2003–04 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2003–04 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University in the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by first-year head coach Murry Bartow, played their home games at the Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference. After finishing first in the conference regular season standings, the Buccaneers won the SoCon tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 13 seed in the Atlanta region. East Tennessee State was beaten by No. 4 seed Cincinnati in the opening round, 80–77.^[1]

2003–04 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
SoCon tournament champion
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	27–6 (15–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Murry Bartow (1st season)
Home arena	Memorial Center
Seasons ← 2002–03 2004–05 →

2003–04 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North
East Tennessee State †	15	–	1		.938			27	–	6		.818
Chattanooga	10	–	6		.625			19	–	11		.633
Elon	7	–	9		.438			12	–	18		.400
UNC Greensboro	7	–	9		.438			11	–	17		.393
Western Carolina	6	–	10		.375			13	–	15		.464
Appalachian State	4	–	12		.250			9	–	21		.300
South
Georgia Southern	11	–	5		.688			21	–	8		.724
College of Charleston	11	–	5		.688			20	–	9		.690
Davidson	11	–	5		.688			17	–	12		.586
Furman	8	–	8		.500			17	–	12		.586
Wofford	4	–	12		.250			9	–	20		.310
The Citadel	2	–	14		.125			6	–	22		.214
† SoCon Tournament winner As of April 30, 2004 Rankings from AP poll

Roster

2003–04 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 1 Jerald Fields 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Gainesville, Florida G 5 Tim Smith 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Newport News, Virginia F 44 Zakee Wadood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lonoke, Arkansas	Head coach Murry Bartow (UAB) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Source^[2]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 21, 2003*		at Houston Preseason NIT	W 65–51	1–0	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Nov 23, 2003*		at Texas Tech Preseason NIT	L 53–64	1–1	United Spirit Arena  Lubbock, Texas
Nov 25, 2003*		Mars Hill	W 100–57	2–1	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Nov 29, 2003*		UNC Wilmington	W 67–62	3–1	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 3, 2003*		at UNC Asheville	W 78–56	4–1	Justice Center  Asheville, North Carolina
Dec 6, 2003		Georgia Southern	W 91–85	5–1 (1–0)	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 15, 2003*		at Clemson	L 86–100 OT	5–2	Littlejohn Coliseum  Clemson, South Carolina
Dec 17, 2003*		at Tennessee Tech	W 77–70	6–2	Eblen Center  Cookeville, Tennessee
Dec 20, 2003*		Virginia–Wise	W 81–55	7–2	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 27, 2003*		vs. IUPUI	L 81–85	7–3	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 29, 2003*		vs. Lamar	W 75–62	8–3	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 30, 2003*		vs. American	L 66–71	8–4	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 5, 2004		at Furman	W 69–68	9–4 (2–0)	Timmons Arena  Greenville, South Carolina
Jan 10, 2004		at UNC Greensboro	W 72–68	10–4 (3–0)	Fleming Gymnasium  Greensboro, North Carolina
Jan 12, 2004*		Union (KY)	W 100–62	11–4	Memorial Center  Johnson City, Tennessee
Feb 28, 2004		at College of Charleston	L 89–91	24–5 (15–1)	F. Mitchell Johnson Center  Charleston, South Carolina
SoCon tournament
Mar 4, 2004*		vs. Furman Quarterfinals	W 94–84	25–5	North Charleston Coliseum  North Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 5, 2004*		vs. Davidson Semifinals	W 96–84	26–5	North Charleston Coliseum  North Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 6, 2004*		vs. Chattanooga Championship game	W 78–62	27–5	North Charleston Coliseum  North Charleston, South Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 19, 2004*	(13 ATL)	vs. (4 ATL) No. 11 Cincinnati First round	L 77–80	27–6	Nationwide Arena  Columbus, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ATL=Atlanta. All times are in Eastern.

Source^[3]

Awards and honors

• Zakee Wadood – SoCon Player of the Year
• Murry Bartow – SoCon Coach of the Year

References

1. "Cincinnati Escapes an Upset". The New York Times. March 19, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
2. "2003–04 Men's Basketball Roster". East Tennessee State Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
3. "2003-04 Men's Basketball Schedule". East Tennessee State Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2023.