The 2003 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2002, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 7, 2003 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans,...

, took place from March 10–15 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. Its winner received the Mid-American Conference

Mid-American Conference

The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...

's automatic bid

Automatic bid

Automatic bid is a term generally used to describe a bid or berth to a tournament, granted based on performance in prior competition, and not based on subjective picking...

 to the 2003 NCAA Tournament

2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2003 NCAA Men's Division I 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 18, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 7 in New Orleans, Louisiana...

. It is a single-elimination tournament

Single-elimination tournament

A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...

 with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes

Bye (sports)

A bye, in sports and other competitive activities, most commonly refers to the practice of allowing a player or team to advance to the next round of a playoff tournament without playing...

 in the first round. All MAC teams were invited to participate. Central Michigan

Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball

The Central Michigan Chippewas team is the basketball team that represent Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2003...

, the MAC regular season winner, received the number one seed in the tournament.

Standings

2002–03 MAC men's basketball standings
	| Conf	| Overall
Team	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT
MAC East
MAC West

Seeding

1. Central Michigan
2. Kent State
3. Miami
4. Northern Illinois
5. Western Michigan
6. Akron
7. Marshall
8. Ball State
9. Bowling Green
10. Eastern Michigan
11. Ohio
12. Toledo
13. Buffalo

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

First Round

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Ohio	41	38	79
Akron	40	37	77

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Northern Illinois	38	43	81
Buffalo	36	28	64

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Western Michigan	40	38	78
Toledo	20	44	64

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Marshall	35	48	83
Eastern Michigan	37	38	75

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Bowling Green	43	47	90
Ball State	26	55	81

Quarterfinals

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Kent State	34	45	79
Marshall	36	21	57

Team	1st	2nd	OT	Final
Ohio	22	29	14	65
Ball State	29	22	4	55

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Central Michigan	37	50	87
Bowling Green	32	38	70

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Northern Illinois	27	48	75
Western Michigan	33	30	63

Semi-finals

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Central Michigan	48	46	94
Northern Illinois	37	35	72

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Kent State	38	35	73
Ohio	38	32	70

Finals

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Central Michigan	37	40	77
Kent State	31	36	72