2002 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
Amid tensions between co-captains Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in the Pacific Division and earning the third seed in the Western Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won the game MVP trophy in his hometown Philadelphia. The duo appeared on the All-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with a Second-Team All-Defensive Team selection.


2002 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers shot out to another quick start in the playoffs, finishing the Portland Trail Blazers in three games with a Robert Horry game-winner. The San Antonio Spurs were dispatched in five games before Los Angeles met their biggest challenge in the duration of their championship reign in the Western Conference Finals: the Sacramento Kings.


2002 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
With the best record in the West, the Kings held home court advantage against the Lakers and split the first two games in ARCO Arena before the series shifted to Staples Center, where Sacramento blew out Los Angeles in Game 3 and led as much as 27 before settling with a 103–90 decision.


2002 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4 did not give the Lakers any more hope, as Sacramento led Los Angeles 40–20 at the end of the first quarter and held a lead as large as 26. But, the Lakers staged a furious second-half comeback to win 100–99, punctuated by Horry's buzzer-beating three-point shot. Back in Sacramento for Game 5, the Kings staged some late-game heroics of their own as Mike Bibby nailed a jumper with 8.2 seconds remaining, giving his team not only a 92–91 win, but a 3–2 series advantage.


2002 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
With their season on the line, the Lakers returned home for Game 6. In a controversial contest, one in which the Lakers attempted 27 free throws in the fourth quarter to Sacramento's 9, O'Neal had one of the most dominant performances of his career with 41 points and 17 rebounds to force a Game 7 in ARCO Arena. The outrage was such that politician Ralph Nader demanded an investigation. In Game 7, the Lakers prevailed in overtime 112–106 to earn their third straight NBA Finals berth.


2002 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Los Angeles's Staples Center sold out for the inaugural game of the 2002 NBA Finals, with nearly 19,000 on hand. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloch to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. The Lakers brought out Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, and Kobe Bryant, who drew the assignment of guarding Kidd. New Jersey head coach Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime Lakers, received a standing ovation.


2002 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42–19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17–6 run to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloch into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third.


2002 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
" You can't dig yourself a hole, get down by 19 or 20 points and expect to win. We just dug ourselves a hole against the champions. "


2002 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
New Jersey battled back, coming as close as three several times in the final quarter. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5–8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone.


2002 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
New Jersey was doomed by their late start and poor shooting. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively. Kidd finished with a triple-double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series.


2002 NBA Finals, Media coverage
The Finals were produced and televised in the United States by NBC. Marv Albert provided play-by-play calling. Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones handled color duties. Jim Gray and Lewis Johnson roamed the sidelines for the Lakers and Nets respectively. Bob Costas hosted pregame and half-time shows with analyst Tom Tolbert. Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay called the four games on ESPN Radio. Hannah Storm hosted the post-game show.


2002 NBA Finals, Media coverage
The finals also had Spanish-language television and radio broadcasts in the United States.


2002 NBA Finals, Media coverage
This series was the last broadcast by NBC. In January 2002 the league's broadcast rights were awarded to ABC/ESPN in a six-year deal, which was renewed for an additional eight years in 2007.


2002 NBA Finals, Media coverage
At the conclusion of Game 4, NBC presented highlights of the twelve years of their NBA broadcasts; among them the Chicago Bulls' dynasty led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers' current Shaq/Kobe reign, as the credits rolled. NBC also played "Winning It All" by The Outfield, which they had used for the close of their NBA Finals broadcasts from 1992 to 1996.


2002 NBA Finals, Media coverage
The last image displayed was of an empty gym, showing a basketball bouncing into the background, as "To The Flemish Cap" from the soundtrack to the film The Perfect Storm played. NBC ended the broadcast (and their 12-year run broadcasting NBA basketball) by displaying over the shot the message "Thanks for the memories".


2002 NBA Finals, Media coverage
The 2002 Finals was Marv Albert's last NBA Finals assignment. After the series, Albert's national TV duties continued with TNT and remained with the network until his retirement in 2021, but only called games until the Conference Finals each season.


2002 NBA Finals, Impact and aftermath, Lakers
The Lakers victory in this year's Finals would also mark the beginning of what would become a successful year for professional sports teams in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The nearby Anaheim Angels would later claim their first World Series championship four months later. It marked the second occurrence that a city/metropolitan area won both NBA and Major League Baseball championships in the same calendar year. The last time this occurred was in 1988, when the Lakers won that year's NBA Finals in June; the Dodgers followed suit with a World Series victory four months later.


2002 NBA Finals, Impact and aftermath, Lakers
In relation to sports of smaller leagues, the Los Angeles Sparks won the WNBA Finals two months after the Lakers' 2002 Finals victory; the Los Angeles Galaxy won the MLS Cup exactly one week prior to the Angels' World Series victory in October. The successes of Los Angeles area teams led Sporting News magazine to declare Anaheim/Los Angeles as "Best Sports City" in 2003. As of 2021, the Lakers are the last team to pull off a 'three-peat' in North American professional sports. No other team won a "three-peat" since this year's Finals.


2002 NBA Finals, Impact and aftermath, Lakers
Since then, only two teams are close to doing so, the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors.


2002 NBA Finals, Impact and aftermath, Lakers
Whereas the Heat, led by the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances since 2011, won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 against different teams (Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012 and San Antonio Spurs in 2013), but lost in 2014 to the Spurs, the Warriors, led by the Splash Brothers (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson), Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Kevin Durant, won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but ended their 3-peat journey in 2019 as they fell to the Toronto Raptors in six games.


2002 NBA Finals, Impact and aftermath, Lakers
The Lakers were off to a slow start in the 2002–03 NBA season. By this time, the relationship between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal began to show cracks. Injuries were also starting to slow the Lakers down. Nevertheless, the Lakers won 50 games, but would only earn the fifth seed, thereby not earning the home-court advantage. Still, the Lakers took down the fourth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in six games. However, they were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs, who finally earned revenge after their previous two defeats to the Lakers in the 2001 and 2002 NBA playoffs. In Game 5, Robert Horry, a perennial clutch threat in the playoffs, missed a game-winning three that would've given the Lakers a 3-2 lead. The miss eventually led to Horry's free-agent defection to the Spurs the following season.


2002 NBA Finals, Impact and aftermath, Nets
The Nets made it back to the Finals in 2003. They won 49 games and the Atlantic Division title, and heading into the Finals they won ten straight games, two in the six-game first round win over the Milwaukee Bucks, and two four-game sweeps of the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons. However, they still came up short, losing in six games to the Spurs, in the first NBA finals series featuring former ABA teams.


2002 NBA draft
The 2002 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2002, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from non-North American leagues. This was the last time a draft was broadcast on TNT When ESPN got the license to air the NBA draft for the 2003 draft after ESPN picked up the NBA Licence from NBC before the 2002–03 season.


2002 NBA draft
The NBA announced that about 42 college and high school players, and five international players, had filed as early-entry candidates for the draft. The Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors both had a 22.5 percent probability of acquiring the first overall pick, but the Houston Rockets, with an 8.9 percent probability, won the NBA draft lottery on May 19. The Bulls and Warriors were second and third, respectively. As punishment for salary-cap violations during the 2000–01 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round draft pick.


2002 NBA draft
The 2002 draft set a record with 17 international selections, with six coming in the first round alone.


2002 NBA draft
Number 2 pick Jay Williams violated his contract by riding a motorcycle, and nearly lost his life in an accident that shattered his pelvis, severed a main nerve in his leg, and tore three ligaments in his left knee including his ACL. Although he underwent an intense rehabilitation program, Williams never played a game in the NBA again. When it became clear Williams would not be returning to the Bulls because of his injuries, he was waived. The Bulls could have voided Williams' contract, since riding a motorcycle was contractually prohibited. Instead the Bulls completed a $3 million buyout of the contract instead of having him walk away with nothing.


2002 NBA draft
The draft was notable for its relative weakness outside the top prospects, as well as the rampant injury concerns of those players. Top players had promising careers end prematurely due to injury, such as Yao Ming, Williams and Dajuan Wagner. Nevertheless, Yao was named a Hall of Famer—a selection predicated as much on his role in popularizing basketball in China as it was his actual on-court play. As of 2021, Udonis Haslem is the only remaining active player from this draft, though Haslem went undrafted.


2002 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in this draft but played at least one game in the NBA.


2002 NBA playoffs
The 2002 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This was the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; the 2003 NBA Playoffs saw those series expand to a best-of-7 format. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP for the third straight year.


2002 NBA playoffs
The 2002 playoffs are best remembered for that year's Western Conference Finals between the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, which served as the de facto NBA championship, as the Eastern Conference champ, the Nets, were clearly inferior to both teams, and were eventually swept by the Lakers. The matchup between the Lakers and Kings is regarded as one of the most controversial playoff series in NBA history. At the time, there was widespread criticism of the officiating as favoring the Lakers, especially in Game 6. Several years later, disgraced ref Tim Donaghy accused the Game 6 officiating crew of fixing the game, at the behest of the NBA's front office.


2002 NBA playoffs
This year marked the return of playoff success for the Boston Celtics, who had last made the playoffs in 1995, won their last playoff series in 1992 and made their last Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 1988. Though they eventually lost to the Nets 4–2 (preventing a Celtics–Lakers NBA Finals), they did create the biggest 4th quarter playoff comeback in Game 3, winning 94–90 after trailing by as much as 21 prior to the fourth quarter. (This record was later broken by the Los Angeles Clippers, who came back from 24 in the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies in 2012).


2002 NBA playoffs
The Detroit Pistons won their first playoff series since 1991. They would lose in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Celtics in five games.


2002 NBA playoffs
The playoffs also marked the last appearance of the Charlotte Hornets in the playoffs until 2010. The Hornets moved the next year to New Orleans, while an expansion team, formerly the Bobcats, was formed in 2004. The Hornets were renamed the Pelicans in 2013, after which the Bobcats reclaimed the Hornets name in 2014. The Hornets also reclaimed the history and records of the 1988–2002 Charlotte teams. The Charlotte Coliseum played host to its final playoff game on May 12.


2002 NBA playoffs
The playoffs marked the last time NBC and TBS aired NBA games as regular TV partners of the league. The last TBS-aired game under its various contracts was Game 5 of the Lakers-Spurs series, while Game 4 of the NBA Finals marked the last telecast on NBC. TBS and NBC were replaced with ESPN and ABC the following season, since both channels are owned by the Walt Disney Company. TBS has aired some NBA basketball in the ensuing years due to conflicts on sister network TNT.


2002 NBA playoffs
Pat Riley missed the playoffs for the first time in his coaching career.


2002 NBA playoffs
The total number of playoff games was 70, including the NBA Finals.


2002 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference, Best record in NBA
The Sacramento Kings clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs.


2002 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference, Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:


2002 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference, Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (8) Indiana Pacers
Although the Nets won the series in 5, it would be most remarkable for more playoff heroics by Reggie Miller; Miller banked in a 40-footer at the buzzer to force OT, and then fly in for a dunk over 3 Net defenders with 3.1 seconds left in the extra session to force the 2nd overtime.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (8) Indiana Pacers
This was the first NBA playoff meeting between the Pacers and the Nets. As members of the ABA, both teams met in the 1972 ABA Finals, where the Pacers won 4–2.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Toronto Raptors
This series involved two teams that had exceeded expectations during the season. It was also the first time that professional sports teams from Detroit and Toronto met in a postseason series since the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs met in the 1993 Norris Division Semifinals, but no two teams from the two cities have met in a postseason series since. The Detroit Pistons were coming off a year where they had lost 50 games. The Raptors had lost their star forward, Vince Carter, for the remainder of the season.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Toronto Raptors
As a result, the Raptors lost 13 straight games without him. Although they looked down and out of playoff contention, the Raptors went on a surge, winning 12 of their last 14 games, locking up the 7th seed. The home team won each game of the series, with the Pistons winning the decisive Game 5 by 3 points. Raptors' Guard, Chris Childs, attempted to draw a foul on a three-point shot, instead of passing it to an open Dell Curry. In the post game interview, Childs stated that he thought the team was down by four points, not three. Detroit advanced to face the Boston Celtics in the second round.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Toronto Raptors
This was the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and the Raptors.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers
This series marked the return of the Celtics to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, and they faced the reigning Eastern Conference champion in the first round. The first two games were played in Boston, where the Celtics won both games resoundingly. The 76ers fought back, however, and with Allen Iverson scoring 42 points the 76ers won Game 3 and stayed alive. In Game 4, Iverson was slowed down, scoring 26 points on just 9-of-26 shooting, and Antoine Walker stepped up for the Celtics, scoring 25.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers
But Iverson's play at the end making a layup, scoring off an Eric Snow steal, and hitting some free throws after Walker drilled a three sealed the victory for the 76ers. This set the stage for a Game 5 in Boston to decide the series. The Celtics had control on this game throughout, but the 76ers kept within striking distance into the 4th quarter. But Boston went on an amazing streak of three-pointers, hitting an NBA playoff record nine of them in the 4th quarter and 19 in the game. Paul Pierce led the way with 46, on 8-10 shooting from downtown, and Boston won in a huge blowout, sending them to the conference semifinals to face second-seed Detroit.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers
This was the 19th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning 10 of the first 18 meetings.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Charlotte Hornets vs. (5) Orlando Magic
This was the first playoff meeting between the Magic and the Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats franchise.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (8) Utah Jazz
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first meeting.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning the first meeting.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
The Lakers sweep the Blazers thanks to a series-winning 3 by Robert Horry with 2.1 seconds left in Game 3.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning eight of the first ten meetings.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Minnesota Timberwolves
Dirk Nowitzki was virtually unstoppable in this series, averaging 33 points and 16 rebounds per game.


2002 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Minnesota Timberwolves
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Timberwolves.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (4) Charlotte Hornets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Hornets.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Boston Celtics
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning three series apiece.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Kings.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
The Spurs led going into the fourth quarter of four out of the five games, yet were able to win only one. Bryant would pace Los Angeles to 2 crucial victories in the Alamodome with 31 points in Game 3 and a game-winning bucket in Game 4, and would offset the steady production of Tim Duncan (who had a double double in every game including 34 points and 25 rebounds in Game 5) with his fourth quarter heroics. It would be San Antonio's final 2 home games in the Alamodome, as they would move into the SBC Center (now the AT&T Center) the following year.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first seven meetings.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Boston Celtics
The Nets won game one, but Boston came back to steal game two in New Jersey to send the series back to Boston tied 1-1. In Game 3, the Celtics were down by as much as 26 points (21 coming into the 4th quarter), but they accomplished the biggest comeback in NBA Playoff history as the Celtics outscored the Nets 41-16 in the fourth quarter. The Celtics almost completed another comeback in game four, but the Nets held on for the victory to tie the series at two games apiece. The Nets won games five and six to advance to the team's first of two consecutive NBA Finals.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Boston Celtics
This was the first playoff meeting between the Celtics and the Nets.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
The 2002 Western Conference finals is widely regarded as one of the best series in NBA playoff history, with the last four games coming down to the final seconds. Two games were decided on game winning shots and Game 7 was decided in overtime. However, the series was marred by controversy and allegations of corruption. On June 10, 2008, convicted NBA referee Tim Donaghy's attorney filed a court document alleging that Game 6 was fixed by two referees. The letter states that Donaghy "learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Tim knew Referees A and F to be 'company men', always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series." The Lakers won Game 6 106-102, attempting 18 more free throws than the Kings in the fourth quarter, and went on to win the series, and eventually the NBA championship. The document claimed that Donaghy told federal agents that in order to increase television ratings and ticket sales, "top executives of the NBA sought to manipulate games using referees".


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
It also said that NBA officials would tell referees to not call technical fouls on certain players, and states that a referee was privately reprimanded by the league for ejecting a star player in the first quarter of a January 2000 game. Stern denied the accusations, calling Donaghy a "singing, cooperating witness".


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers and Kings split the first two games in Sacramento. Los Angeles raced out to a 36-point first quarter in Game 1 behind 67% shooting and never trailed, paced by Kobe Bryant's 30 point effort and 26 points from Shaquille O'Neal. Chris Webber had 28 points and 14 rebounds, but the other Kings combined shot under 40 percent. Sacramento rebounded to win Game 2, paced behind Webber (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Mike Bibby (20 points).


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
O'Neal had 35 points and 13 rebounds, but struggled with foul trouble; Bryant shot 9-for-21 from the field and was suffering from food poisoning which he contracted from a meal at the team hotel, and some felt it was done deliberately by the hotel staff. The loss snapped the NBA record 12-game playoff road winning streak for the Lakers.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
The Kings went to Staples Center and dominated Game 3 to regain home-court advantage, leading by as many as 27 and never trailing. They were again paced by Webber and Bibby, who combined for 50 points, and got solid contributions from Doug Christie (17 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) and Vlade Divac (11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks). Other than a brief 3-point barrage in the 4th quarter by the Lakers to cut the lead to 12, there was not much help provided for O'Neal, who had 20 points and 19 rebounds.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
In Game 4, Sacramento again got out to a fast start with a 40-point first quarter and built a 24-point first half lead. However, the Lakers cut the lead to 14 at halftime with a Samaki Walker 3-pointer at the buzzer that should not have counted (replay was not used at the time), and to 7 after three quarters. They whittled it down to 2 on the final possession with a chance to tie or win it, but Bryant missed a running layup and Shaq missed a put-back attempt.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Divac knocked the ball away from the hoop in an attempt to run out the clock, but instead it wound up going to a wide open Robert Horry behind the 3 point line, who hit the 3 over Webber at the buzzer to give the Lakers an improbable victory, which tied the series going back to Sacramento. Horry scored 11 of his 18 points in the 4th quarter, including two more crucial 3-pointers. O'Neal finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds, Bryant had 25. Divac, Webber and Bibby all finished with 20+ points for the Kings.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
As the series shifted back to Sacramento for Game 5, the Kings trailed almost the entire fourth quarter, but a jump shot by Bibby off a screen with 8.2 seconds left gave them the lead and was the game-winner in a 92–91 win. Bibby scored 23 in all, and Webber had 29 points and 13 rebounds in support. Bryant led Los Angeles with 30 points, but missed a potential game winner at the buzzer. O'Neal had 28 points, but did not take a shot in the 4th quarter and fouled out.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 6 is considered to be one of the most controversial games in not just NBA history, but arguably all of North American professional sports history, as numerous questionable calls went against the Kings in the fourth quarter. The Lakers, led by O'Neal's 41 points and 17 rebounds, won 106-102, setting the stage for Game 7 in Sacramento. There are allegations that the game was affected by the referees in relationship to the Tim Donaghy scandal.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers shot 40 free throws overall, 27 in the fourth quarter alone, and the Kings' big men were plagued with foul trouble (Divac, Webber, Scot Pollard, and Lawrence Funderburke were called for 20 fouls, with Divac and Pollard both fouling out). Webber nearly had a triple double (26 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists), Bibby scored 23, and Divac had 12 points and 12 rebounds.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
The Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon responded to the calls in Game 6: "I wrote down in my notebook six calls that were stunningly incorrect, all against Sacramento, all in the fourth quarter when the Lakers made five baskets and 21 foul shots to hold on to their championship." For example, Wilbon pointed out that Kobe Bryant did not get a foul called on him after elbowing Mike Bibby in front of an official.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 7 was tense, featuring 16 ties and 19 lead changes. In the final ten seconds with Los Angeles up 99–98, Peja Stojaković air-balled a wide open 3, and O'Neal was fouled on the rebound. After O'Neal hit 1 of 2 free throws, Bibby was fouled by Bryant and made both free throws to force overtime. The Kings' offense stalled in the extra period, and the Lakers prevailed 112–106.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Sacramento was undone by poor free throw shooting (16–30 from the line), a horrid 2–20 from behind the arc, and a seeming unwillingness for anyone other than Bibby to take crucial shots down the stretch. O'Neal scored 35 and Bryant added 30 in the victory, as all five Lakers starters finished in double figures. Bibby finished with 29 points, and Webber finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. Divac added 15 points and 10 rebounds.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
This would be the last Western Conference finals to be decided in seven games until 2016.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
Announcers: for NBC, Mike Breen announced Game 1, Marv Albert Games 3-7; Bill Walton & Steve Jones joined them as the analysts. TNT had Kevin Harlan, Danny Ainge, & John Thompson on hand for Game 2.


2002 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning eight of the first nine meetings.


2002 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals (W3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) New Jersey Nets
In Game 1, the Nets stayed within striking distance, but Shaquille O'Neal's 36 points and 16 rebounds led the Lakers to victory. In Game 2, the Nets were blown out by 23, with O'Neal leading the way again, putting up 40 points and 12 rebounds and coming within 2 assists of a triple double. This brought the series to New Jersey with the Lakers up 2-0. Game 3 was a close matchup with Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant all scoring 26 or more points.


2002 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals (W3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) New Jersey Nets
Bryant and O'Neal's combined 71 points was too much for the Nets to handle though, and the Lakers took a 3-0 series lead. In Game 4, O'Neal put up 34 points and the Lakers won the game and the championship, accomplishing the NBA's second three-peat in seven years. Game 4 is Mitch Richmond's final NBA game.


2002 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals (W3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) New Jersey Nets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Lakers.


2002 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 2002 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Chuck Amato. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 2002 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 2002 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fifty sixth year. Sixteen regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event, with each winner advancing to a best of three series against another regional champion for the right to play in the College World Series.


2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Each region was composed of four teams, resulting in 64 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The fifty-sixth tournament's champion was Texas, coached by Augie Garrido. This was Texas' first title since 1983, but Augie Garrido previously won three titles with Cal State Fullerton. The Most Outstanding Player was Huston Street of Texas.


2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Due to fears over terrorism and travel security in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Division I Baseball Committee, which selects the 64-team field and places the teams on the bracket, was ordered by the NCAA to keep regional pairings as localized as possible, in order to minimize the number of plane trips utilized. Due to these travel constraints, teams from the same conference were allowed to play in the same regional for the first time.


2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
An example of the travel restrictions came from the regional in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, featuring four schools from the Bayou State which are located a total of 130 miles (210 km) apart along Interstate 10, the first time (and to date, last) a regional has been entirely an in-state affair outside California, Florida, and Texas. The travel restrictions were eased in 2003, and the ban on conference teams facing each other in regional play was reinstated.


2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Bids, Automatic bids
Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.


2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 64th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 22nd annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 25, 2002, the combined meet was hosted by Indiana State University at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 6 kilometers (3.73 miles).


2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team championship was won by Stanford (90 points), the Cardinal's third. The women's team championship was won by BYU (85 points), the Cougars' second consecutive, fourth overall, and fourth in six years.


2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The two individual champions were, for the men, Jorge Torres (Colorado, 29:04.7) and, for the women, Shalane Flanagan (North Carolina, 19:36.0).


2002 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 2002 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the 22nd women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons won their first championship, defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the final. The semifinals and championship were hosted by the University of Louisville at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.


2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's NCAA collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States after the 2001–02 season, the 38th annual meet for men and 20th annual meet for women.


2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The championships were held at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.


2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
LSU won the women's title, the Lady Tigers' ninth and first since 1997.


2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
All teams and athletes from Division I indoor track and field programs were eligible to compete for this year's individual and team titles.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2001-02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season  The 2002 National Title Game was played on April 1, 2002 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, The 2002 National Title Game was played between the 2002 East Regional Champions, #1-seeded Maryland and the 2002 South Regional Champions, #5-seeded Indiana.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The Maryland Terrapins completed the task they set out to do one year earlier by defeating the Indiana Hoosiers, 64–52. Maryland led virtually the entire game except for a brief point with 9:50 left in the basketball game when Indiana took a 44–42 lead. Maryland answered the Hoosier run and ended the game with a 22–8 run to bring home the school's first and coach Gary Williams' only men's basketball National Championship. Senior Juan Dixon was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP).


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath
On November 19, 2012, Maryland would join the Big Ten Conference becoming the 13th member to join the conference. Since Indiana was already in the Big Ten Conference, the two teams would later become conference foes and end up facing each other at least once every year.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's  NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. A total of 64 games were played.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
This was the first year that the tournament used the so-called "pod" system, in which the eight first- and second-round sites are distributed around the four regionals. Teams were assigned to first round spots in order to minimize travel for as many teams as possible. The top seeds at each site were:


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The Final Four consisted of Maryland, making their second consecutive appearance, Kansas, making their first appearance since 1993, Indiana, making their first appearance since 1992, and Oklahoma, making their first appearance since their national runner-up finish in 1988.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Maryland defeated Indiana 64–52 in the championship game to win their first ever national championship. Juan Dixon of Maryland was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
For the second straight tournament, the Elite Eight featured at least one double-digit seed. South Region tenth-seed Kent State and West Region twelfth-seed Missouri played in their respective regional finals, with Kent State losing to Indiana and Missouri losing to Oklahoma. This also marked the first time since 1987 that no team from the states of North Carolina nor Kentucky reached the Final Four.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2002 tournament:


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
For the second time, Atlanta was the host city of the Final Four, with the Georgia Dome becoming the 33rd host venue. The Georgia Dome also currently holds the distinction of being the most recent Final Four venue to close and be demolished, as it did so in 2017 after the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which was slated to host the Final Four in 2020 before the NCAA tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament included three new venues and two new host cities.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The American Airlines Center in Dallas, which opened in 2001, replaced Reunion Arena as the city's primary winter sports venue. The Kohl Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin brought the tournament back to Wisconsin's capital city for the first time since 1969, although it has not returned since.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The city of Greenville, South Carolina's Bi-Lo Center hosted for the first time in 2002; however, due to the Confederate flag controversy at the South Carolina State Capitol, the NCAA chose not to return to the arena until 2017, two years after the flag was removed, moving games from Greensboro, North Carolina, because of the controversy surrounding HB2. The 2002 tournament was the last time that the Pittsburgh Civic Arena (then called Mellon Arena) hosted the tournament; it closed in 2010 and games have since been played at its replacement, PPG Paints Arena.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Broadcast information
ESPN broadcast the opening-round game, then turned coverage over to CBS Sports for the remaining 63 games. They were carried on a regional basis until the "Elite Eight", at which point all games were shown nationally.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships were contested at the 64th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament for determining the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf at the Division I level in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
Minnesota won the team championship, the Golden Gophers' first NCAA title.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Qualifying
The NCAA held three regional qualifying tournaments, with the top ten teams from each event qualifying for the national championship.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's  NCAA Division I college ice hockey.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The final event was played at Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota. The University of Minnesota, coached by Don Lucia, won its first NCAA title since 1979 by defeating the University of Maine, coached by Tim Whitehead, 4-3, in overtime on April 6. Matt Koalska tied the game with 53 seconds remaining in regulation with Minnesota goaltender Adam Hauser pulled for an extra attacker. Grant Potulny then won it on his power-play goal at 16:58 of the extra session, giving the Golden Gophers their fourth NCAA championship (6th overall). Minnesota senior forward John Pohl assisted on both the tying and winning goals in his final game in a Gophers uniform.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Minnesota advanced to the finals with a 3-2 semifinal win over Michigan on April 4, after Maine had bested Hockey East rival New Hampshire by a 7-2 score in the other semifinal.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
To date, this is the last Frozen Four to feature all public universities and/or colleges.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Game locations
The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 12 teams representing five Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 12 within two regionals of 6 teams. The winners of five Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship. The top regional placements are given to the best teams from each of the two regions (East and West) while the remaining 10 teams are seeded based upon their rankings regardless of region.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced after the conference tournaments concluded on March 17, 2002. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, Hockey East had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), and the ECAC each had two berths, while the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) received a single bid for its tournament champion.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
In the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse National Championship game, Syracuse defeated Princeton by a score of 13-12. The game was a rematch of the 2001 championship game, which was won by Princeton. This time, Syracuse was victorious, led by Michael Powell's four goals and three assists.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Same teams, different results, Syracuse beat Princeton 13 to 12 in a rematch of the 2001 championship, defeating the Tigers for a record-tying seventh official championship and second in three years.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
For Princeton, the defending champion, the loss snapped a 12-game tournament win streak in games decided by one goal. The Tigers only previous tournament loss in such a game was in 1991, prior to the first of Princeton's six national titles.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Michael Powell, who was named the tournament most outstanding player and later would be named nationalplayer of the year, scored the game-winner with 11:35 left in the game. Syracuse won three straight one-goal games in the tournament, and the win gave head coach John Desko his second championship in four years


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
All-Tournament Team: Michael Powell, Solomon Bliss, John Glatzel, Tom Hardy and Jay Pfeifer ofSyracuse; Damien Davis, Brad Dumont and B.J. Prager of Princeton; Adam Doneger of Johns Hopkins;and Johnny Christmas of Virginia.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 43rd organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States. The UCLA Bruins won their fourth national title by defeating the Stanford Cardinal in the championship game, 1–0. The final match was played on December 15, 2002, in University Park, Texas at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University, as were the two semi-finals on December 13. All earlier-round games were played at the home field of the higher seeded team.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 2002 at Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia at the 79th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Texas once again topped the team standings, finishing just 11 points ahead of Stanford. It was the Longhorns' third consecutive and ninth overall national title.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 56th annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
USC defeated defending champions Georgia in the championship final, 4–1, to claim the Trojans' sixteenth team national title.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host sites
This year's tournaments were played at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.


2002 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host sites
The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested at the 81st annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team champions of men's and women's Division I collegiate track and field in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This year's championships, the 21st event for both men and women, were held May 29–June 1, 2002 at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.


2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Hosts LSU won the men's title, the Tigers' fourth and first since 1990.


2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
South Carolina won the women's title, the Gamecocks' first team championship.


2002 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the twenty-first annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 2002, forty-eight Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of six teams, each in a double elimination format. The 2002 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the 2002 NCAA Division I softball season. California won their first NCAA championship by defeating Arizona 6–0 in the final game. California pitcher Jocelyn Forest was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.


2002 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Women's College World Series, Participants
* : Excludes Nebraska's vacated 1985 WCWS participation. * *: Excludes UCLA's vacated 1995 WCWS participation.


2002 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, Women's College World Series, Participants
†: Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament concluded on March 31, 2002 when Connecticut won the national title. The Final Four was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on March 29–31, 2002. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated Oklahoma 82-70 in the championship game.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
After wins in the first three rounds, Connecticut faced Old Dominion in the Mideast Regional Finals. The opening 16 minutes were described as "near-perfect", as the Huskies hit over 90% of their shots (19 of 21) and too had a 49–28 lead. That 21 point margin would match the final margin, as the Huskies would move on to the Final Four. Sue Bird scored 26 points, a career high, and eleven assist. The team recorded 25 assists, which brought their season total to 811, a new NCAA season record.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the other three regions all the number one seeds, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Duke all advanced to the Final Four. A dozen years earlier, Oklahoma attempted to eliminate the women's basketball program, but now the program had advanced to their first final four, and faced Duke in one semifinal game. Duke opened the game with a 13–7 run, but the Sooners responded with 12 consecutive points. Oklahoma managed to get to a 17-point lead in the second half, but Duke cut the lead to only two points with just under eight minutes to go. Oklahoma responded with a 16–3 run to take a decisive lead, and won the game 86–71 to head to the National Championship game.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the other semifinal, UConn faced Tennessee. Although Tennessee scored first, but that would be the last time they would lead. The Huskies responded, opened up an early lead, and extended it to 13 points at halftime. Connecticut extended the lead in the beginning of the second half, with a 24–11 run, and went on to hold the Lady Vols to 31% shooting. No Tennessee player scored in double digits; Kara Lawson led the team with nine points. The win extended the perfect season by Connecticut to 38 games, while marking  the fourth time in the last five meetings that the Huskies had beaten the Lady Vols.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the championship game, the Sooners were out rebounded and outshot, but did not give up. Oklahoma did not give up a single three point shot, the first time that has occurred in an NCAA title game, and the last time that would happen to the Connecticut team in any game for over a decade. With a minute and a half to go, the Huskies held a lead, but only six points.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
UConn had the ball, and despite having four  seniors on the floor who would go 1,2 4 and 6 in the 2002 WNBA Draft, gave the ball to sophomore Diana Taurasi, who backed down Oklahoma's Stacy Dales then took a turn around jumper than went in, while Dales fouled Taurasi to foul out of the game. Taurasi hit the foul shot to extend the lead to nine points, and the Huskies would go on to be the first team in history to record two undefeated seasons, winning their third National Championship.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams - automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA tournament.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams - at-large
Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-one cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
In 2002, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In all cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 23 to March 25 at these sites:


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held March 29 and March 31 in San Antonio, Texas at the  Alamodome, (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty states. Texas had the most teams with five bids. Twenty states did not have any teams receiving bids.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
Eighteen conferences went 0-1: America East, Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Horizon League, Ivy League,  MAAC, MAC,  Mid-Continent, MEAC, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference,  Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland,  SWAC, and WAC


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships were contested at the 21st annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's Division I collegiate golf in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Washington.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 21st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field in Baltimore, Maryland during May 2002. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. A total of 16 teams were invited to participate.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
Princeton defeated Georgetown, 12–7, to win their second national championship. This was the first time since 1994 (also won by Princeton) that Maryland did not win the national title.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament was Lauren Simone from Princeton (23 goals). Simone was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2002 Women's College Cup) was the 21st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas from December 6–8, 2002.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
Portland defeated Santa Clara in the final, 2–1 (in two overtimes), to win their first national title. The Pilots (20–4–2) were coached by Clive Charles. This was only the second title match, to date, to not feature North Carolina (the other was in 1998).


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Christine Sinclair from Portland, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Jessica Ballweg from Santa Clara. Sinclair and Ballweg, along with nine other players, were named to the All-Tournament Team.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
Sinclair was also the tournament's leading scorer, with a record 10 goals. This remains, as of 2015, the most goals scored by a single player during a Women's College Cup tournament.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Format
Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup, were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The only exceptions were the first two rounds, which were played at regional campus sites. The top sixteen teams, only eight of which were actually seeded, hosted four teams at their home fields during the tournament's first weekend.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2002 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the 21st annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted by the University of Texas at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Auburn topped the team standings for the first time, finishing 58 points ahead of three-time defending champions Georgia. It was the Tigers' first and the first for coach David Marsh.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the 21st annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Defending champions and hosts Stanford defeated Florida in the team final, 4–1, to claim their twelfth national title (and fourth in six years).


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host
This year's tournaments were hosted by Stanford University at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host
The men's and women's NCAA tennis championships would not be held jointly until 2006.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 5, 2002 with 64 teams and concluded on December 21 when Southern California defeated Stanford 3 games to 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana for the program's second NCAA title and fifth overall national title.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
It was Southern California's first national title since 1981, while Stanford was the defending 2001 national champion. Semifinalist Hawaiʻi was making the program's seventh NCAA final four appearance, while Florida made the program's first final four appearance in four years.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Records
The conference champion from each of 31 conferences earned a bid to the 2002 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, along with 33 at-large bids. The Big Ten and Pac-10 led all conferences with eight bids each. In all, ten conferences had a team ranked in the top 16 of the tournament. As of 2017, this is the most conferences represented by seeded teams in a single tournament in the 64-team era (since 1998).


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Southern California vs. Florida
When Florida took the first set, it was the first time in 6 NCAA Semifinal appearances that a Florida team was able to win a single set. However, the rest didn't go their way as USC won the next three to advance to the national championship. In the deciding fourth set, USC took the 16-8 lead before Florida came back to cut the lead to 19-17, but the Gators were unable to take the lead before USC won the fourth set, 30-24 and the match.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Stanford vs. Hawaiʻi
Stanford got a chance to defend their 2001 NCAA title after dismantling Hawaiʻi, 3-0. The 3-0 loss was only Hawaiʻi's second loss of the season, with their other loss coming to Stanford in a 3-0 sweep in the preseason. Ogonna Nnamani led Stanford with 15 kills, while Hawaiʻi was led by Kim Willoughby who had 22 kills.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Southern California vs. Stanford
USC dethroned defending NCAA national champion Stanford in a 3-1 match to finish the season 31-1, with their only loss coming to Stanford. In set one, USC had 22 kills while Stanford had just 8, leading them to a 30-27 victory. In set two, Stanford came back to take 9 of the first 12 points en route to the easy 30-23.


2002 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Southern California vs. Stanford
USC sprinted to the 19-10 lead in set 3, before the Cardinal cut the advantage at 20-17. USC's offense proved to be too much, as they won it 30-24. In set 4, USC cruised out to an early 6-1 lead and then 17-11. The lead soon disappeared, with Stanford tying it up at 19, before USC pulled away again to win the fourth set 30-26 and take home the national title. It was USC's first national championship since 1981, the first year that NCAA started to sponsor women's volleyball.


2002 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 2002 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. USA Today and ESPN began publishing the Coaches' Poll of 31 active coaches ranking the top 25 teams in the nation in 1992. Each coach is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association. Baseball America began publishing its poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1981. Beginning with the 1985 season, it expanded to the top 25. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


2002 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll
Currently, only the final poll from the 2002 season is available.


2002 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Baseball America
Currently, only the final poll from the 2002 season is available.


2002 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2002 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in January 2002. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and 2002 College World Series. The College World Series, which consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament, was held in its annual location of Omaha, Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium. It concluded on June 22, 2002, with the final game of the double-elimination bracket. Texas defeated South Carolina 12-6 to win its fifth championship.


2002 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 2002 season marked the fifty sixth NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Texas claiming their fifth championship with a 12–6 win over South Carolina in the final.


2002 NCAA Division I softball season
The 2002 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2002. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 2002 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in held in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on May 27, 2002.


2002 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 2002 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 23 to May 27, 2002 in Oklahoma City.


2002 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season walks:108 – Veronica Nelson, California Golden Bears


2002 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I single game home runs:4 – Jill Iacono, Saint Francis Red Flash; April 5, 2002


2002 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), does not bestow a National Championship title for Division I-A football. That title is primarily bestowed by different polling agencies. There are several polls that currently exist. The main weekly polls are the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings are released.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football rankings, BCS Standings
The Bowl Championship Series determined the two teams that competed in the BCS National Championship Game, the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the defending-champion Hurricanes 31–24, ending Miami's 34-game winning streak. Jim Tressel won the national championship in only his second year as head coach.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season
Rose Bowl officials were vocally upset over the loss of the Big Ten champ from the game. Former New England Patriots coach Pete Carroll returned the USC Trojans to a BCS bid in only his second season as head coach. Notre Dame also returned to prominence, as Tyrone Willingham became the first coach in Notre Dame history to win 10 games in his first season.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season
Beginning with the 2002 season, teams were allowed to schedule twelve regular season games instead of eleven leading to additional revenues for all teams and allowing players the enhanced opportunity to break various statistical records.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Rules changes
The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rules changes for the 2002 season:


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Conference and program changes
No teams upgraded from Division I-AA, leaving the number of Division I-A schools fixed at 117.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 9 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowl games
The Rose Bowl normally features the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-10. However, Big Ten-champion Ohio State, finishing No. 2 in the BCS, had qualified to play in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl for the national championship against Miami (Florida)   Earlier in the season, Ohio State had defeated Washington State 25–7.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowl games
After the national championship was set, the Orange Bowl had the next pick, and invited No. 3 (No. 5 BCS) Iowa from the Big Ten. When it was the Rose Bowl's turn to select, the best available team was No. 8 (No. 7 BCS) Oklahoma, who won the Big 12 Championship Game. When it came time for the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl to make a second pick, both wanted Pac-10 co-champion USC. However, a BCS rule stated that if two bowls wanted the same team, the bowl with the higher payoff had priority.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowl games
The Orange Bowl immediately extended an at-large bid to the No. 5 Trojans and paired them with at-large No. 3 Iowa in a Big Ten/Pac-10 "Rose Bowl East" matchup in the 2003 Orange Bowl. The Rose Bowl was left to pair Oklahoma with Pac-10 co-champion Washington State. Rose Bowl committee executive director Mitch Dorger was not pleased with the results.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowl games
As such, the BCS instituted a new rule, whereby a bowl losing its conference champion to the BCS championship could "protect" the second-place team from that conference from going to another bowl. This left the Sugar Bowl with No. 14 BCS Florida State, the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame at 10–2 and No. 9 in the BCS standings was invited to the 2003 Gator Bowl. Kansas State at No. 8 also was left out.


2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, Heisman Trophy voting
Most Outstanding Player of the yearWinner:Carson Palmer (Sr.), QB, USC (1,328 points)


2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the McNeese State Cowboys. The game was played on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Western Kentucky, 34–14.


2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2002 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Western Kentucky started their season with a loss to Kansas State of Division I-A, and the team was 2–3 after their first five games. They then won six games in a row, to finish their regular season with an 8–3 record (7–1 in conference). Unseeded in the playoffs, the Hilltoppers defeated Murray State, second-seed Western Illinois, and third-seed Georgia Southern to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Western Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game.


2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, McNeese State Cowboys
McNeese State finished their regular season with a 9–1 record (6–0 in conference); their only loss was to Nebraska of Division I-A. The Cowboys, seeded first in the tournament, defeated Montana State, Montana, and Villanova to reach the final. This was the second appearance for McNeese State in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost in 1997.


2002 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the Sports Network poll of Division I-AA head coaches, athletic directors, sports information directors and media members. This is for the 2002 season.


2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 2002, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their first I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 34−14.


2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Maine and NortheasternBig Sky Conference – Idaho State, Montana, and Montana StateBig South Conference – Gardner-WebbGateway Football Conference – Western Illinois and Western KentuckyIvy League – PennMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference – DuquesneMid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-CookmanNortheast Conference – Albany (NY)Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois and Murray StatePatriot League – Colgate and FordhamPioneer Football League – DaytonSouthern Conference – Georgia SouthernSouthland Football League – McNeese StateSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State


2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason, NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
The top four teams in the tournament were seeded; seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament was the 46th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
Officially culminating the 2001–02 NCAA Division II men's basketball season, the tournament featured forty-eight teams from around the country.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The Elite Eight, national semifinals, and championship returned to the Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville, Indiana, the home of the first twenty College Division championships between 1957 and 1976.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
Metro State (29–6) defeated defending champions Kentucky Wesleyan in the final, 80–72, to win their second Division II national championship and second in three seasons.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
It was also Kentucky Wesleyan's fifth consecutive appearance in the title game (winning in 1999 and 2001), although their appearance was later vacated by the NCAA.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The Roadrunners were coached by Mike Dunlap. Metro State's Patrick Mutombo was the Most Outstanding Player.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The 2002 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the 31st annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
On the strength of three 2nd half goals Sonoma State (19-3-1) defeated Southern New Hampshire in the tournament final, 4–3.


2002 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
This was the first national title for the Seawolves, who were coached by Marcus Ziemer. Sonoma State had previously been College Cup finalists in 1991.


2002 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the 21st annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Defending champions Cal Poly Pomona defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State in the championship game, 74–62, to claim the Broncos' fifth overall and second consecutive NCAA Division II national title.


2002 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
As in 2001, the championship rounds were contested at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota.


2002 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 2002 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). This is for the 2002 season.


2002 NCAA Division II football season
The 2002 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on September 7, 2002, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 14, 2002 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Grand Valley State Lakers defeated the Valdosta State Blazers, 31–24, to win their first Division II national title.


2002 NCAA Division II football season
The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Curt Anes, quarterback from Grand Valley State.


2002 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Fayetteville StateGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley StateGreat Northwest Athletic Conference – Central WashingtonGulf South Conference – Valdosta StateLone Star Conference – Texas A&M–KingsvilleMid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – Northwest Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – Northern ColoradoNortheast-10 Conference – C.W. PostNorthern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–DuluthPennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg (East), Indiana (PA) (West)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Chadron State and Nebraska–KearneySouth Atlantic Conference – Carson-NewmanSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – TuskegeeWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – West Virginia Wesleyan


2002 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 2002 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 29th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama for the 15th time.


2002 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 2002 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 27th national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, five four regions consisting of six teams and three regions consisting of four teams, for a total of 42 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Eastern Connecticut State, who defeated Marietta for the championship.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 28th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the United States.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The field contained sixty-four teams, and each program was allocated to one of four sectionals. All sectional games were played on campus sites, while the national semifinals, third-place final, and championship finals were contested at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Otterbein defeated Elizabethtown, 102–83, in the championship, clinching their first national title.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Jeff Gibbs, also from Otterbein, was named Most Outstanding Player.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 2001–02 season, the 19th such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Wisconsin-Superior defeating Norwich in the championship game 3-2 in overtime. All First Round and Quarterfinal matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Middlebury, Vermont.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. Automatic bids were offered to the conference tournament champion of seven different conferences with one at-large bid for the best remaining team from each region.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured four rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played a two-game series where the first team to reach 3 points was declared a winner (2 points for winning a game, 1 point each for tying). If both teams ended up with 2 points after the first two games a 20-minute mini-game was played to determine a winner. Mini-game scores are in italics. All other rounds were Single-game elimination. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity for the eastern quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel. for the western quarterfinal, the top-ranked team awaited the winner of a play-in game between the lower-ranked teams.


2002 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The third place game ceased to be held with this tournament.


2002 NCAA Division III football season
The 2002 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 2002, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2002 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their seventh, and third consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Trinity (TX) Tigers, 48−7.


2002 NCAA Division III football season
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Dan Pugh, running back from Mount Union.


2002 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 2002 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 30th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the 10th time. This was the fourth bracket to feature 28 teams since last expanding in 1999.


2002 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 2002 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


2002 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 33rd annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania during May 2002.


2002 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Hawaiʻi defeated Pepperdine in the final match, 3–1 (29–31, 31–29, 30–21, 30–24), to win their first national title. However, the NCAA Committee on Infractions ultimately vacated the Rainbow Warriors' tournament appearance, wins, and championship. The championship was not reawarded to Pepperdine. Hawaiʻi (24–8) was coached by Mike Wilton.


2002 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Hawaiʻi's Costas Theocharidis was originally named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. However, this award was revoked when Hawaiʻi's title was vacated by the NCAA. Additionally, Theocharidis and teammate Tony Ching were both removed from the six-man All Tournament Team.


2002 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 34th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Burns Aquatic Center on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California during December 2002.


2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Stanford defeated rival California in the final, 7–6, to win their tenth national title. The Cardinal (24–5) were coached by John Vargas.


2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was again Tony Azevedo from Stanford. Azevedo, along with six other players, also comprised the All-Tournament Team.


2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Azevedo, along with Queens College's Michael Vieira, were the tournament's leading scorers, with 5 goals each.


2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2002 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2002 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament involved four schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of women's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 22, 2002, and ended with the championship game on March 24.


2002 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 17.


2002 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 2002 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 23rd annual NCAA-sanctioned competition to determine the team and individual national champions of co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was hosted by Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.


2002 NCAA Rifle Championships
Three-time defending champions Alaska once again topped the team standings, finishing 31 points (6,241–6,209) points ahead of Kentucky. This was the Nanooks' fourth consecutive and fifth overall team title.


2002 NCAA Rifle Championships
Matthew Emmons (Alaska) repeated as the individual national champion for the smallbore rifle whereas Ryan Tanoue (Nevada) claimed the title for the air rifle.


2002 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
With only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of ten teams contested this championship, a return to the size of the original two championships in 1980 and 1981.


2002 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 2002 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska as part of the 49th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom and cross country skiing in the United States.


2002 NCAA Skiing Championships
Two-time defending champions Denver, coached by Kurt Smitz, again won the team championship, the Pioneers' third co-ed title and seventeenth overall.


2002 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
The championships were hosted at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska, with the University of Alaska Anchorage as hosts.


2002 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the second championships held in Alaska (1987 and 2002).


2002 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 2002 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the 21st NCAA gymnastics national championship, and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 2001 was UCLA. The competition took place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, hosted by the University of Alabama in Coleman Coliseum. The 2002 championship was won by Alabama, their first since 1996 and fourth all time.


2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
The 2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was the second annual tournament to determine the national championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The single elimination tournament was played at the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium in Los Angeles, California from May 11–12, 2002.


2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
Stanford, in a rematch of the previous year's final, defeated UCLA in the final, 8–4, to win their first NCAA championship. The Cardinal (23–2) were coached by John Tanner.


2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament was Brenda Villa, from Stanford, with 5 goals. Stanford's Jackie Frank was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
First and second All Tournament Teams were also named, each consisting of seven players.


2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for women's water polo, all NCAA women's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2002 NCBA World Series
The 2002 National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) World Series was played at Hobbs Field in Pueblo, CO from May 23 to May 27. The second tournament's champion was Texas A&M University.


2002 NCBA World Series, Format
The format is similar to the NCAA College World Series in that eight teams participate in two four-team double elimination brackets with the only difference being that in the NCBA, there is only one game that decides the national championship rather than a best-of-3 like the NCAA. A major difference between the NCAA and NCBA World Series is that NCBA World Series games were only 7 innings (until 2006) while NCAA games are 9 innings.


2002 NECBL season
The 2002 NECBL season was the ninth season in the history of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The league expanded to twelve franchises with the addition of the North Adams SteepleCats of North Adams, Massachusetts and the Sanford Mainers of Sanford, Maine, the league's first franchise in the New England state of Maine. Also, the league's Willimantic, Connecticut franchise changed its name from the Eastern Tides to the Thread City Tides Tides.


2002 NECBL season
In the quarterfinal playoff rounds, Danbury defeated Middletown 2–0, Newport defeated North Adams 2–1, Keene defeated Torrington 2–1, and Mill City defeated Concord 2–1. In the semifinal rounds, Newport defeated Danbury 2–0, and Keene defeated Lowell 2–1, setting up a championship series between the Newport Gulls and the Keene Swamp Bats. In game 1, Newport defeated Keene 8–4, and in game 2, Newport defeated Keene 3–2 to win the NECBL championship.


2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. The draft began with the Houston Texans selecting David Carr, and it ended with the Texans selecting Mr. Irrelevant, Ahmad Miller.


2002 NFL Draft
There were thirty-two compensatory selections distributed among eighteen teams, with the Buffalo Bills receiving the most selections with four. The University of Miami was the college most represented in the draft, having five of its players selected in the first round. Although the Carolina Panthers finished with a 1–15 record which would normally have given them the first pick in each round, the Houston Texans were given the first pick because they were an expansion team. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.


2002 NFL Draft, Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.


2002 NFL Draft, Supplemental draft selections
For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.


2002 NFL Europe season
The 2002 NFL Europe season was the 10th season in 12 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. The Barcelona Dragons changed their names to FC Barcelona Dragons.


2002 NFL expansion draft
The 2002 National Football League expansion draft is the most recent National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Houston Texans, selected its first players. On October 6, 1999, in Atlanta, NFL owners had unanimously voted to award the 32nd NFL franchise and Super Bowl XXXVIII to the city of Houston, Texas. In order for the Texans to become competitive with existing teams, the league awarded them the first pick in the 2002 NFL Draft and gave them the opportunity to select current players from existing teams. That selection was provided by the expansion draft, held on February 18, 2002.


2002 NFL expansion draft
In this draft, held months before the regular draft, the existing franchises listed players from which the Texans could select to switch to the new team. This was the third expansion draft after the NFL had instituted the salary cap, which limited the total amount teams could spend on their roster of players. Teams placed many quality players on the list who had large contracts, as the Texans were required to assume the contracts of those players if selected. The list included 155 NFL players, 25 of whom were Pro Bowl players.


2002 NFL expansion draft
The draft took place live and aired on ESPN. The Texans drafted a total of 19 players. They selected three players with a total salary-cap value of $14.9 million from the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were $23 million over the cap; three players with a total salary-cap value of $14.1 million from the New York Jets, who were $16 million over the cap; and two players with a total salary-cap value of $7.1 million from the Baltimore Ravens, who were $23 million over the cap.


2002 NFL expansion draft, Rules of the draft, Process
Each NFL team listed five players that the Texans could select, and the Texans were required to claim either 30 players or $27.2 million in contracts (38% of the 2002 salary cap). After the Texans selected a player from an existing team, that team could remove a player from their remaining list. If a second player was taken, the existing team could then pull back its remaining three players. However, teams were not required to remove players from the draftable list, resulting in three Jets and three Jaguars being drafted to the Texans. The Texans were prohibited from selecting a player from a team and trading the player back to that club.


2002 NFL expansion draft, Rules of the draft, Player limitations
Existing teams were not allowed to put punters or kickers on the list, nor any player from their 2001 roster who would have become an unrestricted free agent in 2002. They could not list players who went on injured reserve during the 2001 summer's training camp nor any player who would become a restricted free agent after the 2001 season. Their list could include only one player with more than 10 years' experience.


2002 NFL expansion draft, Rules of the draft, Salary cap ramifications
Teams welcomed the expansion draft as a way to eliminate expensive veteran players from their salary caps, because the Texans assumed the contracts of the players they selected, including all future portions of their signing bonuses and any guarantees or other terms. Notable players that teams exposed to the draft included five-time Pro Bowler Tony Boselli, Randall McDaniel, and Willie Roaf. The Jets left Aaron Glenn unprotected although it wanted to keep him, because the team hoped that the Texans would not want Glenn's $8 million salary-cap figure for 2002.