The 2002

Conference USA men's basketball tournament The Conference USA men's basketball tournament is held annually following the end of the regular season of NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. Format and hosts After the conference realignment, the tournament was held at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn ...

was held March 6–9 at the Firstar Center in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. Top-seeded

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

defeated Marquette in the championship game, 77–63, to clinch their third Conference USA men's tournament championship. The Bearcats, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA tournament. They were joined in the tournament by fellow C-USA members Marquette and Charlotte, both of whom earned at-large bids.

Format

Conference USA added two new teams, East Carolina and TCU, bringing total membership to fourteen. ECU was placed in the American Division, and TCU into the National Division. Even with the league expansion, there were no new changes to the tournament format. The top four teams were given byes into the quarterfinal round while the next eight teams were placed into the first round. The two teams at the bottom of the conference standings, therefore, did not qualify for the tournament. All remaining tournament seeds were determined by regular season conference records.

Bracket

References

{{2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox Conference USA men's basketball tournament

Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...