2002–03 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team

The 2002–03 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team represented Central Michigan University as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jay Smith and played their home games at the Daniel P. Rose Center. After finishing atop the MAC regular season standings, the Chippewas won the MAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the West region. Central Michigan defeated No. 6 seed Creighton in the opening round^[1] before losing to No. 3 seed Duke in the Round of 32.^[2] The team finished with a record of 25–7 (14–4 MAC).

2002–03 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball
MAC West Division Champions MAC Regular Season Champions MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West
Record	25–7 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach	Jay Smith
Home arena	Daniel P. Rose Center
Seasons ← 2001–02 2003–04 →

2002–03 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Kent State	12	–	6		.667			21	–	10		.677
Miami (OH)	11	–	7		.611			13	–	15		.464
Akron	9	–	9		.500			14	–	14		.500
Marshall	9	–	9		.500			14	–	15		.483
Ohio	8	–	10		.444			14	–	16		.467
Buffalo	2	–	16		.111			5	–	23		.179
West
Central Michigan †	14	–	4		.778			25	–	7		.781
Northern Illinois	11	–	7		.611			17	–	14		.548
Western Michigan	10	–	8		.556			20	–	11		.645
Eastern Michigan	8	–	10		.444			14	–	14		.500
Bowling Green	8	–	10		.444			13	–	16		.448
Ball State	8	–	10		.444			13	–	17		.433
Toledo	7	–	11		.389			14	–	15		.483
† 2003 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2002–03 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown C 35 Chris Kaman 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr Tri-unity Christian School Wyoming, Michigan	Head coach Jay Smith Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 2002*		George Mason	W 61–58	1–0	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Nov 26, 2002*		Illinois State	W 74–69	2–0	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Nov 30, 2002*		at DePaul	L 56–92	2–1	Allstate Arena  Rosemont, Illinois
Dec 3, 2002*		at Michigan	W 85–78	3–1	Crisler Arena  Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dec 8, 2002*		Drake	W 73–61	4–1	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Dec 14, 2002*		at Marist	W 88–66	5–1	McCann Field House  Poughkeepsie, New York
Dec 18, 2002*		at Bradley	W 74–71	6–1	Carver Arena  Peoria, Illinois
Dec 23, 2002*		at Valparaiso	L 51–65	6–2	Athletics-Recreation Center  Valparaiso, Indiana
Dec 30, 2002		Spring Arbor	W 113–63	7–2	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Jan 4, 2003		at Miami (OH)	L 62–71	7–3 (0–1)	Millett Hall  Oxford, Ohio
Jan 8, 2003		at Western Michigan	W 80–75	8–3 (1–1)	University Arena  Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jan 11, 2003		Ohio	W 87–84	9–3 (2–1)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Jan 14, 2003		at Marshall	W 81–78	10–3 (3–1)	Henderson Center  Huntington, West Virginia
Jan 18, 2003		Buffalo	W 97–73	11–3 (4–1)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Jan 22, 2003		Ball State	W 83–74	12–3 (5–1)	Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Jan 25, 2003		at Eastern Michigan	L 68–84	12–4 (5–2)	Convocation Center
Jan 29, 2003		at Kent State	L 78–82	12–5 (5–3)	Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center  Kent, Ohio
Feb 1, 2003*		Bowling Green	W 88–71	13–5 (6–3)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Feb 8, 2003		at Akron	W 99–92	14–5 (7–3)	James A. Rhodes Arena  Akron, Ohio
Feb 10, 2003		Western Michigan	W 77–58	15–5 (8–3)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Feb 15, 2003		at Toledo	W 66–64	16–5 (9–3)	John F. Savage Hall  Toledo, Ohio
Feb 19, 2003		Ball State	W 94–92	17–5 (10–3)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Feb 22, 2003		at Northern Illinois	W 87–75	18–5 (11–3)	Convocation Center  DeKalb, Illinois
Feb 25, 2003		Akron	L 69–70	18–6 (11–4)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mar 1, 2003		Eastern Michigan	W 106–89	19–6 (12–4)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mar 5, 2003		Northern Illinois	W 73–57	20–6 (13–4)	Rose Arena  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mar 8, 2003		at Ball State	W 86–66	21–6 (14–4)	Worthen Arena  Muncie, Indiana
MAC Tournament
Mar 13, 2003*	(1)	vs. (9) Bowling Green Quarterfinals	W 87–70	22–6	Gund Arena  Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 14, 2003*	(1)	vs. (4) Northern Illinois Semifinals	W 94–72	23–6	Gund Arena  Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 15, 2003*	(1)	vs. (2) Kent State Championship Game	W 77–67	24–6	Gund Arena  Cleveland, Ohio
NCAA Tournament
Mar 20, 2003*  CBS	(11 W)	vs. (6 W) No. 15 Creighton First Round	W 79–73	25–6	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 22, 2003*  CBS	(11 W)	vs. (3 W) No. 7 Duke Second Round	L 60–86	25–7	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[3]

Awards and honors

• Chris Kaman – MAC Player of the Year, AP Honorable Mention All-American
• Jay Smith – MAC Coach of the Year

2003 NBA draft

Main article: 2003 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Team
1	6	Chris Kaman	Los Angeles Clippers

^[4]

References

1. "Chippewas hang on to win after Creighton rally". ESPN. March 20, 2003. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
2. "Chippewas Eliminated In Second Round By Duke, 86-60". Central Michigan University Athletics. March 22, 2003. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
3. "Central Michigan Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Central Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
4. "2003 NBA Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2021.