Veteran coach Jim Boeheim teamed with freshman star Carmelo Anthony to finally give Syracuse its first NCAA championship by knocking off Kansas 81-78. It was Syracuse's fourth Final Four - and third for Boeheim, who lost in the 1987 and 1996 title games. Anthony would bolt for the NBA after taking home the crown and the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor - the third freshman to win the award and first since Louisville's Pervis Ellison in 1986.
65-Team Field, Coverage Moved Due To Iraq War
The NCAA continued its 65-team system with a play-in game between the 64th and 65th teams for the third consecutive year. Due to the start of the Iraq war, American television station CBS moved broadcasting of the Thursday afternoon first round games to ESPN. The tournament ran from March 18 to April 7 with the Final Four being played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Syracuse No. 3 Seed In East Behind Oklahoma, Wake Forest
Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orangemen were seeded No. 3 in the East behind Oklahoma and Wake Forest. Anthony and company started with a 76-65 first round win over Manhattan before knocking off Oklahoma State 68-56 in the second round. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Orangemen barely held off No. 10 seed Auburn - which beat No. 2 seed Wake Forest - 79-78 to move one step from the Final Four. And Syracuse's 2-3 zone confused top seed Oklahoma so much in the Elite Eight that the Sooners had more turnovers (19) than baskets (18) in a 63-47 thrashing.
Few Upsets
The 2003 tournament did not have a lot of upsets. Sixth seeded defending champion Maryland and No. 7 seed Michigan State beat No. 3 Xavier and No. 2 Florida in the second round in the South before Michigan State advanced to the final and lost to No. 1 Texas.
Texas, Marquette, Kansas Into Final Four
Joining Syracuse in the Final Four were Texas, making its third trip to the semifinals and first since 1947; Midwest 3 seed Marquette, which beat No. 1 Kentucky to return to the Final Four for third time and first since winning the title in 1977; and Kansas, making its 12th Final Four and second straight.
Syracuse Out-Run Texas, Kansas Blows Out Marquette
In the national semifinals, Boeheim's Orangemen opened a comfortable second half lead before watching Texas cut the gap to four points with a minute left. But freshman Gerry McNamara hit some clutch free throws down the stretch for a 95-84 victory as Carmelo Anthony scored 33 points. Kansas proved unimpressed by Marquette's convincing victory over Kentucky in the Midwest final as the Jayhawks thrashed Marquette 94-61. Keith Langford scored 24 points for the Jayhawks while Kirk Hinrich and Aaron Miles each added 18 points for Kansas. The 33-point win was the fourth-largest blowout in Final Four history.
Boeheim Vs Williams For First National Title
The Syracuse-Kansas final meant that either Jim Boeheim or Kansas's coach Roy Williams would finally collect his first NCAA crown. Boeheim was in his third title game (1987 and 1996) and Williams was in his fourth Final Four (1991, 1993, 2002) and second final (1991).
Anthony, McNamara, Warrick Too Much For Kansas
The final proved extremely exciting as McNamara made six first half three-pointers to score all 18 of his points in the first half. Anthony finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but was held scoreless over the final 13 minutes. And the Orangemen led 76-64 with just over five minutes left. But Kansas took advantage of Syracuse's sloppiness and some missed foul shots. Kueth Duany's free throw with 24 seconds left gave Syracuse an 81-78 lead before Hinrich missed a three-pointer eight seconds later. But Warrick missed a pair at the line, giving the Jayhawks a final chance. But Hakim Warrick atoned for his misses by blocking Michael Lee's three-point attempt with 0.7 seconds left to secure the win.
Kansas senior Nick Collison had 19 points and 21 rebounds - the second-highest total in a title game - but he also made just 1-of-7 free throws in the second half. Kansas as a team hit just 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from the line in the second half and 40 percent (12-of-30) for the game.
Exorcised New Orleans, Smart Demons From 1987
After Syracuse knocked off four Big 12 teams - Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas - Boeheim was able to exorcise the demons from 1987 when Keith Smart and Indiana won in the final seconds on the same New Orleans Court.
Williams Leaves Kansas
Days after the final, Kansas coach Roy Williams announced he was leaving the Jayhawks to take over as head coach at his alma mater North Carolina.
