2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

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

	Conf				Overall
2002–03 Big East men's basketball standings
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

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

Syracuse Orangemen Basketball 2002–03 NCAA Champions

1 Hakim Warrick 3 Gerry McNamara 5 Josh Pace 13 Kueth Duany 15 Carmelo Anthony (MOP) 24 Matt Gorman 34 Jeremy McNeil 51 Craig Forth Head Coach Jim Boeheim Assistant Coaches Mike Hopkins Bernie Fine

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) Carrier Dome (1980–present) Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center (practice)

Culture & lore	"McNamara's Band" Otto the Orange Scandal Six-overtime game Syracuse ISP Sports Network

People	Head coaches All-Century Team

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 1999–00 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

Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball champions

1939: Oregon
1940: Indiana
1941: Wisconsin
1942: Stanford
1943: Wyoming
1944: Utah
1945: Oklahoma A&M
1946: Oklahoma A&M
1947: Holy Cross
1948: Kentucky
1949: Kentucky
1950: CCNY
1951: Kentucky
1952: Kansas
1953: Indiana
1954: La Salle
1955: San Francisco
1956: San Francisco
1957: North Carolina
1958: Kentucky
1959: California
1960: Ohio State
1961: Cincinnati
1962: Cincinnati
1963: Loyola (IL)
1964: UCLA
1965: UCLA
1966: Texas Western
1967: UCLA
1968: UCLA
1969: UCLA
1970: UCLA
1971: UCLA
1972: UCLA
1973: UCLA
1974: NC State
1975: UCLA
1976: Indiana
1977: Marquette
1978: Kentucky
1979: Michigan State
1980: Louisville
1981: Indiana
1982: North Carolina
1983: NC State
1984: Georgetown
1985: Villanova
1986: Louisville
1987: Indiana
1988: Kansas
1989: Michigan
1990: UNLV
1991: Duke
1992: Duke
1993: North Carolina
1994: Arkansas
1995: UCLA
1996: Kentucky
1997: Arizona
1998: Kentucky
1999: Connecticut
2000: Michigan State
2001: Duke
2002: Maryland
2003: Syracuse
2004: Connecticut
2005: North Carolina
2006: Florida
2007: Florida
2008: Kansas
2009: North Carolina
2010: Duke
2011: Connecticut
2012: Kentucky
2013: Louisville
2014: Connecticut
2015: Duke