UMass Dartmouth finished the 2001-2002 season with a 21-8 overall record and a tournament championship at season's end. After finishing tied for second in the Little East Conference (10-4) and being eliminated in the LEC Tournament semi-finals, Coach Brian Baptiste's Corsairs took full advantage of the ECAC's New England Division III Tournament invitation.

Seeded third in the eight-team field, UMass Dartmouth defeated Gordon College, 89-74, in the quarterfinals, and advanced to the championship game with an 88-68 win over Salve Regina University in the semi-finals. In an all-LEC championship game, UMass Dartmouth posted a 67-63 victory over Plymouth State College to capture the Corsairs' first ECAC New England Division III championship title. With a game-high 16 points, UMass Dartmouth sophomore guard Steve Patrick (Lynn, MA) was the championship game most valuable player.

UMass Dartmouth posted its second straight 20-win season and the fourth in the last six seasons. In addition to the ECAC post season championship, the Corsairs successfully defended their own Hampton Inn Classic, winning the season-opening tournament played the Tripp Center for a third straight year. Senior guard Ivan Britto (New Bedford, MA) was the Hampton Inn Classic Tournament MVP and was joined by Patrick on the All-Tournament team. The Corsairs defeated Colby-Sawyer College, 89-86, in the title game.

A pair of LEC First-Team All-Stars, junior forward Brian Cagle (Norwich, CT) and junior point guard Tim Gaspar (Dartmouth, MA) led the Corsairs in 2001-02. Cagle averaged 16.4 points per game (fourth best in the LEC) and 8.4 rebounds (third in LEC) to lead the Corsairs in both categories. Cagle shot 58.9% from the floor to finish second in the conference.

Gaspar led the LEC and was among the national leaders in assists and steals. His 6.6 assists per game topped the conference and placed him fifth in NCAA Division III, while his 3.3 steals per game led the LEC and ranked him fourth nationally. Gaspar was the Corsairs' fifth leading scorer at 9.5 points plus 3.1 rebounds per game.

Britto was the Corsairs' main outside threat, finishing with 11.66 points per game, second on the team and 14th in the LEC. Britto connected on 70 of 203 three pointers and his 34.5% was 7th best in the LEC. He added 3.5 rebounds, 64 assists and 38 steals.

Freshman forward Chris Lapriore (Grafton, MA) moved into the starting lineup and made his presence felt throughout his rookie season. His 6.5 rebounds per game ranked him 9th in the LEC, while scoring 10.24 points per game, third best on the team.

Senior forward and captain Ryan Cassidy (Framingham, MA) suffered through an injury plagued season but still managed to appear in 15 games and average 10 points and 3.67 rebounds per game. Patrick was sixth in scoring with 8.04 points and 3.1 rebounds followed by senior guard Brian Austin (Winchendon, MA) (7.6 points, 2.9 rebounds), junior forward Carl Stephens (Lynn, MA) (5.8 points, 3 rebounds) and junior center Sean Walsh (East Sandwich, MA) (4.1 points, 2.3 rebounds).