2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Introduction The '''2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season''' began on November 10, 2003, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 5, 2004, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Connecticut Huskies won their second NCAA national championship with an 82–73 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Season headlines * The preseason AP All-American team was named on November 12.Emeka Okafor of Connecticut was the leading vote-getter (71 of 72 votes). The rest of the team included Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's (49 votes), Rickey Paulding of Missouri (37), Ike Diogu of Arizona State (34) and Raymond Felton of North Carolina (24).
Major rule changes Beginning in 2003–04, the following rules changes were implemented:* Officials could consult courtside monitor at the end of either half or any extra period to determine: (1) if a field-goal try beat the horn; (2) whether a shot-clock violation at the end of the first half beat the horn; or, (3) whether a shot-clock violation that would determine the outcome of a game beat the horn. The officials also could use a courtside monitor to correct a timer’s mistake or to determine if the game clock or shot clock expired at or near the end of a period. * A team would have control when a player of that team had disposal of the ball for a throw-in.
Season outlook === Pre-season polls ===The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls November 13, 2003. '''Associated Press'''RankingTeam1Connecticut (69)2 Duke (1)3Michigan State (1)4Arizona5Missouri6Kansas (1)7Syracuse8Florida9North Carolina10Kentucky11Texas12Illinois13St. Joseph's14Oklahoma15Wisconsin16Gonzaga17Louisville18Cincinnati19Wake Forest20Stanford21Notre Dame22Pittsburgh23Marquette24North Carolina State25Oklahoma State '''ESPN/USA Today Coaches'''RankingTeam1Connecticut (25)2Duke (3)3Michigan State (1)4Arizona5Kansas6Missouri7Syracuse8Florida9Kentucky10North Carolina11Texas12Gonzaga13Illinois14Wisconsin15Oklahoma16Louisville17Stanford18St. Joseph's19CincinnatiNotre Dame21Wake Forest22Pittsburgh23Marquette24Oklahoma State25Maryland
Conference membership changes These schools joined new conferences for the 2003–04 season.SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Centenary NCAA Division I Independent Mid-Continent Conference Elon Big South Conference Southern Conference Jacksonville State Atlantic Sun Conference Ohio Valley Conference Lipscomb NCAA Division I Independent Atlantic Sun Conference Morris Brown NCAA Division I Independent Defunct Samford Atlantic Sun Conference Ohio Valley Conference UMBC Northeast Conference America East Conference Utah Valley NJCAA NCAA Division I Independent VMI Southern Conference Big South Conference
Regular season === Conference winners and tournaments ===ConferenceRegular  Season WinnerConference  Player of the YearConference  TournamentTournament  Venue (City)Tournament  winnerAmerica East Conference  Boston University  Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont  2004 America East men's basketball tournament  Walter Brown Arena(Boston, Massachusetts)(Except Finals)  VermontAtlantic 10 Conference  St. Joseph's (East)Dayton (West)  Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's  2004 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament  University of Dayton Arena (Dayton, Ohio)  XavierAtlantic Coast Conference  Duke  Julius Hodge, North Carolina State  2004 ACC men's basketball tournament  Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina)  MarylandAtlantic Sun Conference  Troy  Greg Davis, Troy   2004 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament  Curb Event Center(Nashville, Tennessee)  Central FloridaBig 12 Conference  Oklahoma State  Tony Allen, Oklahoma State  2004 Big 12 men's basketball tournament  American Airlines Center(Dallas, Texas)  Oklahoma StateBig East Conference  Pittsburgh  Emeka Okafor, Connecticut  2004 Big East men's basketball tournament  Madison Square Garden(New York City, New York)  ConnecticutBig Sky Conference  Eastern Washington  Alvin Snow, Eastern Washington  2004 Big Sky men's basketball tournament  Reese Court(Cheney, Washington)(Semifinals and Finals)  Eastern WashingtonBig South Conference  Birmingham-Southern & Liberty  Danny Gathings, High Point  2004 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament  Campus Sites  LibertyBig Ten Conference  Illinois  Devin Harris, Wisconsin  2004 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament  Conseco Fieldhouse(Indianapolis, Indiana)  WisconsinBig West Conference  Utah State & Pacific  Miah Davis, Pacific  2004 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament  Anaheim Convention Center(Anaheim, California)  PacificColonial Athletic Association  Virginia Commonwealth  Domonic Jones, Virginia Commonwealth  2004 CAA men's basketball tournament  Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, Virginia)  Virginia CommonwealthConference USA  Cincinnati, Memphis, Charlotte, DePaul & UAB  Antonio Burks, Memphis  2004 Conference USA men's basketball tournament  U.S. Bank Arena(Cincinnati, Ohio)  CincinnatiHorizon League  Wisconsin-Milwaukee  Dylan Page, Wisconsin-Milwaukee  2004 Horizon League men's basketball tournament  U.S. Cellular Arena(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)(Except First Round)  Wisconsin-MilwaukeeIvy League  Princeton  Jason Forte, Brown No TournamentMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference  Manhattan  Luis Flores, Manhattan  2004 MAAC men's basketball tournament  Pepsi Arena(Albany, New York)  ManhattanMid-American Conference  Kent State (East)Western Michigan (West)  Mike Williams, Western Michigan  2004 MAC men's basketball tournament  Gund Arena(Cleveland, Ohio) Western MichiganMid-Continent Conference  Valparaiso  Odell Bradley, IUPUI  2004 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament  Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri)  ValparaisoMid-Eastern Athletic Conference  South Carolina State & Coppin State  Thurman Zimmerman, South Carolina State  2004 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament  Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, Virginia)  Florida A&MMissouri Valley Conference  Southern Illinois  Darren Brooks, Southern Illinois  2004 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament  Savvis Center(St. Louis, Missouri)  Northern IowaMountain West Conference  Air Force  Rafael Araújo, Brigham Young & Nick Welch, Air Force  2004 MWC men's basketball tournament  Pepsi Center(Denver, Colorado)  UtahNortheast Conference  Monmouth & St. Francis (NY)  Ron Robinson, Central Connecticut State  2004 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament  Campus Sites  MonmouthOhio Valley Conference  Austin Peay  Cuthbert Victor, Murray State  2004 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament  Nashville Municipal Auditorium(Nashville, Tennessee)(Semifinals and Finals)  Murray StatePacific-10 Conference  Stanford  Josh Childress, Stanford  2004 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament  Staples Center(Los Angeles, California)  StanfordPatriot League  Lehigh & American  Austen Rowland, Lehigh  2004 Patriot League men's basketball tournament  Campus Sites  LehighSoutheastern Conference  Kentucky (East) Mississippi State (West)  Lawrence Roberts, Mississippi State  2004 SEC men's basketball tournament  Georgia Dome(Atlanta, Georgia)  KentuckySouthern Conference  East Tennessee State (North)Georgia Southern, Charleston & Davidson (South)  Zakee Wadood, East Tennessee State  2004 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament  North Charleston Coliseum(North Charleston, South Carolina)  East Tennessee StateSouthland Conference  Southeastern Louisiana, Texas-San Antonio & Texas–Arlington  LeRoy Hurd, Texas-San Antonio  2004 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament  Convocation Center(San Antonio, Texas)(Finals)  Texas-San AntonioSouthwestern Athletic Conference  Mississippi Valley State  Attarius Norwood, Mississippi Valley State  2004 Southwestern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament  Fair Park Arena(Birmingham, Alabama)  Alabama StateSun Belt Conference  Arkansas-Little Rock (East)Louisiana-Lafayette (West)  Mike Wells, Western Kentucky  2004 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament  E. A. Diddle Arena(Bowling Green, Kentucky)  Louisiana-LafayetteWest Coast Conference  Gonzaga  Blake Stepp, Gonzaga  2004 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament  Leavey Center(Santa Clara, California)  GonzagaWestern Athletic Conference  UTEP & Nevada  Kirk Snyder, Nevada  2004 WAC men's basketball tournament  Save Mart Center(Fresno, California)  Nevada=== Statistical leaders === Source for additional stats categories              Player  School  PPG    Player  School  RPG    Player  School  APG    Player  School  SPG Keydren Clark  St. Peter's  26.7   Paul Millsap  LA Tech  12.5   Greg Davis  Troy  8.3   Marques Green  St. Bonaventure  4.0 Kevin Martin  W. Carolina  24.9   Jaime Lloreda  LSU  11.6   Martell Bailey  Illinois-Chicago  7.8   Obie Trotter  Alabama A&M  3.0 David Hawkins  Temple  24.4   Emeka Okafor  UConn  11.5   Aaron Miles  Kansas  7.3   Chakowby Hicks  Norfolk St.  3.0 Taylor Coppenrath  Vermont  24.1    Nate Lofton  SE Louisiana  10.9   Andrés Rodríguez  American  7.3    Zakee Wadood  E. Tennessee St.  2.8 Luis Flores  Manhattan  24.0   Nigel Wyatte  Wagner  10.4   Raymond Felton  N. Carolina  7.1   Jameer Nelson  St. Joseph's  2.8              Player  School  BPG    Player  School  FG%    Player  School  3FG%    Player  School  FT% Anwar Ferguson  Houston  4.1   Nigel Dixon  W. Kentucky  67.8   Brad Lechtenberg  San Diego  51.1   Blake Ahearn  Missouri St.  97.5 Emeka Okafor  UConn  4.1   Sean Finn  Dayton  66.3   James Odoms  Mercer  48.8    JJ Redick  Duke  95.3 D'or Fischer  West Virginia  4.0   Adam Mark  Belmont  66.2   Tyson Dorsey  Samford  48.7   Jake Sullivan  Iowa St.  93.3 Gerrick Morris  S. Florida  4.0   David Harrison  Colorado  63.1   Antonio Burks  Stephen F. Austin  47.6   Steve Drabyn  Belmont  91.4 Nick Billings  Binghamton  3.5   Cuthbert Victor  Murray St.  62.9   Trey Guidry  Illinois St.  46.0   Chris Hernandez  Stanford  91.4
Postseason tournaments === NCAA tournament ======= Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas ======= National Invitation tournament ====== Semifinals & finals ===
Award winners === Consensus All-American teams ===+ '''Consensus First Team''' Player Position Class Team Emeka Okafor C Junior Connecticut Jameer Nelson G Senior St. Joseph's Lawrence Roberts F Junior Mississippi State Andre Emmett G Senior Texas Tech Ryan Gomes F Junior Providence+ '''Consensus Second Team''' Player Position Class Team Devin Harris G Junior Wisconsin Julius Hodge F Junior North Carolina State Luke Jackson F Senior Oregon Josh Childress G Junior Stanford Blake Stepp G Senior Gonzaga=== Major player of the year awards ===* '''Wooden Award:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''Naismith Award:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''Associated Press Player of the Year:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''NABC Co-Player of the Year:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's & Emeka Okafor, Connecticut* '''Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA):''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''Adolph Rupp Trophy:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Year:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''''Sporting News'' Player of the Year:''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's=== Major freshman of the year awards ===* '''USBWA Freshman of the Year:''' Luol Deng, Duke* '''''Sporting News'' Freshman of the Year:''' Chris Paul, Wake Forest=== Major coach of the year awards ===* '''Associated Press Coach of the Year:''' Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's* '''Henry Iba Award (USBWA):''' Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's* '''NABC Coach of the Year:''' Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's & Mike Montgomery, Stanford* '''Naismith College Coach of the Year:''' Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's* '''CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year:''' Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's* '''Adolph Rupp Cup:''' Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's* '''''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year:''' Mike Montgomery, Stanford=== Other major awards ===* '''Bob Cousy Award (Best point guard):''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''Pete Newell Big Man Award (Best big man):''' Emeka Okafor, Connecticut* '''NABC Defensive Player of the Year:''' Emeka Okafor, Connecticut* '''Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0):''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''Lowe's Senior CLASS Award (top senior):''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5):''' Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* '''NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area):''' Andre Barrett, Seton Hall, and Luis Flores, Manhattan* '''Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award (Strong personal character):''' Emeka Okafor, UConn
Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonAir ForceJoe ScottChris MooneyAkronDan HipsherKeith DambrotAuburnCliff EllisJeff LeboChattanoogaJeff LeboJohn ShulmanDartmouthDave FaucherTerry DunnEastern WashingtonRay GiacolettiMike BurnsFlorida InternationalDonnie MarshSergio RoucoGeorgetownCraig EsherickJohn Thompson IIIHoustonRay McCallumTom PendersJames MadisonSherman DillardDean KeenerLouisiana-LafayetteJessie EvansRobert LeeLa SalleBilly HahnJohn GianniniHahn resigned following rape allegations against two of his players.Loyola (MD)Scott HicksJimmy PatsosLoyola (IL)Larry FarmerJim WhitesellMaineJohn GianniniTed WoodwardMaristDave MagarityMatt BradyUMBCTom SullivanRandy MonroeMaryland-Eastern ShoreThomas TrotterLarry LessettMiami (FL)Perry ClarkFrank HaithMontanaPat KennedyLarry KrystkowiakMontana hired Grizzlies' all-time leading scorer & Idaho Stampede head coach Krystkowiak.NavyDon DeVoeBilly LangeNevadaTrent JohnsonMark FoxNevada promoted top assistant Fox after Johnson left for Stanford.Ohio StateJim O'BrienThad MattaO'Brien was fired after recruiting violations involving Aleksandar Radojević surfaced.PrincetonJohn Thompson IIIJoe ScottSan FranciscoPhilip MathewsJessie EvansSouthern IllinoisMatt PainterChris LoweryPainter left to be top assistant at his alma mater, Purdue.Southern MethodistMike DementRobert LineburgJimmy TubbsSMU fired Dement with three games left in the regular-season.Southern MissJames GreenLarry EustachySt. John'sMike JarvisKevin ClarkNorm RobertsStanfordMike MontgomeryTrent JohnsonMontgomery left to become head coach of the Golden State Warriors.Texas A&MMelvin WatkinsBilly GillispieTexas-Pan AmericanBob HoffmanRobert DavenportTowsonMichael HuntPat KennedyUtahRick MajerusRay GiacolettiUNLVCharlie SpoonhourLon KrugerUTEPBilly GillispieDoc SadlerXavierThad MattaSean Miller
References