2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team

2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball
Patriot League regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferencePatriot League
Record26–5 (13–1 Patriot)
Head coach
Home arenaHart Center
2002–03 Patriot League men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
13 1   .929 26 5   .839
American 9 5   .643 16 14   .533
Colgate 9 5   .643 14 14   .500
Lehigh 8 6   .571 16 12   .571
Bucknell 7 7   .500 14 15   .483
Lafayette 6 8   .429 13 16   .448
Navy 4 10   .286 8 20   .286
Army 0 14   .000 5 22   .185
2003 Patriot League tournament winner

The 2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by 4th-year head coach Ralph Willard, played their home games at the Hart Center and were members of the Patriot League. They finished the season 26–5, 13–1 in Patriot League play to win the regular season league title. As the #1 seed, they defeated Army, Bucknell, and American to be champions of the Patriot League tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest region, they were beaten by No. 3 seed and eventual Final Four participant Marquette, 72–68.[1]

Roster

2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 14 Kevin Hamilton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Archbishop Molloy Queens Village, New York
F 35 Tim Szatko 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Naperville Central Naperville, Illinois
C 45 Patrick Whearty 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Our Lady of Lourdes Poughkeepsie, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    [2]

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 19, 2002*
    ESPN
    at No. 2 Kansas
    Preseason NIT
    L 57–81  0–1
    Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
    Lawrence, Kansas
    Nov 23, 2002*
    at Dowling W 101–61  1–1
    Hart Center (1,023)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Nov 26, 2002*
    at Harvard W 71–66  2–1
    Lavietes Pavilion (1,306)
    Cambridge, Massachusetts
    Dec 1, 2002*
    Boston College W 71–70  3–1
    Worcester Centrum (3,620)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Dec 7, 2002*
    at Brown W 72–56  4–1
    Pizzitola Sports Center (1,571)
    Providence, Rhode Island
    Dec 11, 2002*
    vs. Yale
    Phoenix Classic
    L 66–70  4–2
    XL Center (4,182)
    Hartford, Connecticut
    Dec 12, 2002*
    vs. Hartford
    Phoenix Classic
    W 79–53  5–2
    XL Center (6,617)
    Hartford, Connecticut
    Dec 22, 2002*
    UNC Asheville W 84–53  6–2
    Hart Center (2,389)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Dec 28, 2002*
    at Marist L 63–66  6–3
    McCann Arena (2,678)
    Poughkeepsie, New York
    Dec 31, 2002*
    at Fordham W 87–54  7–3
    Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,926)
    Bronx, New York
    Jan 3, 2003*
    Princeton W 55–54  8–3
    Hart Center (1,046)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Jan 7, 2003*
    at Quinnipiac W 83–75  9–3
    Burt Kahn Court (1,344)
    Hamden, Connecticut
    Patriot League regular season
    Jan 11, 2003
    Army W 61–45  10–3
    (1–0)
    Hart Center (3,128)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Jan 15, 2003
    Colgate W 86–43  11–3
    (2–0)
    Hart Center (2,839)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Jan 18, 2003
    at Lafayette W 76–70  12–3
    (3–0)
    Kirby Sports Center (2,945)
    Easton, Pennsylvania
    Jan 21, 2003*
    Dartmouth W 63–43  13–3
    Hart Center (2,024)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Jan 24, 2003
    at Navy W 76–61  14–3
    (4–0)
    Alumni Hall (2,203)
    Annapolis, Maryland
    Jan 26, 2003
    at American L 49–72  14–4
    (4–1)
    Bender Arena (1,823)
    Washington D.C.
    Jan 31, 2003
    Lehigh W 63–39  15–4
    (5–1)
    Hart Center (3,215)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Feb 2, 2003
    Bucknell W 69–47  16–4
    (6–1)
    Hart Center (4,000)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Feb 8, 2003
    at Army W 53–45  17–4
    (7–1)
    Christl Arena (1,537)
    West Point, New York
    Feb 12, 2003
    at Colgate W 92–91 OT 18–4
    (8–1)
    Cotterell Court (562)
    Hamilton, New York
    Feb 15, 2003
    Lafayette W 73–65  19–4
    (9–1)
    Hart Center (4,000)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Feb 21, 2003
    American W 68–66  20–4
    (10–1)
    Hart Center (3,847)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Feb 23, 2003
    Navy W 63–42  21–4
    (11–1)
    Hart Center (4,000)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    Feb 28, 2003
    at Bucknell W 54–43  22–4
    (12–1)
    Davis Gym (2,182)
    Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
    Mar 2, 2003
    at Lehigh W 72–64  23–4
    (13–1)
    Stabler Arena (3,273)
    Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
    Patriot League Tournament
    Mar 8, 2003*
    vs. Army
    Quarterfinals
    W 58–40  24–4
    The Show Place Arena (2,523)
    Upper Marlboro, Maryland
    Mar 9, 2003*
    vs. Bucknell
    Semifinals
    W 75–50  25–4
    The Show Place Arena (3,356)
    Upper Marlboro, Maryland
    Mar 14, 2003*
    American
    Championship game
    W 72–64  26–4
    Hart Center (4,000)
    Worcester, Massachusetts
    NCAA Tournament
    Mar 20, 2003*
    (14 MW) vs. (3 MW) No. 9 Marquette
    First round
    L 68–72  26–5
    RCA Dome (25,000)
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    MW=Midwest Region.
    All times are in Eastern Time..

    [3][4][5]

    References

    1. ^ "Holy Cross doesn't go quietly in first round". ESPN. March 20, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
    2. ^ "2002-03 Men's Basketball Roster". Holy Cross Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
    3. ^ "2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule". Holy Cross Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
    4. ^ "2002-2003 Patriot League Men's Basketball Stats" (PDF). Patriot League.
    5. ^ "2002-2003 Holy Cross Men's Basketball Stats". Go Holy Cross.