Big East Conference
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
men's basketball season was the 23rd in conference history, and involved its 14 full-time member schools.
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
was the regular-season champion of the East Division with a record of , and
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
won the West Division, also with a record of . Connecticut won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights
* For the second season, the Big East used a divisional structure, with an East Division and a West Division, each composed of seven teams. The divisional structure lasted through the 2002–03 season.
*
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
won the East Division regular-season championship with a record of . It was Connecticut's seventh regular-season championship or co-championship. It also was Connecticut's third division championship or co-championship and second outright division title.Under an earlier Big East divisional structure Connectiut won two outright Big East 6 Division championships, in the 1995–96 and 1997–98 season.
*
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
won the West Division regular-season championship with a record of . It was Pittsburgh's third conference championship or co-championship and first division title.
* Connecticut won its fifth Big East tournament championship.
* St. John's later had 14 of its regular-season wins this season vacated due to sanctions imposed on the program for the use of an ineligible player.
Head coaches
Rankings
Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse spent time in the Associated Press poll Top 25 during the season. Pittsburgh finished at No. 9, Connecticut at No. 10, and Miami at No. 21.
Regular-season statistical leaders
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding
Two teams — the seventh-place finishers in each division based on conference record, after the application of tiebreakers as necessary — did not qualify for the Big East Tournament. The remaining six teams in each division were seeded No. 1 through No. 6 by division based on conference record, again applying tiebreakers as necessary. Four teams — the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each division — received a bye into the quarterfinal round. Eight teams — the No. 3 through No. 6 seeds in each division — played in the first round. In the first round the No. 3 East seed played the No. 6 West seed, the No. 4 East seed played the No. 5 West seed, the No. 5 East seed played the No. 4 West seed, and the No. 6 East seed played the No. 3 West seed.
Seeding in the East Division was and Seeding in the West Division was and The two seventh-place finishers that did not qualify for the tournament were Virginia Tech in the East Division and West Virginia in the West Division.
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Boston College, Miami, and St. John's lost in the first round and Notre Dame in the second round. Pittsburgh lost in the South Region semifinals an Connecticut in the East Region final.
National Invitation Tournament
Four Big East teams received bids to the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
, which did not yet have
seeding
The term seeding and related terms such as seeded are used in several different contexts:
*Sowing, planting seeds in a place or on an object
*Cloud seeding, manipulating cloud formations
*Seeding (computing), a concept in computing and peer-to-pee ...
. Three teams accepted their bids and played in three of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Rutgers lost in the first round and Villanova in the quarterfinals. Syracuse was defeated in the semifinals.
Georgetown declined its NIT bid. Head coach
Craig Esherick
Craig Robert Esherick (born November 1, 1956) is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor of sport management for George Mason University and color commentator for college basketball games ...
explained his controversial decision by saying that Georgetowns home court, the
MCI Center
Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Chinatown section of the larger Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. The arena was opened on D ...
, was booked to host the East Regional of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, meaning that accepting the NIT invitation would have required the Hoyas to play on the road in the
western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau.
As American settlement i ...
for two weeks, forcing his players to miss many of their classes. After playing a similar schedule during the previous season in the 2001 NCAA tournament, Esherick had concluded that missing so many classes to play in the NCAA Tournament would have been worth it because of the chance to win a national championship, but that missing them to play in the NIT, a tournament which did not offer a chance for a national championship, was not in the best interest of Georgetowns players. Georgetown became only the second team in history to turn down an NIT bid, and the first to do so since
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
Caron Butler
James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. During his 14-year NBA career, he played for the Miami He ...
, Connecticut, F, So.
*
Brandin Knight
Brandin Adar Knight (born December 16, 1981 ,
Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...
Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award.
Some of the ...
:
*
Ben Howland
Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...
, Pittsburgh (3rd season)
All-Big East First Team
*
Caron Butler
James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. During his 14-year NBA career, he played for the Miami He ...
Marcus Hatten
Marcus Isaiah Hatten (born December 13, 1980) is a retired American professional basketball player. Standing at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), he played as point guard and had an extensive professional career in several European and South-American count ...
, St. John's, G, Jr., , ,
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
Brandin Knight
Brandin Adar Knight (born December 16, 1981 ,
East Orange
East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...
Tulsa
Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
Michael Sweetney
Michael Damien Sweetney (born October 25, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He is now the assistant coach of the Yeshiva University Men's basketball team and head coach of the girls varsity basketball team at New York's ...
Troy Bell
Troy Delvon Bell (born November 10, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other leagues mostly in Europe. He is also a R&B producer. He was an All-American college player at ...
, Boston College, G, Jr., , ,
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
Darius Rice
Darius Lashaun Rice (born October 16, 1982) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Miami. He is the nephew of former professional football player, Jerry Rice.
College career
Rice played c ...
, Miami, F, So., , ,
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
John Salmons
John Rashall Salmons (born December 12, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Miam ...
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
East Chicago
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 26,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centered around heavy industry, the city is home to the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwa ...
, Ind.
All-Big East Third Team:
* James Jones, Miami, F, Jr.., , ,
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, Ind.
*
Kevin Braswell
Kevin Levelle Braswell (January 23, 1979 – February 24, 2025) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played four years of college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas between 1998 and 2002 before playing professionally for ...
, Georgetown, G, Sr., , , Baltimore, Md.
*
Emeka Okafor
Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national championship. ...
, Connecticut, C, Fr., , ,
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
Paterson Paterson may refer to:
People
*Paterson (surname)
*Paterson (given name)
Places
Australia
*Paterson, New South Wales
* Paterson River, New South Wales
*Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales
* Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
Emeka Okafor
Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national championship. ...
Ryan Gomes
Ryan Anthony Gomes (born September 1, 1982) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach for the Providence Friars. He was named a First Team All-American power forward at Providence C ...
, Providence, F, Fr., , ,
Waterbury
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...
The following players were selected to the 2002 Associated Press All-America teams.
Third Team All-America:
*
Brandin Knight
Brandin Adar Knight (born December 16, 1981 ,
Troy Bell
Troy Delvon Bell (born November 10, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other leagues mostly in Europe. He is also a R&B producer. He was an All-American college player at ...
, Boston College
*
Caron Butler
James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. During his 14-year NBA career, he played for the Miami He ...
2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2001, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on Apr ...
2001–02 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
The 2001–02 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The Hoyas were coached by Craig Esherick and played most of their home games at the MCI Center i ...
2001–02 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team
The 2001–02 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Ben Howland, the Panthers finished with a record of 29–6. They receive ...