2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place from March 12 – March 15, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner will receive the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. It was a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the four highest seeds (two from each Big East division) receive byes in the first round. The 6 Big East teams with the best conference records from both the East and West Divisions of the Big East Conference were invited to participate. Boston College, who had an identical 10–6 record as Connecticut, received the #1 seed from the East Division due to a tie breaker. Likewise, Syracuse, who had an identical 13–3 conference record to Pitt, received the #1 seed from West Division due to tiebreakers. Virginia Tech from the East Division and Rutgers from the West Division failed to make the tournament.[2]
Pittsburgh defeated Connecticut, 74–56, in the finals to earn its first Big East Tournament Championship.

2003 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2002–03
Teams12
SiteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsPittsburgh (1st title)
Winning coachBen Howland (1st title)
MVPJulius Page (Pittsburgh)
Top scorersCarmelo Anthony (Syracuse)
Ben Gordon (Connecticut)
(50 points)
2002–03 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
Boston College10–6 .625  19–12  .613
No. 23 Connecticut10–6 .625  23–10  .697
Providence8–8 .500  18–14  .563
Villanova8–8 .500  15–16  .484
St. John's7–9 .438  21–13  .618
Miami4–12 .250  11–17  .393
Virginia Tech*4–12 .250  11–18  .379
West
No. 13 Syracuse13–3 .813  30–5  .857
No. 4 Pittsburgh†13–3 .813  28–5  .848
Seton Hall10–6 .625  17–13  .567
No. 22 Notre Dame10–6 .625  24–10  .706
Georgetown6–10 .375  19–15  .559
West Virginia5–11 .313  14–15  .483
Rutgers*4–12 .250  12–16  .429
† 2003 Big East Tournament winner
As of March 31, 2003[1]; Rankings from AP Poll
*Did not qualify for 2003 Big East Tournament

Bracket
  First Round
March 12, 2003		 Quarterfinals
March 13, 2003		 Semifinals
March 14, 2003		 Championship Game
March 15, 2003
                                     
       
  W1 #11 Syracuse 74  
    W5 Georgetown 69  
W5 Georgetown 46
E4 Villanova 41  
  W1 #11 Syracuse 67  
  E2 Connecticut 80  
       
       
  E2 Connecticut 83
    W3 Seton Hall 70  
E6 Miami 52
W3 Seton Hall 67  
  E2 Connecticut 56
  W2 #5 Pittsburgh 74
       
       
  E1 Boston College 82*
    E5 St. John's 75  
E5 St. John's 83
W4 #17 Notre Dame 80  
  E1 Boston College 48
  W2 #5 Pittsburgh 74  
       
       
  W2 #5 Pittsburgh 67
    E3 Providence 57  
W6 West Virginia 50
E3 Providence 73  

* denotes an overtime (OT) period

Note: By finishing in last place during the regular season in their respective divisions, Virginia Tech and Rutgers did not qualify for the tournament.

Championship Game

On March 15, Pittsburgh won their first-ever Big East Tournament, defeating Connecticut 74–56. They led by one at half-time, but quickly extended their lead in the second half. Jaron Brown led the Panthers with a career-high 19 points. Brown converted all six of his free throw attempts and was 6-of-9 from the field. He added ten rebounds to notch his fourth career double-double. Julius Page and Brandin Knight finished with 16 points apiece, and Chevon Troutman had 12. Page, a junior, averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 47.1 percent shooting (16-for-37) in the three tournament games. He won the Tournament MVP award. Knight averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 steals, and 3.3 rebounds in the tournament.

It was the third straight title game reached for Pittsburgh. Howland and the Panthers lost to Uconn in double overtime in 2002. It tied the largest margin of victory for a Panther team in the Big East Tournament. They also defeated Boston College by eighteen, winning 88–70 on March 8, 2000. The win was Pittsburgh's ninth in a row, tying their season high. They also won nine in a row to begin the season.[3]

Awards

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Julius Page, Pittsburgh

All-Tournament Team

References
  1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/2003.html
  2. 2007–08 Big East Media Guide
  3. Game recap & notes – Pittsburghpanthers.com
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