2003–04 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

The 2003–04 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented University of Cincinnati as a member of Conference USA during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Bob Huggins, serving in his 15th year at the school. The team finished in a 5-way tie atop the conference regular season standings and won the Conference USA tournament titles to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 4 seed in the Atlanta region. After an opening round victory over East Tennessee State, Cincinnati was beaten in the second round by No. 5 seed Illinois, 92–68. The Bearcats finished with a 25–7 record (12–4 C-USA).

2003–04 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
Conference USA Regular season co-champions Conference USA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Conference USA
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 11
Record	25–7 (12–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Bob Huggins (15th season)
Assistant coaches	Mick Cronin (8th season) Andy Kennedy (3rd season)
Home arena	Myrl Shoemaker Center
Seasons ← 2002–03 2004–05 →

2003–04 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
DePaul	12	–	4		.750			22	–	10		.688
No. 24 Memphis	12	–	4		.750			22	–	8		.733
No. 11 Cincinnati †	12	–	4		.750			25	–	7		.781
UAB	12	–	4		.750			22	–	10		.688
Charlotte	12	–	4		.750			21	–	9		.700
Louisville	9	–	7		.563			20	–	10		.667
Saint Louis	9	–	7		.563			19	–	13		.594
Marquette	8	–	8		.500			19	–	12		.613
TCU	7	–	9		.438			12	–	17		.414
Southern Miss	6	–	10		.375			13	–	15		.464
East Carolina	5	–	11		.313			13	–	14		.481
Tulane	4	–	12		.250			11	–	17		.393
Houston	3	–	13		.188			9	–	18		.333
South Florida	1	–	15		.063			7	–	20		.259
† 2004 Conference USA Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll[1]

Roster

2003–04 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 2 Field Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Houston, Texas G 3 John Meeker (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Troy, Ohio G 10 Jamaal Lucas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Corpus Christi, Texas F 21 James White 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Washington, D.C. F 54 Jason Maxiell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Chicago, Illinois	Head coach Bob Huggins Assistant coach(es) Mick Cronin Andy Kennedy Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Source^[2]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Mar 6, 2004	No. 13	No. 20 Memphis	W 83–79	21–6 (12–4)	Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, Ohio
Conference USA Tournament
Mar 11, 2004*	No. 13	Louisville Quarterfinals	W 64–62	22–6	Riverfront Coliseum  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 12, 2004*	No. 13	Saint Louis Semifinals	W 66–46	23–6	Riverfront Coliseum  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 13, 2004*	No. 13	DePaul Championship game	W 55–50	24–6	Riverfront Coliseum  Cincinnati, Ohio
NCAA tournament
Mar 19, 2004*	(4 ATL) No. 11	vs. (13 ATL) East Tennessee State First Round	W 80–77	25–6	Nationwide Arena  Columbus, Ohio
Mar 21, 2004*	(4 ATL) No. 11	vs. (5 ATL) No. 13 Illinois Second Round	L 68–92	25–7	Nationwide Arena  Columbus, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ATL=Atlanta.

Rankings

Main article: 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	18	19	19	18	16	14	12	11	10	6	8	10	13	17	15	13	13	11	Not released
Coaches	19 т	19	19	17	16	12	11	10	7	5	7	10	12	14	12	12	12	12	18

*AP did not release a Week 1 poll nor post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

1. sports-reference.com 2003-04 Conference USA Season Summary
2. "2003–04 Cincinnati Bearcats Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 26, 2022.