# 2002–03 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team

The 2002–03 Colorado Buffaloes Men's basketball team represented the University of Colorado as a member of the Big 12 Conference during the 2002–03 season. Led by 7th-year head coach Ricardo Patton, the Buffaloes played their home games at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colorado. After finishing 4th in the conference regular season standings, Colorado reached the semifinal round of the Big 12 tournament. The team did receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 10 seed in the South region – the program's first NCAA tournament selection in six seasons. Colorado would lose to Michigan State in the opening round to finish the season with a 20–12 record (9–7 Big 12).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 2002* | | Cal Poly | W 97–69 | 1–0 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Nov 24, 2002* | | Stetson | W 107–74 | 2–0 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Nov 27, 2002* | | at New Mexico State | L 71–75 | 2–1 | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Dec 3, 2002* | | Georgia | L 70–71 | 2–2 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 7, 2002* | | at Kansas City | W 62–59 | 3–2 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 11, 2002* | | Chicago State | W 80–61 | 4–2 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 21, 2002* | | at Rice | L 61–80 | 4–3 | Rice Gymnasium Houston, Texas |
| Dec 23, 2002* | | North Texas | W 87–71 | 5–3 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 27, 2002* | | vs. Louisiana-Lafayette | W 75–56 | 6–3 | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 28, 2002* | | at Charlotte | W 76–74 | 7–3 | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 29, 2002* | | vs. Loyola (IL) | W 76–72 | 8–3 | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 4, 2003* | | Penn | W 80–57 | 9–3 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 7, 2003* | | Colorado State | W 93–72 | 10–3 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Big 12 Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 11, 2003 | | at No. 9 Oklahoma | L 54–69 | 10–4 (0–1) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| Jan 15, 2003 | | Kansas State | W 69–63 | 11–4 (1–1) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 18, 2003 | | at Nebraska | L 77–80 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (1–2) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 22, 2003 | | No. 6 Kansas | W 60–59 | 12–5 (2–2) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 29, 2003 | | at Texas Tech | L 56–66 | 12–6 (2–3) | United Spirit Arena Lubbock, Texas |
| Feb 1, 2003 | | at No. 25 Missouri | L 70–73 | 12–7 (2–4) | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Feb 4, 2003 | | No. 3 Texas | W 93–80 | 13–7 (3–4) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 8, 2003 | | Iowa State | W 84–69 | 14–7 (4–4) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 11, 2003 | | at Kansas State | L 54–62 | 14–8 (4–5) | Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, Kansas |
| Feb 15, 2003* | | Texas A&M | W 98–83 | 15–8 (5–5) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 19, 2003 | | at No. 6 Kansas | L 87–94 | 15–9 (5–6) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| Feb 22, 2003 | | Missouri | W 89–68 | 16–9 (6–6) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 25, 2003 | | at Iowa State | L 55–81 | 16–10 (6–7) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Mar 1, 2003 | | at Baylor | W 72–59 | 17–10 (7–7) | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| Mar 5, 2003 | | No. 20 Oklahoma State | W 68–56 | 18–10 (8–7) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Mar 8, 2003 | | Nebraska | W 84–69 | 19–10 (9–7) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 2003* | | vs. Kansas State Quarterfinals | W 77–76 | 20–10 | American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas |
| Mar 14, 2003* | | vs. No. 6 Oklahoma Semifinals | L 59–74 | 20–11 | American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 21, 2003* | (10 S) | vs. (7 S) Michigan State First round | L 64–79 | 20–12 | St. Pete Times Forum Tampa, Florida |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||