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 game was played on April 1, 2002, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia and featured the 2002 East Regional Champion, #1-seeded Maryland versus the South Regional Champion, #5-seeded Indiana.
The Maryland Terrapins completed the task they set out to do one year earlier by defeating the Indiana Hoosiers, 64âÂÂ52. Maryland led virtually the entire game except for a brief point with 9:50 left in the basketball game when Indiana took a 44âÂÂ42 lead. Maryland answered the Hoosier run and ended the game with a 22âÂÂ8 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).
Each team has not reached the NCAA championship game since the end of this game. Each have also not made it past the Sweet Sixteen since 2002; Davis was let go after the 2005âÂÂ06 season.
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.