# 2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team

The 2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by 4th-year head coach Ralph Willard, played their home games at the Hart Center and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 26–5, 13–1 in Patriot League play to win the regular season league title. As the #1 seed, they defeated Army, Bucknell, and American to be champions of the Patriot League tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest region, they were beaten by No. 3 seed and eventual Final Four participant Marquette, 72–68.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 19, 2002* ESPN | | at No. 2 Kansas Preseason NIT | L 57–81 | 0–1 | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas |
| Nov 23, 2002* | | at Dowling | W 101–61 | 1–1 | Hart Center (1,023) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Nov 26, 2002* | | at Harvard | W 71–66 | 2–1 | Lavietes Pavilion (1,306) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dec 1, 2002* | | Boston College | W 71–70 | 3–1 | Worcester Centrum (3,620) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Dec 7, 2002* | | at Brown | W 72–56 | 4–1 | Pizzitola Sports Center (1,571) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Dec 11, 2002* | | vs. Yale Phoenix Classic | L 66–70 | 4–2 | XL Center (4,182) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Dec 12, 2002* | | vs. Hartford Phoenix Classic | W 79–53 | 5–2 | XL Center (6,617) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Dec 22, 2002* | | UNC Asheville | W 84–53 | 6–2 | Hart Center (2,389) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Dec 28, 2002* | | at Marist | L 63–66 | 6–3 | McCann Arena (2,678) Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Dec 31, 2002* | | at Fordham | W 87–54 | 7–3 | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,926) Bronx, New York |
| Jan 3, 2003* | | Princeton | W 55–54 | 8–3 | Hart Center (1,046) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Jan 7, 2003* | | at Quinnipiac | W 83–75 | 9–3 | Burt Kahn Court (1,344) Hamden, Connecticut |
| Patriot League regular season ||||||
| Jan 11, 2003 | | Army | W 61–45 | 10–3 (1–0) | Hart Center (3,128) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Jan 15, 2003 | | Colgate | W 86–43 | 11–3 (2–0) | Hart Center (2,839) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Jan 18, 2003 | | at Lafayette | W 76–70 | 12–3 (3–0) | Kirby Sports Center (2,945) Easton, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 21, 2003* | | Dartmouth | W 63–43 | 13–3 | Hart Center (2,024) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Jan 24, 2003 | | at Navy | W 76–61 | 14–3 (4–0) | Alumni Hall (2,203) Annapolis, Maryland |
| Jan 26, 2003 | | at American | L 49–72 | 14–4 (4–1) | Bender Arena (1,823) Washington D.C. |
| Jan 31, 2003 | | Lehigh | W 63–39 | 15–4 (5–1) | Hart Center (3,215) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Feb 2, 2003 | | Bucknell | W 69–47 | 16–4 (6–1) | Hart Center (4,000) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Feb 8, 2003 | | at Army | W 53–45 | 17–4 (7–1) | Christl Arena (1,537) West Point, New York |
| Feb 12, 2003 | | at Colgate | W 92–91 $^{OT}$ | 18–4 (8–1) | Cotterell Court (562) Hamilton, New York |
| Feb 15, 2003 | | Lafayette | W 73–65 | 19–4 (9–1) | Hart Center (4,000) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Feb 21, 2003 | | American | W 68–66 | 20–4 (10–1) | Hart Center (3,847) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Feb 23, 2003 | | Navy | W 63–42 | 21–4 (11–1) | Hart Center (4,000) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Feb 28, 2003 | | at Bucknell | W 54–43 | 22–4 (12–1) | Davis Gym (2,182) Lewisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 2, 2003 | | at Lehigh | W 72–64 | 23–4 (13–1) | Stabler Arena (3,273) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
| Patriot League Tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2003* | | vs. Army Quarterfinals | W 58–40 | 24–4 | The Show Place Arena (2,523) Upper Marlboro, Maryland |
| Mar 9, 2003* | | vs. Bucknell Semifinals | W 75–50 | 25–4 | The Show Place Arena (3,356) Upper Marlboro, Maryland |
| Mar 14, 2003* | | American Championship game | W 72–64 | 26–4 | Hart Center (4,000) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 20, 2003* | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 9 Marquette First round | L 68–72 | 26–5 | RCA Dome (25,000) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Eastern Time.. ||||||