2002–03 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season

2002–03 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season
2002–03 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	13
Regular season
League champions	Central Michigan
Runners-up	Kent State
Season MVP	Chris Kaman
Tournament
Champions	Central Michigan
Runners-up	Kent State
Finals MVP	Chris Kaman
Mid-American men's basketball seasons
	← 2001–02 2003–04 →

2002–03 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Kent State	12	–	6	.667	21	–	10	.677
Miami (OH)	11	–	7	.611	13	–	15	.464
Akron	9	–	9	.500	14	–	14	.500
Marshall	9	–	9	.500	14	–	15	.483
Ohio	8	–	10	.444	14	–	16	.467
Buffalo	2	–	16	.111	5	–	23	.179
West
Central Michigan †	14	–	4	.778	25	–	7	.781
Northern Illinois	11	–	7	.611	17	–	14	.548
Western Michigan	10	–	8	.556	20	–	11	.645
Eastern Michigan	8	–	10	.444	14	–	14	.500
Bowling Green	8	–	10	.444	13	–	16	.448
Ball State	8	–	10	.444	13	–	17	.433
Toledo	7	–	11	.389	14	–	15	.483

† 2003 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002–03 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2002, followed by the start of the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2003 and concluded in March 2003. Central Michigan won the regular season title with a conference record of 14–4 by two games over second-place Kent State. Central Michigan defeated Kent State in the MAC tournament final and represented the MAC in the NCAA tournament.^[1] There they defeated Creighton in the first round before losing to Duke.^[2]^[3]

Preseason awards

The preseason poll was announced by the league office on October 24, 2002.^[4]

Preseason men's basketball poll

(First place votes in parentheses)

East Division

Ohio (22) 199
Miami (5) 166
Kent State (7) 155
Marshall (1) 94
Akron (1) 89
Buffalo 58

West Division

Honors

^[5]

Honor	Recipient
Preseason All-MAC East	Brandon Hunter, Ohio
	Antonio Gates, Kent State
	Andy Hipsher, Akron
	Ronald Blackshear, Marshall
	Juby Johnson, Miami
Preseason All-MAC West	Theron Smith, Ball State
	Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
	Ricky Cottrill, Eastern Michigan
	Nick Moore, Toledo
	Robby Collum, Western Michigan

Postseason

Mid–American Tournament

NCAA tournament

Postseason awards

^[6]^[7]

Coach of the Year: Jay Smith, Central Michigan
Player of the Year: Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Sammy Villegas, Toledo
Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
Sixth Man of the Year: Whitney Robinson, Central Michigan

Honors

^[6]^[8]

Honor	Recipient
Postseason All-MAC First Team	Chris Williams, Ball State
	Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
	Antonio Gates, Kent State
	Marcus Smallwood, Northern Illinois
	Brandon Hunter, Ohio
Postseason All-MAC Second Team	Derrick Tarver, Akron
	Mike Manciel, Central Michigan
	Ryan Prillman, Eastern Michigan
	Ronald Blackshear, Marshall
	Juby Johnson, Miami
Postseason All-MAC Honorable Mention	Johnny Hollingsworth, Akron
	Kevin Netter, Bowling Green
	Turner Battle, Buffalo
	J.R. Wallace, Central Michigan
	Eric Haut, Miami
	P.J. Smith, Northern Illinois
	Nick Moore, Toledo
	Keith Triplett, Toledo
	Robby Collum, Western Michigan
	Anthony Kann, Western Michigan
All-MAC Freshman Team	Sammy Villegas, Toledo
	Ron Lewis, Bowling Green
	Josh Hausfeld, Miami
	DeAndre Haynes, Kent State
	Todd Peterson, Northern Illinois

References

^ "Kaman, Meerman lead Chippewas to title". ESPN. Retrieved May 25, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Chippewas hang on to win after Creighton rally". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Blue Devils show shades of powerful past in rout". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}
^ "MAC NEWS MEDIA PICKS BALL STATE AND OHIO TO WIN THEIR DIVISIONS".
^ "MAC ANNOUNCES 2003 ALL-MAC TEAM".
^ ^a ^b "MAC ANNOUNCES FIRST POST SEASON AWARDS".
^ "MAC CHAMPION CENTRAL MICHIGAN SWEEPS LEAGUE'S SPECIALTY AWARDS".
^ "MAC ANNOUNCES 2004 ALL-MAC TEAM".

[1] "Kaman, Meerman lead Chippewas to title". ESPN. Retrieved May 25, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}

[2] "Chippewas hang on to win after Creighton rally". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}

[3] "Blue Devils show shades of powerful past in rout". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}

[4] "MAC NEWS MEDIA PICKS BALL STATE AND OHIO TO WIN THEIR DIVISIONS".

[5] "MAC ANNOUNCES 2003 ALL-MAC TEAM".

[Awards-6] "MAC ANNOUNCES FIRST POST SEASON AWARDS".

[7] "MAC CHAMPION CENTRAL MICHIGAN SWEEPS LEAGUE'S SPECIALTY AWARDS".

[8] "MAC ANNOUNCES 2004 ALL-MAC TEAM".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Mid-American Conference men's basketball
Teams	Akron Zips Ball State Cardinals Bowling Green Falcons Buffalo Bulls Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Kent State Golden Flashes Miami RedHawks Northern Illinois Huskies Ohio Bobcats Toledo Rockets Western Michigan Broncos
Future teams	UMass Minutemen (joining in 2025)
Championships & awards	MAC tournament Regular season champions Player of the Year
Seasons	1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Preseason awards

Preseason men's basketball poll

East Division

West Division

Honors

Postseason

Mid–American Tournament

NCAA tournament

Postseason awards

Honors

See also

References