# 2002–03 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team

The 2002–03 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team represented Marquette University in NCAA Division I competition in the 2002–03 season. The Golden Eagles, coached by Tom Crean, were then a member of Conference USA; they did not join their current conference, the Big East, until the 2005–06 season.
Since their national championship in 1977, this is Marquette's sole Final Four appearance.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 15* | No. 18 | vs. Villanova Coaches vs Cancer Classic | W 73–61 | 1–0 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| November 22* | No. 16 | Coppin State | W 64–46 | 2–0 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| November 23* | No. 16 | UTSA | W 80–68 | 3–0 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| November 26* | No. 13 | Eastern Illinois | W 94–74 | 4–0 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| December 2* | No. 13 | at Notre Dame | L 71–92 | 4–1 | Joyce Center South Bend, Indiana |
| December 7* | No. 13 | Appalachian State | W 101–78 | 5–1 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| December 14* | No. 16 | Wisconsin | W 63–54 | 6–1 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| December 21* | No. 14 | Elon | W 89–57 | 7–1 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| December 28* | No. 13 | Grambling State | W 105–74 | 8–1 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| December 30 | No. 13 | at East Carolina | L 70–73 | 8–2 (0–1) | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Greenville, North Carolina |
| Jan 4, 2003* | No. 13 | at Dayton | L 85–92 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 | (University of Dayton Arena) Dayton, Ohio |
| Jan 7, 2003 | No. 24 | at Saint Louis | W 60–54 | 9–3 (1—1) | Savvis Center St. Louis, Missouri |
| Jan 11, 2003 | No. 24 | South Florida | W 96–63 | 10–3 (2—1) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 14, 2003 | No. 21 | at Tulane | W 85–73 | 11–3 (3—1) | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Jan 18, 2003 | No. 21 | at Charlotte | W 67–64 | 12–3 (4—1) | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 25, 2003 | No. 20 | DePaul | W 72–51 | 13–3 (5—1) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 29, 2003 | No. 18 | East Carolina | W 80–48 | 14–3 (6—1) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 1, 2003 | No. 18 | at Cincinnati | W 82–76 | 15–3 (7—1) | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 5, 2003 | No. 15 | Saint Louis | W 68–64 | 16–3 (8—1) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 9, 2003* | No. 15 | No. 14 Wake Forest | W 68–61 | 17–3 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 12, 2003 | No. 11 | at DePaul | W 73–60 | 18–3 (9—1) | Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 15, 2003 | No. 11 | No. 2 Louisville | L 70–73 | 18–4 (9—2) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 20, 2003 | No. 11 | Charlotte | W 75–67 | 19–4 (10—2) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 22, 2003 | No. 11 | at TCU | W 79–68 | 20–4 (11—2) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 27, 2003 | No. 10 | at No. 11 Louisville | W 78–73 | 21–4 (12—2) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Mar 1, 2003 | No. 10 | UAB | W 98–87 | 22–4 (13—2) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Mar 8, 2003 | No. 8 | Cincinnati | W 70–61 | 23–4 (14–2) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| C-USA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 2003* | (1) No. 8 | vs. (8) UAB C-USA tournament quarterfinal | L 76–83 | 23–5 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 20, 2003* | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (14 MW) Holy Cross First round | W 72–68 | 24–5 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 22, 2003* | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (6 MW) No. 24 Missouri Second Round | W 101–92 $^{OT}$ | 25–5 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 27, 2003* | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (2 MW) No. 4 Pittsburgh Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 77–74 | 26–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Mar 29, 2003* | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Kentucky Midwest Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 83–69 | 27–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Apr 5, 2003* | (3 MW) No. 9 | vs. (2 W) No. 6 Kansas National semifinal – Final Four | L 61–94 | 27–6 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Dwyane Wade, C-USA Player of the year

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club | Year |
| 1 | 5 | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat | 2003 |
| 2 | 2 | Steve Novak | Houston Rockets | 2006 |
| 2 | 8 | Travis Diener | Orlando Magic | 2005 |