2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament


The 2005 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. The 67th annual edition of the tournament began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
The Final Four consisted of top seed Illinois, in their first Final Four appearance since 1989, Louisville, making their first appearance since winning the national championship in 1986, North Carolina, reaching their first Final Four since their 2000 Cinderella run, and Michigan State, back in the Final Four for the first time since 2001.
North Carolina emerged as the national champion for a fourth time, defeating Illinois in the final 75–70. North Carolina's Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. It was coach Roy Williams's first national championship.
For the first time since 1999, when Weber State defeated North Carolina, a #14 seed defeated a #3 seed when Bucknell upset Kansas. A #13 seed, Vermont, advanced by defeating Syracuse in the first round and a #12 seed, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the Chicago region.

Tournament procedure

A total of 65 teams entered the tournament, thirty having earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The automatic bid of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a postseason tournament, went to its regular season champion. The remaining 34 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Two teams play an opening-round game, popularly called the "play-in game," the winner of which advances to the main draw of the tournament and plays a top seed in one of the regionals. Since its inception in 2001, this game has been played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
All 64 teams were seeded 1 to 16 within their regionals; the winner of the play-in game automatically received a 16 seed. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65.
The 2005 regionals, along with their top seeds, are listed below.
  • Chicago Regional
  • Albuquerque Regional
  • Syracuse Regional
  • Austin Regional
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held April 2–4 in St. Louis.

Schedule and venues

Sites hosting each round of the 2005 tournament:
Opening round
  • March 15
  • *University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
First and second rounds
Regional semifinals and finals
National semifinals and championship
  • April 2 and 4
  • *Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

    Qualifying teams

Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2005 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.
ConferenceSchoolAppearanceLast bid
ACCDuke29th2004
America EastVermont3rd2004
Atlantic 10George Washington8th1999
Atlantic SunCentral Florida4th2004
Big 12Oklahoma State22nd2004
Big EastSyracuse30th2004
Big SkyMontana6th2002
Big SouthWinthrop5th2002
Big TenIllinois25th2004
Big WestUtah State16th2003
ColonialOld Dominion8th1997
C-USALouisville32nd2004
HorizonUW-Milwaukee2nd2003
Ivy LeaguePenn21st2003
MAACNiagara2nd1970
MACOhio12th1994
MEACDelaware State1stNever
Mid-ConOakland1stNever
Missouri ValleyCreighton15th2003
Mountain WestNew Mexico11th1999
NortheastFairleigh Dickinson4th1998
Ohio Valley6th1979
Pac-10Washington12th2004
PatriotBucknell3rd1989
SECFlorida11th2004
Southern9th1997
SouthlandSoutheastern Louisiana1stNever
Sun BeltLouisiana–Lafayette9th2004
SWACAlabama A&M1stNever
WACUTEP16th2004
West CoastGonzaga8th2004

Listed by region and seeding


Bids by conference

Opening round

Chicago Regional

  • March 17, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
  • *Illinois 67, Fairleigh Dickinson 55
  • *:Illinois, up only 32–31 at halftime, pulled away in the second half behind 19 points from Dee Brown and 13 from Luther Head.
  • *Nevada 61, Texas 57
  • *:Down 57–53 with 2:24 to play, the Wolf Pack of Nevada came from behind to win despite a sub-par game from star Nick Fazekas.
  • March 17, Wolstein Center, Cleveland
  • *UW-Milwaukee 83, Alabama 73
  • *:The Horizon League champion Panthers pulled the upset behind 21 points apiece from Ed McCants and Joah Tucker.
  • *Boston College 85, Penn 65
  • *:Boston College steamrolled Ivy League champion Penn with a balanced attack, getting 18 points from Jared Dudley, 15 points from Craig Smith, and 14 points from Sean Marshall.
  • March 17, Taco Bell Arena, Boise
  • *UAB 82, LSU 68
  • *:UAB led throughout with Marvett McDonald scoring 21 points, including five three-pointers.
  • *Arizona 66, Utah State 53
  • *:Arizona started slow, but secured the win led by Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire each scoring 17 points.
  • March 18, Ford Center, Oklahoma City
  • *Southern Illinois 65, Saint Mary's 56
  • *:SIU broke a late tie with St. Mary's to earn the victory.
  • *Oklahoma State 63, SE Louisiana 50
  • *:Oklahoma State jumped out to a 9-point halftime lead and built on it from there behind Ivan McFarlin's 18 points.

    Albuquerque Regional

  • March 17, Taco Bell Arena, Boise
  • *Washington 88, Montana 77
  • *:Top-seeded Washington easily advanced, getting 17 points from Brandon Roy off the bench.
  • *Pacific 79, Pittsburgh 71
  • *:Pacific nearly squandered a 15-point lead, letting Pittsburgh get within 5, but hung on to advance behind 17 from Christian Maraker and 15 from Mike Webb.
  • March 18, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
  • *Georgia Tech 80, George Washington 68
  • *:The Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech easily defeated George Washington, using a balanced attack of Jarrett Jack, Will Bynum, and B. J. Elder.
  • *Louisville 68, Louisiana-Lafayette 62
  • *:Louisville broke a tie with 3:43 left and defeated the Ragin' Cajuns behind 27 points from Francisco García, who went 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the last 1:57.
  • March 17, McKale Center, Tucson
  • *Texas Tech 78, UCLA 66
  • *:Texas Tech handled the Bruins of UCLA easily behind 28 points from Ronald Ross.
  • *Gonzaga 74, Winthrop 64
  • *:After a slow start and trailing 35–33 at halftime, Gonzaga came back and defeated Winthrop behind 27 points from Adam Morrison.
  • March 17, Wolstein Center, Cleveland
  • *West Virginia 63, Creighton 61
  • *:With the game tied 61–61 with under five seconds left, West Virginia's Tyrone Sally blocked Nate Funk's three-point attempt and then dunked off the fast break with 2.9 seconds to play to send the Mountaineers to the second round.
  • *Wake Forest 70, UT-Chattanooga 54
  • *:Wake Forest, trailed 27–24 at halftime, but came back in the second half behind 20 points from Chris Paul and 14 from Justin Gray.

    Syracuse Regional

  • March 18, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
  • *North Carolina 96, Oakland 68
  • *:North Carolina crushed play-in winner Oakland, racing out to a 59–33 halftime lead. Marvin Williams scored 20, Sean May scored 19, and Rashad McCants added 15. Cortney Scott led all scorers with 21 for Oakland and Rawle Marshall added 16.
  • *Iowa State 64, Minnesota 53
  • *:Iowa State used a 10-point halftime lead and a balanced attack to win, with Curtis Stinson scoring 18, with Rahshon Clark and Jared Homan scoring 14 apiece.
  • March 18, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
  • *Villanova 55, New Mexico 47
  • *:Villanova's stifling defense, which limited New Mexico to eleven first-half points due to New Mexico's missing many open looks, vanished in the second half. Mike Nardi scored 15 and Randy Foye had 14.
  • *Florida 67, Ohio 62
  • *:Florida got out to a 20-point lead, but had to hang on for the victory over the Mid-American champion Ohio. Matt Walsh scored 18 and Al Horford added 14.
  • March 18, Ford Center, Oklahoma City
  • *Wisconsin 57, Northern Iowa 52
  • *:The Badgers of Wisconsin held off Northern Iowa, using 16 points from Kammron Taylor and 15 from Sharif Chambliss.
  • *Bucknell 64, Kansas 63
  • *:Patriot League champion Bucknell pulled off the stunner of the tournament, edging Kansas when Chris McNaughton scored on a bank shot with 10.5 seconds left, followed by Kansas' Wayne Simien missing an open 15-footer as time expired. This completely unexpected act earned Bucknell University an ESPY award for Greatest Upset.
  • March 18, DCU Center, Worcester
  • *N.C. State 75, Charlotte 63
  • *:N.C. State fell into a 14-point hole just five minutes into the game, but closed the game on a 16–4 burst to win. Julius Hodge scored 19 for the Wolfpack, and Andrew Brackman added 16.
  • *Connecticut 77, UCF 71
  • *:The defending champion Connecticut Huskies survived a scare from Atlantic Sun champion Central Florida, who trimmed a 19-point deficit down to four. Charlie Villanueva scored 22 to lead UConn and Rudy Gay chipped in 17.