2002–03 Troy State Trojans men's basketball team

The 2002–03 Troy State Trojans men's basketball team represented Troy University during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trojans, led by 21st-year head coach Don Maestri, played their home games at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama and were members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 26–6, 14–2 in Sun Belt play to finish atop the conference regular season standings. They defeated Samford, Georgia State, and Central Florida to win the Sun Belt tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first in program history. As the No. 14 seed in the South region, they were beaten by Xavier in the opening round.

2002–03 Troy Trojans men's basketball
ASUN tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	ASUN Conference
Record	26–6 (14–2 ASUN)
Head coach	Don Maestri (21st season)
Home arena	Trojan Arena (Capacity 5,200)

2002–03 Atlantic Sun men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North
Belmont	12	–	4		.750			17	–	12		.586
Jacksonville State	10	–	6		.625			20	–	10		.667
Samford	9	–	7		.563			13	–	15		.464
Georgia State	8	–	8		.500			14	–	15		.483
Gardner–Webb	2	–	14		.125			5	–	24		.172
Campbell	1	–	15		.063			5	–	22		.185
South
Troy State †	14	–	2		.875			26	–	6		.813
Mercer	14	–	2		.875			23	–	6		.793
UCF	11	–	5		.688			21	–	11		.656
Jacksonville	8	–	8		.500			13	–	16		.448
Stetson	4	–	12		.250			7	–	20		.259
Florida Atlantic	3	–	13		.188			7	–	21		.250
† 2003 Atlantic Sun Tournament winner As of March 4, 2003 Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2002–03 Troy Trojans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G Ben Fletcher 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Selma, Alabama	Head coach Don Maestri (Southern Miss) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Dec 3, 2002*		at Arkansas	W 74–66	4–1	Bud Walton Arena  Fayetteville, Arkansas
Dec 17, 2002*		at Georgia Tech	L 66–88	6–2	Alexander Memorial Coliseum  Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 20, 2002*		vs. Northeastern	W 89–72	7–2	Mario Morales Coliseum  Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Dec 21, 2002*		vs. Duquesne	W 73–69	8–2	Mario Morales Coliseum  Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Dec 22, 2002*		vs. Auburn	L 66–94	8–3	Mario Morales Coliseum  Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Sun Belt Conference regular season
Jan 4, 2003		at Jacksonville	W 70–68	10–3 (1–0)	Swisher Gymnasium  Jacksonville, Florida
Mar 1, 2003		Jacksonville	W 94–72	23–5 (14–2)	Trojan Arena  Troy, Alabama
ASUN tournament
Mar 6, 2003*		vs. Samford Quarterfinals	W 70–54	24–5	GSU Sports Arena  Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 7, 2003*		at Georgia State Semifinals	W 71–61	25–5	GSU Sports Arena  Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 8, 2003*		vs. Central Florida Championship game	W 80–69	26–5	GSU Sports Arena  Atlanta, Georgia
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2003*	(14 S)	vs. (3 S) No. 12 Xavier First round	L 59–71	26–6	Gaylord Entertainment Center  Nashville, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South Region. All times are in Central Time.