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With a double championship in the 2002 Big West Tournament the UCSB men and women's basketball teams have entered the sports history books. It is the first time with the present Big West lineup that one university has taken both titles in the same basketball season.
The men's 60-56 win over Utah State on March 9 was also the first time in the tournament's 27-year history that the Gauchos have claimed that title. On the same day, the women's team took Pacific 64-53 to clinch their side of the Big West competition for the sixth year in a row.
As conference winners, both teams received automatic bids to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournaments, also known as "The Big Dance." The men, who were last invited to the dance 12 years ago, were paired with Pac-10 winner Arizona. The women drew Louisiana Tech.
At press time, the men's team had lost to the Wildcats 86-81, and the women were awaiting their game with the Lady Techsters.
In a parallel achievement, the UCSB Intercollegiate Athletic Program was ranked third in the nation based on its athletes' graduation rates, according to a new college sports category evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. The comparison of 321 NCAA Division I programs in the March 18 issue, titled "America's Best College Sports Programs," placed UCSB's graduation rate behind only that of Lehigh University and Valpariso University.
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