The 2002 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 12, 2002, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. A total of 64 games were played.
This was the first year that the tournament used the so-called "pod" system, in which the eight first- and second-round sites are distributed around the four regionals. Teams were assigned to first round spots in order to minimize travel for as many teams as possible. The top seeds at each site were:
- Sacramento: Oregon (M2), USC (S4)
- Albuquerque: Arizona (W3), Ohio State (W4)
- Dallas: Oklahoma (W2), Mississippi State (M3)
- St. Louis: Kansas (M1), Kentucky (E4)
- Chicago: Georgia (E3), Illinois (M4)
- Pittsburgh: Cincinnati (W1), Pittsburgh (S3)
- Washington, D.C.: Maryland (E1), Connecticut (E2)
- Greenville: Duke (S1), Alabama (S2)
The Final Four consisted of Maryland, making their second consecutive appearance, Kansas, making their first appearance since 1993, Indiana, making their first appearance since 1992, and Oklahoma, making their first appearance since their national runner-up finish in 1988.
Maryland defeated Indiana 64-52 in the championship game to win their first ever national championship.
Juan Dixon of Maryland was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
For the second straight tournament, the Elite Eight featured at least one double-digit seed. South Region tenth-seed Kent State and West Region twelfth-seed Missouri played in their respective regional finals, with Kent State losing to Indiana and Missouri losing to Oklahoma.
This also marked the first time since 1987 that no team from the states of North Carolina nor Kentucky reached the Final Four.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Locations
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2002 tournament:
Opening Round
First and second rounds
Regionals
Final Four
Kent State Basketball Score Video
Teams
Bids by conference
Final four
At Georgia Dome, Atlanta
National Semifinals
- March 30, 2002
- Maryland (E1) 97, Kansas (M1) 88
- Indiana (S5) 73, Oklahoma (W2) 64
Championship Game
- April 1, 2002
- Maryland (E1) 64, Indiana (S5) 52
Bracket
East Regional -- Syracuse, New York
Regional Final Summary
Midwest Regional -- Madison, Wisconsin
Regional Final Summary
South Regional -- Lexington, Kentucky
First Round summary
Second Round summary
Regional Semifinal summary
Regional Final Summary
West Regional -- San Jose, California
Regional Final Summary
Final Four -- Atlanta, Georgia
Broadcast information
ESPN broadcast the opening-round game, then turned coverage over to CBS Sports for the remaining 63 games. They were carried on a regional basis until the "Elite Eight", at which point all games were shown nationally.
Westwood One had exclusive radio coverage.
CBS Sports announcers
- Jim Nantz and Billy Packer - First & Second Round at Washington, D.C.; East Regional at Syracuse, New York; Final Four at Atlanta, Georgia
- Dick Enberg and Matt Guokas - First & Second Round at St. Louis, Missouri; South Regional at Lexington, Kentucky
- Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery - First & Second Round at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Midwest Regional at Madison, Wisconsin
- Gus Johnson and Dan Bonner - First & Second Round at Albuquerque, New Mexico; West Regional at San Jose, California
- Kevin Harlan and Jon Sundvold - First & Second Round at Greenville, South Carolina
- Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel - First & Second Round at Sacramento, California
- Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel - First & Second Round at Dallas, Texas
- Tim Brando and Eddie Fogler - First & Second Round at Chicago, Illinois
Westwood One announcers
- Marty Brennaman and Larry Conley, 1st and 2nd Rounds at Greenville, South Carolina and South Regionals at Lexington, Kentucky
Local announcers
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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