The 2002–03 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. The head coach was Tubby Smith, who was in his sixth season as the Wildcats head coach. For the program, it was the 100th season of Kentucky Wildcats basketball. The team was a member of the

Southeast Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members include the flagship public universities of 12 states, 3 ...

and played their home games at

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...

. The Kentucky Wildcats finished with an overall record of 32–4 and were undefeated in conference play, 16–0. In the 2003 SEC men's basketball tournament the Wildcats beat Vanderbilt, Auburn and Mississippi State. to secure their 24th Tournament Championship. As a #1 seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Kentucky's run continued with wins over IUPUI, Utah and Wisconsin. But in the Elite 8 their season came to an abrupt end with a surprising loss to Marquette 83–69.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style="background:#273BE2; color:white;", Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#273BE2; color:white;", Conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#273BE2;", 2003 SEC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style="background:#273BE2;", 2003 NCAA Tournament

Awards and honors

*Tubby Smith,

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

Team players drafted into the NBA

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Team Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildlife, an undomesticated organism * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...