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.[1]

2002–03 Troy Trojans men's basketball
ASUN tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceASUN Conference
Record26–6 (14–2 ASUN)
Head coach
Home arenaTrojan Arena (Capacity 5,200)
Seasons
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

edit
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
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

edit

[2]

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.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Xavier has focus, easy win over Troy". The Baltimore Sun. March 21, 2003. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "2002-03 Basketball (M) Schedule".