# 2001–02 UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball team

The 2001–02 UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina Wilmington during the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Seahawks, led by eighth-year head coach Jerry Wainwright, played their home games at the Trask Coliseum and were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
After finishing atop the CAA regular season standings, the Seahawks won the CAA tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 13 seed in the South region. After upsetting No. 4 seed USC in the opening round, UNC Wilmington lost to eventual National runner-up Indiana in the Round of 32. As of 2021, this is the farthest a UNC Wilmington men's basketball team has advanced in NCAA Tournament play.
In addition to the school's first NCAA Tournament win and win over a ranked opponent, junior shooting guard Brett Blizzard became the first player in program history to be named CAA Player of the Year and an AP Honorable Mention All-American.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 12, 2001* | | at Wake Forest | L 78–79 | 0–1 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Nov 17, 2001* | | Miami (OH) | W 50–42 | 1–1 | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Nov 24, 2001* | | at High Point | W 74–66 | 2–1 | Millis Center High Point, North Carolina |
| Nov 26, 2001* | | at Radford | L 72–85 | 2–2 | Donald N. Dedmon Center Radford, Virginia |
| Dec 2, 2001* | | at Ohio State | L 54–80 | 2–3 | Value City Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 4, 2001* | | at Minnesota | W 58–50 | 3–3 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 8, 2001* | | Duquesne | W 64–52 | 4–3 | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Dec 10, 2001* | | at Bowling Green | L 83–84 $^{OT}$ | 4–4 | Anderson Arena Bowling Green, Ohio |
| Dec 15, 2001* | | College of Charleston | L 58–60 | 4–5 | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Dec 21, 2001 | | at Old Dominion | W 71–67 | 5–5 (1–0) | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, Virginia |
| Dec 28, 2001* | | Fairfield | W 82–57 | 6–5 | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Dec 30, 2001 | | Towson | W 76–37 | 7–5 (2–0) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Jan 5, 2002 | | at Hofstra | W 69–58 | 8–5 (3–0) | Mack Sports Complex Hempstead, New York |
| Jan 9, 2002 | | George Mason | W 68–51 | 9–5 (4–0) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Jan 12, 2002 | | Delaware | L 60–65 | 9–6 (4–1) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Jan 16, 2002 | | at William & Mary | W 58–56 | 10–6 (5–1) | Kaplan Arena Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Jan 19, 2002 | | James Madison | W 63–59 | 11–6 (6–1) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Jan 23, 2002 | | Old Dominion | W 66–56 | 12–6 (7–1) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Jan 26, 2002 | | at VCU | L 68–74 | 12–7 (7–2) | Siegel Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 28, 2002 | | at Towson | W 56–46 | 13–7 (8–2) | Towson Center Towson, Maryland |
| Feb 2, 2002 | | Hofstra | W 78–54 | 14–7 (9–2) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Feb 4, 2002 | | Drexel | W 63–50 | 15–7 (10–2) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Feb 9, 2002 | | at James Madison | W 69–61 | 16–7 (11–2) | JMU Convocation Center Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Feb 11, 2002 | | at George Mason | L 56–59 | 16–8 (11–3) | Patriot Center Fairfax, Virginia |
| Feb 13, 2002 | | William & Mary | W 66–58 | 17–8 (12–3) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Feb 16, 2002 | | at Delaware | W 69–66 | 18–8 (13–3) | Bob Carpenter Center Newark, Delaware |
| Feb 18, 2002 | | at Drexel | L 65–68 | 18–9 (13–4) | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 23, 2002 | | VCU | W 73–62 | 19–9 (14–4) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| CAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 2, 2002* | (1) | vs. (9) James Madison Quarterfinals | W 78–62 | 20–9 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 3, 2002* | (1) | vs. (5) Delaware Semifinals | W 69–54 | 21–9 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 4, 2002* | (1) | at (3) VCU Championship | W 66–51 | 22–9 | Richmond Coliseum (7,512) Richmond, Virginia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 2002* | (13 S) | vs. (4 S) No. 18 USC First Round | W 93–89 $^{OT}$ | 23–9 | ARCO Arena Sacramento, California |
| Mar 16, 2002* | (13 S) | vs. (5 S) Indiana Second Round | L 67–76 | 23–10 | ARCO Arena Sacramento, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Brett Blizzard – AP Honorable Mention All-American, CAA Player of the Year, CAA tournament MVP