| 2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Big South tournament champions | |
| NCAA tournament, first round | |
| Conference | Big South Conference |
| Record | 15–17 (7–7 Big South) |
| Head coach | |
| Home arena | Justice Center |
| Seasons← 2001–022003–04 → | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winthrop | 11 | – | 3 | .786 | 20 | – | 10 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charleston Southern | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 14 | – | 14 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberty | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 14 | – | 15 | .483 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elon | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNC Asheville † | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radford | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 10 | – | 20 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal Carolina | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 13 | – | 15 | .464 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High Point | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 7 | – | 20 | .259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2003 Big South tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Asheville during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by head coach Eddie Biedenbach, played their home games at the Justice Center and were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 7–7 in Big South play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Elon, Winthrop, and Radford to become champions of the Big South tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in program history. The Bulldogs were one of two No. 16 seeds in the South region, defeating Texas Southern to reach the field of 64. UNC Asheville was eliminated in the first round by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Texas.
Roster
| 2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| Nov 22, 2002* |
at No. 9 Michigan State | L 52–66 | 0–1 |
Breslin Student Events Center East Lansing, Michigan | |||||||
| Nov 24, 2002* |
at No. 24 Minnesota | L 81–87 | 0–2 |
Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota | |||||||
| Dec 7, 2002* |
at East Tennessee State | L 69–87 | 2–3 |
Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee | |||||||
| Dec 21, 2002* |
at No. 8 Connecticut | L 67–117 | 3–4 |
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut | |||||||
| Dec 22, 2002* |
at Holy Cross | L 53–84 | 3–5 |
Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts | |||||||
| Dec 30, 2002* |
at No. 10 Oklahoma | L 64–100 | 3–6 |
Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma | |||||||
| Jan 2, 2003* |
at No. 18 Kansas | L 50–102 | 3–7 |
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas | |||||||
| Mar 1, 2003 |
Winthrop | L 65–76 | 11–16 (7–7) |
Justice Center Asheville, North Carolina | |||||||
| Big South tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 4, 2003* |
at Elon Quarterfinals |
W 68–66 | 12–16 |
Alumni Gym Elon, North Carolina | |||||||
| Mar 7, 2003* |
vs. Winthrop Semifinals |
W 81–80 | 13–16 |
Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia | |||||||
| Mar 8, 2003* |
vs. Radford Championship game |
W 85–71 | 14–16 |
Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia | |||||||
| NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 18, 2003* |
(16 S) | vs. (16 S) Texas Southern Play-in game |
W 92–84 | 15–16 |
University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio | ||||||
| Mar 21, 2003* |
(16 W) | vs. (1 S) No. 5 Texas First round |
L 61–82 | 15–17 |
BJCC Arena Birmingham, Alabama | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South Region. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
References
- "Smith scores 10 of his 28 points in OT for UNC-Asheville". ESPN. March 20, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- "Texas, Purdue Run It Up". The Washington Post. March 22, 2003. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- "2002-03 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- "2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.