Syracuse University's 2003 National Basketball Championship Run

Syracuse Orange men's basketball in Syracuse, New York won its first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2003.

Jim Boeheim (Head Coach)
Boeheim coached the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team from 1976 to 2023. During his career as coach, he won many awards, including the title Big East Coach of the Year four times. Boeheim also became the Olympic Team Coach, winning three gold medals and two World Cups. His beginning at Syracuse preceded all his coaching accolades. In 1962, Boeheim was a walk-on for the team. By his senior season he was named Captain. In 1969 Boeheim became a graduate Assistant Coach and in 1976 he became Head Coach of the Orangemen.

March Madness (NCAA College Basketball Tournament)
March Madness originated in 1939. The University of Oregon won the first ever official tournament. The first tournament only consisted of 8 teams. However, over the years, March Madness has grown and 68 teams now participate. Those 68 teams are seeded by a committee based on stats and rankings. Two rounds are played, leaving 64 teams, which then are split into 4 regions of 16 teams. March Madness has nicknames for each round of the tournament: "Sweet Sixteen" is the third round (16 teams left), "Elite Eight" is the fourth round (8 teams left), "Final Four" (4 teams/semi-final), and then the championship game. Syracuse was ranked third during the 2003 tournament.

Syracuse vs Manhattan (First Round)
Date: 3/21/2003

Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Mass. (TD Garden)

Score: 76-65 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(17), Edelin(15), McNamara(11)

Manhattan Leading Scorers: Johnson(22), Flores(20), Holmes(14)

In the first round of Syracuse's historic run, they were set to play Manhattan, who were ranked 14th. Leading into the second half, Syracuse was up by 4 points with a score of 35-31. Syracuse made 57.7% of their shots in the second half, while Manhattan made only 36.1%. The game ended with a win for Syracuse, allowing them to advance to the next round. Syracuse was led by freshman forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored 17 points. Manhattan's Jared Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, going 9-13 in field goals.

Syracuse vs Oklahoma State (Second Round)
Date: 3/23/2003

Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Mass. (TD Garden)

Score: 68-56 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Edelin(20), McNamara(14), Anthony(13)

Oklahoma State Leading Scorers: McFarlin(14), Williams(13)

Within the first couple minutes of the game, Oklahoma state held a 27-10 lead against Syracuse. Boeheim was forced to call a timeout and use his bench to pull off a full-court press to lessen the lead. Edelin and Pace combined for 18 points and McNeil was strong in the paint, rejecting multiple shot attempts. Anthony and McNamara went 0-12 in the first half. At half the lead was 31-25, Oklahoma State. With 14 minutes left in the game, Syracuse took the lead making it 40-39, a close game. The lead was then again overturned to 43-40 but Warrick made two free throws and Anthony hit a 3 point shot. McNamara sealed the game by hitting three 3-pointers, making the score 64-52, with around two minutes left. Oklahoma State was led by Ivan McFarlin and Victor Williams. McFarlin totaled 14 and Williams added 13 to the board. Anthony ended with 13 points, McNamara 14 and Edelin, 12 points in the first half and 8 in the second, totaling 20. The game ended with a score of 68-56 and Syracuse advanced to the next round.

Syracuse vs Auburn (Sweet 16)
Date: 3/28/2003

Location: MVP Arena, Albany, NY

Score: 78-79 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(18), Warrick(15). Pace(14), Duany(12)

Auburn Leading Scorers: Daniels(27)

Syracuse led by 17 in the first half. The Auburn Tigers, the 10 seed, would not quit and kept closing the gap on the lead. The Tigers played a 3-2 zone defense, to limit Anthony's scoring abilities. He still finished with 18 points, 11 in the final 8 minutes. In the last 78 seconds, Auburn made three 3-pointers. They were led by Marquis Daniels, who scored 27 points, went 12-21 and got 9 rebounds. This was a close game right until the very end. Syracuse only won by 1 point. Duany saved the game by hitting both his free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game. He was the only senior on this championship team, and brought them to the next round.

Syracuse vs Oklahoma (Elite 8)
Date: 3/30/2003

Location: MVP Arena, Albany, NY

Score: 63-47 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(21), Warrick(12)

Oklahoma Leading Scorers: Alexander(16), Price(12)

Oklahoma was the 1 seed for the 2003 March Madness Tournament. Syracuse's game plan was more defense-based than usual and went right at the Sooners. The guards for Oklahoma, Hollis Price and Quannas White (both seniors), turned the ball over 9 times and the team ended with 19 turnovers. Syracuse played a strong 2-3 zone that caused the Sooners to shoot only 31% and Price's game was shut out. He missed the first 6 shots and then didn't start scoring again until later in the second half. Boeheim stated that this was definitely the teams best defensive game all season.

Syracuse vs Texas (Final 4)
Date: 4/5/2003

Location: Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Score: 95-84 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(33), McNamara(19), Warrick(18)

Texas Leading Scorers: Mouton(25), Buckman(14), Ford(12)

Carmelo Anthony once again proved to be one of the nation's best college basketball players, while only a freshman, with his performance against Texas. He scored 33 points, a season high and had 14 rebounds. McNamara added 19 and Warrick 18. Syracuse was up by 3 at half, 48-45. They once again played a 2-3 zone but that could not keep the longhorns away. T.J Ford had 12 points and sliced through the Orangemen defense with 13 assists. Mouton had 25 points and Brad Buckman was a presence in the paint with 14 points. The Longhorns shot 42.9% in the 2nd half but it wasn't enough to pull over a win and advance to the championship game. The ending score was 95 to 84 with Syracuse winning another game.

Syracuse vs Kansas (National Championship Game)
Date: 4/7/2003

Location: Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Score: 81-78 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(20), McNamara(18), Edelin(12)

Kansas Leading Scorers: Collison(19), Langford(19), Hinrich(16), Graves(16)

In the first half, Syracuse held a 9 point lead, 53-42. In the second half Kansas outscored Syracuse 36-28, but couldn't catch up and the game finished 81-78 Syracuse. With 1.5 seconds left in the game, Kueth Duany blocked Michael Lee's 3-point shot attempt, securing the National Championship title for Syracuse University's 2003 Men's Basketball team. Kansas was led by Nick Collison and Keith Langford, who both scored 19 points in their final game of the season. The Jayhawks ended their season being 30-8 and Syracuse, 30-5. This went on to be Boeheim's first championship.

The Future of the Team
Most of the players on this championship team went to play basketball beyond the collegiate level, some became NBA players, others went overseas and some ended their careers with being March Madness Champions. Anthony only spent one year playing basketball at Syracuse and declared for the NBA draft. He was selected 3rd to the Denver Nuggets and eventually landed himself on the Knicks, where he made his mark on the city for 7 seasons. He also played a season for the Rockets and Trailblazers. He retired as a Laker after only one season in 2020. He has been in multiple All Star games and made numerous All-NBA teams. He arguably was the most successful player to come out of this Syracuse team. He also donated 3 million dollars back to Syracuse to build what is now known as the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center. McNamara won the 2006 title at Syracuse, before playing in the NBA Development League and overseas. He retired in 2009 and became a Coach for the Orangemen shortly after. Warrick was picked 19th in the 2005 NBA draft and played for the Grizzlies, Bucks, Bulls and Suns. Duany went on to play in the NBDL and overseas. Forth went on to play in Slovakia and the NBDL. McNeil played for the ABA and NBDL. Pace played in New Zealand and the ABA. Coach Jim Boeheim retired from coaching after 47 seasons at Syracuse in 2023. He is now working with ESPN.