary | Rick Boyages | Tony Shaver | ||
| Wright State | Ed Schilling | Paul Biancardi |