NCAA Basketball: Revisiting the 2003-04 college basketball season

Over the years, there have been several seasons that have been special in NCAA basketball. Let’s take a look back at the 2003-04 season.

Entering the 2003-04 season, the Connecticut Huskies were the preseason AP #1 team in the country. Although rankings shifted throughout the year and upsets occurred, the Huskies were the ones who ended the season on top in the NCAA Tournament.

The year was ruled by miraculous moments and plenty of surprises during the Big Dance. In fact, twp of the #1 seeds during the 2004 NCAA Tournament were knocked before the Sweet 16. The other two #1 seeds were Saint Joseph’s, who lost in the Elite Eight, and Duke, who made the Final Four.

When it was all said and done, we saw a Final Four of Duke, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma State. It was Duke’s 14th appearance in the Final Four and the sixth for Oklahoma State. It was Georgia Tech and Connecticut’s second trip to the final weekend and they faced off against each other in the National Championship, with the Huskies coming out on top.

The season introduced several incredible freshmen talents, even though many high school players decided to forgo college and immediately enter the NBA. Upperclassmen were the ones who ruled this season, most notably Saint Joseph’s senior Jameer Nelson and Connecticut junior Emeka Okafor. Nelson was the consensus National Player of the Year while Okafor was the Defensive Player of the Year and a National Champion.

Looking back at the season, let’s first take a look at the incoming youngsters and their college career before taking a glance at the top teams in the country and the awards that were handed out.