# 2003–04 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

The 2003–2004 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2003–2004 NCAA Division I basketball season. Coached by Jim Calhoun, the Huskies played their home games at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, and were a member of the Big East Conference. They won their record-tying sixth Big East tournament. On April 6, 2004, they claimed their second national championship by defeating Georgia Tech, 82–73.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition games ||||||
| November 3* | | Team Nike | W 96–78 | 0–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut |
| November 13* | | Beltway Ballers | W 102–44 | 0–0 | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 17* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | Yale Preseason NIT First round | W 70–60 | 1–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| November 19* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | Nevada Preseason NIT Second round | W 93–79 | 2–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| November 22* 12:00 pm, Fox 61 | No. 1 | Sacred Heart | W 111–64 | 3–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16,085) Hartford, Connecticut |
| November 26* 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | vs. Georgia Tech Preseason NIT Semifinals | L 61–77 | 3–1 | Madison Square Garden (7,607) New York City |
| November 28* 4:30 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | vs. Utah Preseason NIT Consolation Game | W 76–44 | 4–1 | Madison Square Garden (8,910) New York |
| December 1* 7:00 pm, WTXX | No. 4 | Lehigh | W 75–55 | 5–1 | Hartford Civic Center (16,103) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 6* 7:00 pm, WTXX | No. 4 | Army | W 74–46 | 6–1 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| December 13* 7:00 pm, Fox 61 | No. 3 | Quinnipiac | W 88–55 | 7–1 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| December 20* 12:00 pm, WTXX | No. 2 | Iona | W 104–54 | 8–1 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 28* 2:00 pm, WTXX | No. 2 | Ball State | W 101–62 | 9–1 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 30* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | Massachusetts | W 91–67 | 10–1 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 2* 8:05 pm, NESN | No. 1 | at Rice | W 92–83 | 11–1 | Autry Court (4,653) Houston |
| January 6 7:30 pm, Fox 61 | No. 1 | at Rutgers | W 75–74 | 12–1 (1–0) | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,044) Piscataway, New Jersey |
| January 11* 4:30 pm, CBS | No. 1 | No. 7 Oklahoma | W 86–59 | 13–1 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| January 14 7:30 pm, WTXX | No. 1 | Georgetown Rivalry | W 94–70 | 14–1 (2–0) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| January 17* 3:30 pm, CBS | No. 1 | at No. 11 North Carolina | L 83–86 | 14–2 | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| January 19 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | No. 9 Pittsburgh | W 68–65 | 15–2 (3–0) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 24 12:00 pm, Fox 61 | No. 4 | Providence | L 56–66 | 15–3 (3–1) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 28 7:00 pm, WTXX | No. 8 | at Virginia Tech | W 96–60 | 16–3 (4–1) | Cassell Coliseum (7,908) Blacksburg, Virginia |
| January 31 4:00 pm, Fox 61 | No. 8 | at Boston College | W 63–58 | 17–3 (5–1) | Conte Forum (8,606) Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts |
| February 2 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | No. 20 Syracuse Rivalry | W 84–56 | 18–3 (6–1) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| February 7 2:00 pm, WTXX | No. 5 | West Virginia | W 88–58 | 19–3 (7–1) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| February 9 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at Notre Dame | L 74–80 | 19–4 (7–2) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418) South Bend, Indiana |
| February 15 1:30 pm, ABC | No. 5 | at No. 4 Pittsburgh | L 68–75 | 19–5 (7–3) | Petersen Events Center (12,817) Pittsburgh |
| February 18 7:00 pm, WTXX | No. 8 | Miami | W 76–63 | 20–5 (8–3) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| February 21 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 8 | Notre Dame | W 61–50 | 21–5 (9–3) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| February 24 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at St. John's | W 71–53 | 22–5 (10–3) | Madison Square Garden (11,736) New York |
| February 28 2:30 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | at Villanova | W 75–74 | 23–5 (11–3) | Wachovia Center (16,392) Philadelphia |
| March 1 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | Seton Hall | W 89–67 | 24–5 (12–3) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| March 7 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 7 | at No. 24 Syracuse Rivalry | L 56–67 | 24–6 (12–4) | Carrier Dome (32,944) Syracuse, New York |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| March 11 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | vs. Notre Dame Quarterfinals | W 66–58 | 25–6 | Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York |
| March 12 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | vs. Villanova Semifinals | W 84–67 | 26–6 | Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York |
| March 13 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | vs. No. 6 Pittsburgh Championship game | W 61–58 | 27–6 | Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 18* 7:10 pm, CBS | (2 P) No. 7 | vs. (15 P) Vermont First Round | W 70–53 | 28–6 | HSBC Arena (18,686) Buffalo, New York |
| March 20* 7:58 pm, CBS | (2 P) No. 7 | vs. (7 P) DePaul Second Round | W 72–55 | 29–6 | HSBC Arena (18,686) Buffalo, New York |
| March 25* 7:10 pm, CBS | (2 P) No. 7 | vs. (6 P) Vanderbilt Sweet Sixteen | W 73–53 | 30–6 | America West Arena (17,889) Phoenix, Arizona |
| March 27* 4:40 pm, CBS | (2 P) No. 7 | vs. (8 P) Alabama Elite Eight | W 87–71 | 31–6 | America West Arena (17,889) Phoenix, Arizona |
| April 3* 8:58 pm, CBS | (2 P) No. 7 | vs. (1 A) No. 6 Duke Final Four | W 79–78 | 32–6 | Alamodome (44,417) San Antonio |
| April 5* 9:21 pm, CBS | (2 P) No. 7 | vs. (3 S) No. 14 Georgia Tech Championship game | W 82–73 | 33–6 | Alamodome (44,468) San Antonio, Texas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from Coaches' Poll. P denotes Phoenix Region, A denotes Atlanta Region, S denotes St. Louis Region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 1 69 | 1 69 | 3 1 | 2 9 | 1 21 | 1 21 | 1 37 | 1 50 | 1 52 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | Not released |
| Coaches | 1 25 | 1 27 | 4 1 | 3 4 | 2 4 | 2 4 | 1 18 | 1 24 | 1 24 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 1 31 |
*AP did not release a Week 1 poll nor post-NCAA Tournament rankings

## Game officials
### Pre season NIT

| Game | Round | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 1 | First Round | November 17 | #1/#1 | Yale | NR/NR | Jim Haney, Raymond Perone, Mike Stephens |
| 2 | Quarterfinals | November 19 | #1/#1 | Nevada | NR/NR | Larry Rose, Keith Maxwell, Jamie Luckie |

### Non-conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 3 | November 22 | #1/#1 | Sacred Heart | NR/NR | |

### Pre season NIT

| Game | Round | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 4 | Semifinals | November 26 | #1/#1 | Georgia Tech | NR/NR | Mike Wood, Bryan Kersey, Joe Lindsay |
| 5 | Third place game | November 28 | #1/#1 | Utah | NR/NR | Mike Wood, Bernard Clinton, Ray Natilli |

### Non-conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 6 | December 1 | #3/#4 | Lehigh | NR/NR | John Cahill, Mike Stephens, Raymond Perone |
| 7 | December 6 | #3/#4 | Army | NR/NR | Bernard Clinton, Frank Scagliotta, John Gaffney |
| 8 | December 13 | #2/#3 | Quinnipiac | NR/NR | John Cahill, Earl Walton, Bill Laubenstein |
| 9 | December 20 | #1/#2 | Iona | NR/NR | Pat Driscoll, Fran Connolly, Paul Faia |
| 10 | December 28 | #1/#2 | Ball State | NR/NR | Tom Lopes, Doug Shows, Brian O'Connell |
| 11 | December 30 | #1/#1 | Massachusetts | NR/NR | Bob Donato, Reggie Greenwood, Pat Driscoll |
| 12 | January 2 | #1/#1 | @ Rice | NR/NR | Ted Hillary, Mike Kitts, Donnee Gray |

### Big East Conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 13 | January 6 | #1/#1 | @ Rutgers | NR/NR | Tim Higgins, Ed Corbett, William Bush |

### Non-conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 14 | January 11 | #1/#1 | Oklahoma | #6/#7 | Jim Burr, Charlie Shaw, John Clougherty |

### Big East Conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 15 | January 14 | #1/#1 | Georgetown | NR/NR | Jim Haney, Ed Corbett, Donnee Gray |

### Non-conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 16 | January 17 | #1/#1 | @ North Carolina | #9/#11 | Karl Hess, Les Jones, Bob Donato |

### Big East Conference Regular season

| Game | Date | Rank | Opponent | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 17 | January 19 | #4/#4 | Pittsburgh | #8/#9 | John Cahill, Steve Welmer, Joe Lindsay |
| 18 | January 24 | #4/#4 | Providence | NR/NR | Reggie Greenwood, William Bush, Frank Scagliotta |
| 19 | January 28 | #6/#8 | @ Virginia Tech | NR/NR | Tony Greene, Andre Pittillo, Jim Haney |
| 20 | January 31 | #6/#8 | @ Boston College | NR/NR | John Cahill, Pat Driscoll, Raymond Perone |
| 21 | February 2 | #5/#5 | Syracuse | #18/#20 | Jim Burr, Tim Higgins, Curtis Shaw |
| 22 | February 7 | #5/#5 | West Virginia | NR/NR | Steve Welmer, John Hughes, Reggie Greenwood |
| 23 | February 9 | #5/#5 | @ Notre Dame | NR/NR | Mike Kitts, John Clougherty, Ted Hillary |
| 24 | February 15 | #5/#5 | @ Pittsburgh | #4/#4 | Tim Higgins, Curtis Shaw, Jim Haney |
| 25 | February 18 | #8/#8 | Miami (FL) | NR/NR | Mike Kitts, Joe Lindsay, William Bush |
| 26 | February 21 | #8/#8 | Notre Dame | NR/NR | John Cahill, Ed Corbett, Pat Driscoll |
| 27 | February 24 | #8/#8 | @ St. John's | NR/NR | Jim Burr, Bob Donato, Les Jones |
| 28 | February 28 | #8/#8 | @ Villanova | NR/NR | Mike Kitts, Pat Driscoll, Donnee Gray |
| 29 | March 1 | #7/#8 | Seton Hall | NR/NR | Tom Lopes, John Clougherty, Steve Welmer |
| 30 | March 7 | #7/#8 | @ Syracuse | #24/NR | Joe Lindsay, John Cahill, Tim Higgins |

### Big East men's basketball tournament presented by ConAgra Foods

| Game | Round | Date | Seed | Rank | Opponent | Opp Seed | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 31 | Quarterfinals | March 11 | (BE #2) | #9/#9 | Notre Dame | (BE #7) | NR/NR | Mike Kitts, Pat Driscoll, Reggie Greenwood |
| 32 | Semifinals | March 12 | (BE #2) | #9/#9 | Villanova | (BE #11) | NR/NR | Tim Higgins, Ed Corbett, Jim Haney |
| 33 | Championship Game | March 13 | (BE #2) | #9/#9 | vs. Pittsburgh | (BE #1) | #6/#6 | Jim Burr, Bob Donato, Michael Kitts |

### NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

| Game | Round | Date | Seed | Rank | Opponent | Opp Seed | Opp Rank | Officials |
| 34 | First Round | March 18 | (PH #2) | #7/#7 | Vermont | (PH #15) | NR/NR | Larry Rose, Bert Smith, Carlos Villaneuva-Reyes |
| 35 | Second Round | March 20 | (PH #2) | #7/#7 | DePaul | (PH #7) | NR/NR | Steve Welmer, Larry Rose, Mike Scyphers |
| 36 | Sweet Sixteen | March 25 | (PH #2) | #7/#7 | Vanderbilt | (PH #6) | NR/NR | Ted Hillary, Mike Sanzere, Reggie Cofer |
| 37 | Elite Eight | March 27 | (PH #2) | #7/#7 | Alabama | (PH #8) | NR/NR | David Hall, Randy McCall, Mike Wood |
| 38 | Final Four | April 3 | (PH #2) | #7/#7 | vs. Duke | (AT #1) | #6/#6 | David Hall, Olandis Poole, Ted Hillary |
| 39 | National Championship | April 5 | (PH #2) | #7/#7 | Georgia Tech | (SL #3) | #14/#15 | Dick Cartmell, Randy McCall, Verne Harris |

## Awards and honors

* Emeka Okafor, NCAA Men's MOP Award

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2004 | 1 | 2 | Emeka Okafor | Charlotte Bobcats |
| 2004 | 1 | 3 | Ben Gordon | Chicago Bulls |
| 2005 | 1 | 7 | Charlie Villanueva | Toronto Raptors |
| 2006 | 1 | 12 | Hilton Armstrong | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2006 | 1 | 22 | Marcus Williams | New Jersey Nets |
| 2006 | 1 | 23 | Josh Boone | New Jersey Nets |
| 2006 | 2 | 40 | Denham Brown | Seattle SuperSonics |