It has been suggested that this article be merged with Syracuse University's 2003 National Basketball Championship Run. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2024.

2003 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2002–03
Teams	65
Finals site	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	Syracuse Orangemen (1st title, 3rd title game, 4th Final Four)
Runner-up	Kansas Jayhawks (7th title game, 12th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Marquette Golden Eagles (3rd Final Four) Texas Longhorns (3rd Final Four)
Winning coach	Jim Boeheim (1st title)
MOP	Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse)
Attendance	54,524
Top scorer	Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) (121 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2002 2004»

The 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Superdome. A total of 64 games were played.

The Final Four consisted of Kansas, making their second straight appearance, Marquette, making their first appearance since they won the national championship in 1977, Syracuse, making their first appearance since 1996, and Texas, making their first appearance since 1947. Texas was the only top seed to advance to the Final Four; the other three (Arizona, Kentucky, and Oklahoma) advanced as far as the Elite Eight but fell.

Syracuse won their first national championship in three tries under 27th-year head coach Jim Boeheim, who would ultimately retire after the 2022–2023 season. This was also Roy Williams' final game as Kansas head coach; he would depart after the season to become the head coach at North Carolina.

Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Syracuse beat four Big 12 teams on its way to the title: Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.

Schedule and venues

Dayton

Spokane

Salt Lake City

Oklahoma City

Indianapolis

Tampa

Boston

Nashville

Birmingham

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2003 play-in game (orange) and first and second rounds (green)

Anaheim

Minneapolis

San Antonio

Albany

New Orleans

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2003 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2003 tournament:

Opening Round

• March 18
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and Second Rounds

• March 20 and 22
  • Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
  • RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University and Horizon League)
  • Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: Washington State University)
• March 21 and 23
  • BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)
  • FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College)
  • Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)
  • St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 27 and 29
  • Midwest Regional
    • Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
  • West Regional
    • Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference)
• March 28 and 30
  • East Regional
    • Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York (Host: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Siena College)
  • South Regional
    • Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 5 and 7
  • Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Host: Sun Belt Conference and University of New Orleans)

Qualifying teams

Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2003 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

Listed by region and seeding