The 2002 NCAA Men's Division I 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, Georgia. 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)
Previously, the eight first-/second-round sites would be assigned to a specific regional, and the two teams from any given site that made it to the Sweet 16 would have to face each other in that round. If the previous scheme had been in effect for this tournament the assigned sites would likely have been:
- West Region
- Sacramento (#1 Cincinnati)
- Albuquerque (#2 Oklahoma--the Sooners were barred from matching up with a #1 seed from the Big 12--in this case Kansas--until the Final Four)
- South Region
- Greenville (#1 Duke)
- Dallas (#2 Alabama)
- Midwest Region
- St. Louis (#1 Kansas)
- Chicago (#2 Oregon)
- East Region
- Washington, D.C. (#1 Maryland)
- Pittsburgh (#2 Connecticut)
Maryland, coached by Gary Williams, won the national title with a 64-52 victory in the final game over Indiana, coached by Mike Davis. Juan Dixon of Maryland was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Read more about 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament: Teams, Bids By Conference, Broadcast Information
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