2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team

2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball
2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball
Big South tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Big South Conference
Record	15–17 (7–7 Big South)
Head coach	Eddie Biedenbach;
Home arena	Justice Center
	Seasons ← 2001–02 2003–04 →

2002–03 Big South Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Winthrop	11	–	3	.786	20	–	10	.667
Charleston Southern	8	–	6	.571	14	–	14	.500
Liberty	8	–	6	.571	14	–	15	.483
Elon	8	–	6	.571	12	–	15	.444
UNC Asheville †	7	–	7	.500	15	–	17	.469
Radford	6	–	8	.429	10	–	20	.333
Coastal Carolina	5	–	9	.357	13	–	15	.464
High Point	3	–	11	.214	7	–	20	.259

† 2003 Big South tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002–03 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Asheville during the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by head coach Eddie Biedenbach, played their home games at the Justice Center and were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 7–7 in Big South play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Elon, Winthrop, and Radford to become champions of the Big South tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in program history. The Bulldogs were one of two No. 16 seeds in the South region, defeating Texas Southern^[1] to reach the field of 64. UNC Asheville was eliminated in the first round by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Texas.^[2]

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	10	Andre Smith	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Miami, Florida
G	11	Alex Kragel	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Morristown, Tennessee
F	15	Bryan McCullough	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Salisbury, North Carolina
C	41	Ben McGonagil	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Sr	Panama, Florida

Head coach

Eddie Biedenbach

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[3]

Schedule and results

^[4]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 2002*		at No. 9 Michigan State	L 52–66	0–1	Breslin Student Events Center East Lansing, Michigan
Nov 24, 2002*		at No. 24 Minnesota	L 81–87	0–2	Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 7, 2002*		at East Tennessee State	L 69–87	2–3	Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 21, 2002*		at No. 8 Connecticut	L 67–117	3–4	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
Dec 22, 2002*		at Holy Cross	L 53–84	3–5	Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts
Dec 30, 2002*		at No. 10 Oklahoma	L 64–100	3–6	Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma
Jan 2, 2003*		at No. 18 Kansas	L 50–102	3–7	Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 1, 2003		Winthrop	L 65–76	11–16 (7–7)	Justice Center Asheville, North Carolina
Big South tournament
Mar 4, 2003*		at Elon Quarterfinals	W 68–66 ^OT	12–16	Alumni Gym Elon, North Carolina
Mar 7, 2003*		vs. Winthrop Semifinals	W 81–80 ^OT	13–16	Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia
Mar 8, 2003*		vs. Radford Championship game	W 85–71	14–16	Vines Center Lynchburg, Virginia
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 2003*	(16 S)	vs. (16 S) Texas Southern Play-in game	W 92–84 ^OT	15–16	University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio
Mar 21, 2003*	(16 W)	vs. (1 S) No. 5 Texas First round	L 61–82	15–17	BJCC Arena Birmingham, Alabama
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South Region. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

^ "Smith scores 10 of his 28 points in OT for UNC-Asheville". ESPN. March 20, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
^ "Texas, Purdue Run It Up". The Washington Post. March 22, 2003. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
^ "2002-03 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
^ "2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[1] "Smith scores 10 of his 28 points in OT for UNC-Asheville". ESPN. March 20, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[2] "Texas, Purdue Run It Up". The Washington Post. March 22, 2003. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[3] "2002-03 Men's Basketball Roster". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[4] "2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNC Asheville Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	Justice Center (1963–2011) Kimmel Arena (2011–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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