Maryland's Triumph: A Look Back at the 2002 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a memorable event, featuring 65 schools vying for the national championship. The tournament, the 64th annual edition, commenced on March 12, 2002, and culminated with the championship game on April 1 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. This tournament marked the introduction of the "pod" system, strategically organizing first- and second-round sites around the four regional locations to minimize travel for participating teams.

Championship Glory for Maryland

The Maryland Terrapins emerged victorious, defeating the Indiana Hoosiers 64-52 in the championship game to claim their first-ever national championship. Juan Dixon of Maryland was honored as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

This victory was especially significant for Coach Gary Williams, who guided his alma mater from a period of probation to the pinnacle of college basketball. As he noted, it took them a good 25 minutes before they really ran their offense. He also acknowledged the rare opportunity to coach three great seniors.

Dixon's performance throughout the tournament was remarkable, scoring at least 27 points in four of the first five games, including 33 in the semifinal win against Kansas. In the title game, he started strong, scoring 11 points in the opening 10 minutes. He expressed his joy and disbelief at being part of a national championship team, especially considering that some people had counted him out.

Cinderella Stories and Notable Absences

The 2002 tournament was full of surprises, with several teams exceeding expectations. For the second consecutive year, the Elite Eight featured at least one double-digit seed. Tenth-seed Kent State from the South Region and twelfth-seed Missouri from the West Region both advanced to their respective regional finals. However, Kent State lost to Indiana, and Missouri was defeated by Oklahoma.

Notably, this tournament was the first since 1974 in which the North Carolina Tar Heels did not participate. This ended their 27-year streak, which was the longest appearance streak in NCAA history at the time, surpassing UCLA's 15-year streak in 1990. Kansas has since surpassed this record, with a 35-year streak that is still active.

Semifinal Showdowns

The Final Four featured compelling matchups that set the stage for the championship game.

Maryland vs. Kansas

Maryland faced the Kansas Jayhawks in a thrilling semifinal game. Despite falling behind 13-2 early on, Maryland rallied to take a 44-37 lead at halftime. They extended their lead to 20 points, 83-63, with just over six minutes remaining. Kansas mounted a late comeback, closing the gap to four points with under a minute left, but Maryland held on for a 97-88 victory.

Indiana vs. Oklahoma

Indiana's Cinderella run continued as they defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the other semifinal. Oklahoma led for most of the first half, taking a 34-30 lead into halftime. However, Indiana rallied in the second half, with Jeff Newton leading the way with 19 points. The Hoosiers outscored the Sooners by 13 in the second half, securing a 73-64 victory and a spot in the championship game.

Championship Game: Maryland vs. Indiana

The championship game saw Maryland complete their mission by defeating Indiana 64-52. Maryland led for almost the entire game, with Indiana briefly taking a 44-42 lead with 9:52 remaining. Maryland responded with a 22-8 run to secure the school's first national championship in men's basketball.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

Maryland's senior-laden lineup stepped up in the final minutes, pulling away from the Hoosiers to become the fourth straight No. 1 seed to win the title.

Key Performances in the Championship Game

Dixon was a key player for Maryland, while Laron Profit contributed with his leadership and experience.

Indiana's Kyle Hornsby led the team with 14 points, and Dane Fife added 11. However, Jeffries, the Big Ten's player of the year, was held to eight points on 4-for-11 shooting. He noted that Maryland was definitely physical.

Broadcast Information

ESPN broadcast the opening-round game, and CBS Sports covered the remaining 63 games. Dick Enberg, Matt Guokas, and Armen Keteyian provided commentary for the First and Second Rounds at St. Louis.

Other Notable Facts from the 2002 NCAA Tournament

The 2002 NCAA Tournament was the second NCAA tournament with a 65-team bracket before the introduction of the 68-team bracket that featured the First Four in 2011.
While five of the eight teams in the Elite Eight were a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, No. 5 seed Indiana and No. 10 seed Kent State met in the South Regional final and No. 12 seed Missouri reached the West Regional final.

Game Results: Round by Round

To provide a comprehensive overview of the tournament, here's a breakdown of the results from each round:

First Round

No. 1 Maryland 85, No. 16 Siena 70
No. 8 Wisconsin 80, No. 9 St. John's 76
No. 5 Notre Dame 82, No. 12 Tulsa 71
No. 4 Kentucky 83, No. 13 Valparaiso 68
No. 6 Southern Illinois 76, No. 11 Texas Tech 68
No. 3 Georgia 85, No. 14 Murray State 69
No. 7 N.C. State 69, No. 10 BYU 66
No. 2 UConn 78, No. 15 Hampton 67
No. 1 Kansas 70, No. 16 Holy Cross 59
No. 8 Stanford 84, No. 9 Western Kentucky 66
No. 12 Creighton 83, No. 5 Florida 82
No. 4 Illinois 93, No. 13 Davidson 60
No. 6 Texas 70, No. 11 Boston College 64
No. 3 Mississippi State 70, No. 14 McNeese State 58
No. 7 Wake Forest 83, No. 10 Pepperdine 74
No. 2 Oregon 81, No. 15 Montana 62
No. 1 Duke 84, No. 16 Winthrop 37
No. 8 Notre Dame 82, No. 9 Charlotte 63
No. 5 Indiana 75, No. 12 Utah 56
No. 13 UNC Wilmington 93, No. 4 USC 89
No. 6 California 82, No. 11 Pennsylvania 75
No. 3 Pittsburgh 71, No. 14 Central Connecticut St. 54
No. 10 Kent State 69, No. 7 Oklahoma State 61
No. 2 Alabama 86, No. 15 Florida Atlantic 67
No. 1 Cincinnati 90, No. 16 Boston University 52
No. 8 UCLA 80, No. 9 Mississippi 79
No. 12 Missouri 93, No. 5 Miami (FL) 83
No. 4 Ohio State 69, No. 13 Murray State 58
No. 11 Wyoming 73, No. 6 Gonzaga 71
No. 3 Arizona 86, No. 14 UC Santa Barbara 81
No. 7 Xavier 70, No. 10 Hawaii 58
No. 2 Oklahoma 71, No. 15 Illinois-Chicago 54

Second Round

No. 1 Maryland 87, No. 8 Wisconsin 85
No. 4 Kentucky 87, No. 6 Southern Illinois 77
No. 2 UConn 77, No. 7 N.C. State 61
No. 1 Kansas 86, No. 8 Stanford 63
No. 4 Illinois 72, No. 12 Creighton 60
No. 2 Oregon 92, No. 7 Wake Forest 76
No. 1 Duke 84, No. 8 Notre Dame 77
No. 5 Indiana 76, No. 13 UNC Wilmington 67
No. 10 Kent State 71, No. 3 Pittsburgh 68
No. 12 Missouri 83, No. 4 Ohio State 67
No. 2 Oklahoma 78, No. 7 Xavier 60
No. 1 Maryland 78, No. 4 Kentucky 68
No. 1 Kansas 73, No. 4 Illinois 69
No. 2 Oregon 72, No. 1 Duke 69
No. 5 Indiana 74, No. 10 Kent State 69
No. 2 Oklahoma 88, No. 12 Missouri 74

Regional Semifinals

No. 1 Maryland 90, No. 2 UConn 78
No. 1 Kansas 104, No. 2 Oregon 86
No. 5 Indiana 81, No. 1 Duke 69
No. 2 Oklahoma 81, No. 1 Cincinnati 63

Regional Finals

No. 1 Maryland 90, No. 1 Kansas 78
No. 5 Indiana 81, No. 2 Oklahoma 63

National Semifinals

No. 1 Maryland 97, No. 1 Kansas 88
No. 5 Indiana 73, No. 2 Oklahoma 64

National Championship

No. 1 Maryland 64, No. 5 Indiana 52

2002 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament

The 2002 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament concluded on March 31, 2002, with Connecticut winning the national title. The Final Four was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio on March 29-31, 2002.

Semifinal Matchups

In one semifinal game, Oklahoma faced Duke. Duke opened the game with a 13-7 run, but the Sooners responded with 12 consecutive points. Oklahoma managed to get to a 17-point lead in the second half, but Duke cut the lead to only two points with just under eight minutes to go.

In the other semifinal, UConn faced Tennessee. Although Tennessee scored first, that would be the last time they would lead. The Huskies responded, opened up an early lead, and extended it to 13 points at halftime. Connecticut extended the lead in the beginning of the second half, with a 24-11 run, and went on to hold the Lady Vols to 31% shooting. No Tennessee player scored in double digits; Kara Lawson led the team with nine points.

Championship Game

In the championship game, the Sooners were outrebounded and outshot but did not give up. Oklahoma did not give up a single three-point shot, the first time that had occurred in an NCAA title game, and the last time that would happen to the Connecticut team in any game for over a decade.

With a minute and a half to go, the Huskies held a lead but only six points. UConn had the ball and, despite having four seniors on the floor who would go 1, 2, 4, and 6 in the 2002 WNBA Draft, gave the ball to sophomore Diana Taurasi, who backed down Oklahoma's Stacy Dales, then took a turn around jumper then went in, while Dales fouled Taurasi to foul out of the game.

The championship game attendance of 29,619 set the still-standing attendance record for an official game in women's basketball history.

Additional Records

Fewest turnovers - Louisiana Tech committed only three turnovers in the East regional first-round game against UC Santa Barbara, setting the record for fewest turnovers in an NCAA tournament game.

Tournament Structure and Team Selection

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-one cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference.

The teams were seeded and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game.

Geographical Representation

The sixty-four teams came from thirty states. Texas had the most teams with five bids.

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