2002–03 Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team American college basketball season
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
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 (NA)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
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics