The 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was played in Russia.
The 2003 NCAA Division I Men 's 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 at the Superdome . The 2003 NCAA Division I Men 's Lacrosse Tournament was the 33rd annual Division I NCAA Men 's Lacrosse Championship tournament . The championship game was played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore , Maryland in front of 37,944 fans , The University of Virginia won the championship title with a 9 -- 7 win over top-ranked Johns Hopkins .