2002–03 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2002–03 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University in the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by head coach Ed DeChellis, played their home games at the Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference. After finishing tied for first in the conference regular season standings, the Buccaneers won the SoCon tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 15 seed in the East region. East Tennessee State was beaten by No. 2 seed Wake Forest in the opening round, 76–73.

2002–03 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
SoCon tournament champion
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	20–11 (11–5 SoCon)
Head coach	Ed DeChellis (7th season)
Home arena	Memorial Center

2002–03 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North
Davidson	11	–	5		.688			17	–	10		.630
East Tennessee State †	11	–	5		.688			20	–	11		.645
Appalachian State	11	–	5		.688			19	–	10		.655
Western Carolina	6	–	10		.375			9	–	19		.321
VMI	3	–	13		.188			10	–	20		.333
UNC Greensboro	3	–	13		.188			7	–	22		.241
South
College of Charleston	13	–	3		.813			25	–	8		.758
Chattanooga	11	–	5		.688			21	–	9		.700
Georgia Southern	8	–	8		.500			16	–	13		.552
Wofford	8	–	8		.500			14	–	15		.483
Furman	8	–	8		.500			14	–	17		.452
The Citadel	3	–	13		.188			8	–	20		.286
† SoCon Tournament winner As of April 30, 2003 Rankings from AP poll

Roster

2002–03 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 1 Jerald Fields 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Gainesville, Florida G 5 Tim Smith 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Newport News, Virginia F 44 Zakee Wadood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Lonoke, Arkansas	Head coach Ed DeChellis (UAB) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 2002*		Guilford	W 104–37	1–0	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Nov 24, 2002*		at South Carolina	L 66–71	1–1	Carolina Center  Columbia, South Carolina
Nov 30, 2002*		at UNC Wilmington	L 57–78	1–2	Trask Coliseum  Wilmington, North Carolina
Dec 4, 2002*		at Vanderbilt	L 75–86	1–3	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 7, 2002*		UNC Asheville	W 87–69	2–3	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 14, 2002*		Virginia–Wise	W 106–70	3–3	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 17, 2002*		at Virginia	L 76–84	3–4	University Hall  Charlottesville, Virginia
Dec 20, 2002*		Coastal Carolina	W 93–82	4–4	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 28, 2002*		vs. Belmont	W 71–61	5–4	Sun Dome  Tampa, Florida
Dec 29, 2002*		at South Florida	L 56–68	5–5	Sun Dome  Tampa, Florida
Jan 2, 2003*		Juniata	W 108–57	6–5	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
SoCon tournament
Mar 6, 2003*		vs. Wofford Quarterfinals	W 80–75	18–10	North Charleston Coliseum  North Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 7, 2003*		vs. College of Charleston Semifinals	W 64–55	19–10	North Charleston Coliseum  North Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 8, 2003*		vs. Chattanooga Championship game	W 97–90	20–10	North Charleston Coliseum  North Charleston, South Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2003*	(15 E)	vs. (2 E) No. 8 Wake Forest First round	L 73–76	20–11	St. Pete Times Forum  Tampa, Florida
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern.

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