# 2003–04 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team

The 2003–04 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 3rd-year head coach Bruce Pearl, played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Arena and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season with a record of 20–11, 13–3 to finish in first place in the Horizon League. Seeded first, the Panthers won their first game in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament before they lost in the final game to UIC. They received an automatic bid to the 2004 NIT due to being a regular season conference champion that did not receive an invite to the NCAA Tournament. In the NIT the Panthers defeated Rice by a score of 91-63 in the opening round before falling to Boise State in the 1st Round by a score of 73-70.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 2003* | | Montana | W 95–83 | 1–0 | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,257) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Nov 25, 2003* | | Concordia-St. Paul | W 90–62 | 2–0 | U.S. Cellular Arena (2,010) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Nov 29, 2003* | | Southern Illinois | L 77–81 | 2–1 | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,269) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 3, 2003* | | at Prairie View A&M | W 87–70 | 3–1 | William J. Nicks Building (3,022) Prairie View, Texas |
| Dec 7, 2003* | | at NC State | L 71–77 | 3–2 | RBC Center (10,691) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Dec 10, 2003* | | at Valparaiso | W 86–82 | 4–2 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,897) Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Dec 13, 2003* 7:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 23 | at Wisconsin | L 71–89 | 4–3 | Kohl Center (17,142) Madison, Wisconsin |
| Dec 23, 2003 | | UIC | W 78–62 | 5–3 (1–0) | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,089) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 29, 2003* | | at Santa Clara | L 64–66 | 5–4 | Leavey Center (1,903) Santa Clara, California |
| Dec 30, 2003* | | vs. Idaho State | W 85–70 | 6–4 | Leavey Center (2,418) Santa Clara, California |
| Jan 2, 2004* | | at Air Force | L 49–71 | 6–5 | Clune Arena (2,028) Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Jan 5, 2004 | | Detroit | W 82–74 | 7–5 (2–0) | U.S. Cellular Arena (2,223) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 8, 2004 | | Butler | W 71–59 | 8–5 (3–0) | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,207) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 10, 2004 | | at Loyola (IL) | W 97–87 | 9–5 (4–0) | Joseph J. Gentile Center (2,862) Chicago, Illinois |
| Jan 15, 2004 | | Youngstown State | W 80–74 | 10–5 (5–0) | U.S. Cellular Arena (2,351) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 17, 2004 | | at Green Bay | W 82–70 | 11–5 (6–0) | Resch Center (7,522) Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| Jan 22, 2004 | | at Cleveland State | W 78–64 | 12–5 (7–0) | Henry J. Goodman Arena (1,266) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Jan 24, 2004 | | at Detroit | W 85–68 | 13–5 (8–0) | Calihan Hall (3,218) Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 27, 2004 | | at Wright State | W 68–53 | 14–5 (9–0) | Ervin J. Nutter Center (7,159) Fairborn, Ohio |
| Jan 31, 2004 | | Green Bay | W 81–70 | 15–5 (10–0) | U.S. Cellular Arena (8,703) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 5, 2004 | | at UIC | L 82–86 | 15–6 (10–1) | UIC Pavilion (5,164) Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 7, 2004 | | Wright State | W 72–66 | 16–6 (11–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,118) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 12, 2004 | | Loyola (IL) | W 77–71 | 17–6 (12–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,455) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 14, 2004 | | at Youngstown State | L 84–85 | 17–7 (12–2) | Beeghly Center (2,885) Youngstown, Ohio |
| Feb 18, 2004 | | at Butler | L 58–75 | 17–8 (12–3) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,645) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Feb 21, 2004* | | Manhattan ESPN BracketBusters | L 76–83 | 17–9 | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,752) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 28, 2004 | | Cleveland State | W 88–63 | 18–9 (13–3) | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,236) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| 2004 Horizon League Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2004 | (1) | vs. (4) Detroit Semifinals | W 58–50 | 19–9 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (3,286) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 9, 2004 | (1) | (2) UIC Championship game | L 62–65 | 19–10 | U.S. Cellular Arena (10,254) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| 2004 NIT ||||||
| Mar 17, 2004 | | Rice Opening round | W 91–63 | 20–10 | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,617) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Mar 20, 2004 | | at Boise State First round | L 70–73 | 20–11 | Ford Idaho Center (10,153) Nampa, Idaho |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||