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, [2004–05 University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee|Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team|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.
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
First and second rounds
Regional semifinals and finals
National semifinals and championship

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
ACC[2004–05 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team|Duke]29th2004
America East[2004–05 Vermont Catamounts men's basketball|Vermont Catamounts men's basketball team|Vermont]3rd2004
Atlantic 10[2004–05 2004–05 George Washington Colonials men's basketball team|George Washington Colonials men's basketball team|George Washington]8th1999
Atlantic SunCentral Florida4th2004
Big 12[2004–05 Oklahoma State University–Stillwater|Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team|Oklahoma State]22nd2004
Big EastSyracuse30th2004
Big SkyMontana6th2002
Big South[2004–05 2004–05 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team|Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team|Winthrop]5th2002
Big TenIllinois25th2004
Big West[2004–05 2004–05 Utah Utes men's basketball team|Utah State Aggies men's basketball team|Utah State]16th2003
Colonial[2004–05 2004–05 Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team|Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team|Old Dominion]8th1997
C-USA[2004–05 University of Louisville|Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team|Louisville]32nd2004
HorizonUW-Milwaukee2nd2003
Ivy League[2004–05 Penn Quakers men's basketball|Penn Quakers men's basketball team|Penn]21st2003
MAACNiagara2nd1970
MAC[2004–05 2004–05 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team|Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team|Ohio]12th1994
MEACDelaware State1stNever
Mid-Con[2004–05 2004–05 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team|Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team|Oakland]1stNever
Missouri Valley[2004–05 Creighton University|Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team|Creighton]15th2003
Mountain West[2004–05 2004–05 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team|New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team|New Mexico]11th1999
NortheastFairleigh Dickinson4th1998
Ohio Valley6th1979
Pac-10[2004–05 University of Washington|Washington Huskies men's basketball team|Washington]12th2004
Patriot[2004–05 Bucknell Bison|Bucknell Bison men's basketball team|Bucknell]3rd1989
SEC[2004–05 University of Florida|Florida Gators men's basketball team|Florida]11th2004
Southern9th1997
SouthlandSoutheastern Louisiana1stNever
Sun BeltLouisiana–Lafayette9th2004
SWAC[2004–05 University of Alabama|Alabama A&M Bulldogs basketball team|Alabama A&M]1stNever
WAC[2004–05 2004–05 UTEP Miners men's basketball team|UTEP Miners men's basketball team|UTEP]16th2004
West Coast[2004–05 Gonzaga University|Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team|Gonzaga]8th2004

Listed by region and seeding



Opening round

First 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.
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team|Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team|Nevada] 61, [2004–05 2004–05 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team|Texas Longhorns men's basketball team|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
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 UAB Blazers men's basketball team|UAB Blazers men's basketball team|UAB] 82, LSU 68
  • *:UAB led throughout with Marvett McDonald scoring 21 points, including five three-pointers.
  • *[2004–05 University of Arizona|Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team|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.
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team|Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team|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, [2004–05 2004–05 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team|Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team|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
  • *[2004–05 Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team|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
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team|Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team|Texas Tech] 78, [2004–05 2004–05 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|UCLA Bruins men's basketball team|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
  • *[2004–05 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball|West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team|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.
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team|Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team|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
  • *[2004–05 Villanova University|Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team|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
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team|Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team|Wisconsin] 57, [2004–05 2004–05 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team|Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team|Northern Iowa] 52
  • *:The Badgers of Wisconsin held off Northern Iowa, using 16 points from Kammron Taylor and 15 from Sharif Chambliss.
  • *Bucknell 64, [2004–05 2004–05 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team|Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team|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, [2004–05 2004–05 Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team|Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team|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.

Austin Regional

  • March 18, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
  • *Duke 57, Delaware State 46
  • *:Duke won in this offensive struggle against the MEAC champion as Shelden Williams scored 14.
  • *[2004–05 Mississippi State University|Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team|Mississippi State] 93, [2004–05 2004–05 Stanford Cardinal men's basketball team|Stanford Cardinal men's basketball team|Stanford] 70
  • *:After a 1-point lead at halftime, Mississippi State pulled away from Stanford with a strong second half, led by Lawrence Roberts' 23 points and Winsome Frazier's 20.
  • March 18, DCU Center, Worcester
  • *[2004–05 2004–05 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team|Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team|Michigan State] 89, Old Dominion 81
  • *:The Spartans of Michigan State rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to beat Old Dominion. Alan Anderson had 15 for Michigan State, Paul Davis added 14, and both Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager had 13 apiece.
  • *Vermont 60, Syracuse 57
  • *:The Catamounts of Vermont upset Syracuse with an overtime victory. Vermont prevented point guard Gerry McNamara and senior forward Hakim Warrick from having big days. With 10 seconds left in a tie game, Germian Mopa Njila drove to the baseline and scored, but was ruled out of bounds because he stepped on the baseline. In overtime Njila scored a three-pointer with two minutes left to put Vermont ahead. Then 48 seconds later after a steal by Njila, T. J. Sorrentine scored a deep three-pointer to put them up by 4 with just over a minute remaining, to essentially seal the victory. This was the first-ever NCAA Tournament win for the University of Vermont.
  • March 17, McKale Center, Tucson
  • *Utah 60, UTEP 54
  • *:A large number of UTEP fans made the trip from El Paso to Tucson to support their team; however, Utah won the game, advancing to the second round. Andrew Bogut scored 24 to lead Utah.
  • *Oklahoma 84, Niagara 67
  • *:Oklahoma beat the MAAC champion, getting big efforts from Drew Lavender and five other Sooners in double figures.
  • March 17, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
  • *[2004–05 University of Cincinnati|Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team|Cincinnati] 76, Iowa 64
  • *:Cincinnati's first-round victory over Iowa saw Jason Maxiell score 22 points, including the first two three-pointers of his college career. James White added 15 for Cincinnati.
  • *[2004–05 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball|Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team|Kentucky] 72, Eastern Kentucky 64
  • *:The higher-seeded Kentucky team prevailed in this intrastate matchup, with Kelenna Azubuike and Chuck Hayes both scoring 16.

Second round

Chicago Regional

Albuquerque Regional

Syracuse Regional

Austin Regional

Regionals

Chicago Regional

At Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois

Semifinals

  • March 24
  • *Illinois 77, Milwaukee 63
  • *:Milwaukee, who had knocked off powerhouses Alabama and Boston College in the last week, had their Cinderella run come to an abrupt end against the tournament's top-seeded team. Milwaukee stayed with Illinois for most of the first half, only trailing 29–26 with 3:38 to play in the half, but then Illinois reeled off a 7–0 run to push the lead to ten, and Milwaukee never recovered, never getting closer than seven points for the rest of the game. Following this impressive run, Milwaukee coach Bruce Pearl accepted a job as the head basketball coach at the University of Tennessee.
  • *Arizona 79, Oklahoma State 78
  • *:In the other and more climactic Midwest Regional semifinal, Arizona squeaked by Oklahoma State when Salim Stoudamire canned a jumper with 2.8 seconds remaining. The game had been back-and-forth all night long, with Arizona leading by three at halftime but then letting up, allowing Oklahoma State to take a five-point lead at 72–67 with 4:29 remaining. Arizona and Oklahoma State then traded baskets, and Stoudamire sliced the Oklahoma State lead to 76–75 with 1:58 left on a three-pointer. After Joey Graham put Oklahoma State back up by one with eighteen seconds to play, Stoudamire nailed his game-winner to send Arizona to the Regional Finals.

Final

  • March 26
  • *Illinois 90, Arizona 89
  • *:In one of the most thrilling NCAA basketball games ever, Illinois pulled off an improbable comeback to break the hearts of Wildcats fans everywhere. After a close first half, Arizona came out gunning in the second half, opening up a 75–60 lead with only four minutes left in the second half. Illinois then closed the half on a 20–5 run to force overtime using a stingy defense, layups, and three-pointers, the last of which by Deron Williams tied the game at 80–80 with 39 seconds in regulation. The run broke down Arizona completely, and Illinois opened up a 90–84 lead in overtime before Arizona scored five straight to cut the lead to one, but Hassan Adams missed a three at the buzzer to give Illinois the win and a berth in the Final Four.

Albuquerque Regional

At University Arena, Albuquerque

Semifinals

  • March 24
  • *Louisville 93, Washington 79
  • *:Louisville dominated top-seeded Washington, using a big spurt late in the first half and then cruising from there. After an evenly matched sixteen minutes that saw Washington lead 30–29, Louisville went on an 18–5 run to close the first half, with the big shots coming from Francisco García, who nailed two three-pointers during that stretch to extend the lead. Washington tried a second-half comeback, cutting Louisville's lead to 67–61 with 8:41 left, but Louisville had enough to pull away.
  • *West Virginia 65, Texas Tech 60
  • *:Seventh-seeded West Virginia continued to roll onto the Regional Finals, engaging in a close battle with Texas Tech before pulling away in the second half. West Virginia took the lead for good when Kevin Pittsnogle drained a three with 6:14 to play, and held it from there, with Pittsnogle sinking two huge free throws with seventeen seconds left and West Virginia up by two to put the game out of reach.

Final

  • March 26
  • *Louisville 93, West Virginia 85
  • *:In another Regional Final overtime game, West Virginia opened up the game at a blistering pace, using five three-pointers to jump out to a 19–5 lead. When Joe Herber made a three, West Virginia had a 32–13 lead with 5:30 to play in the first half. West Virginia led by thirteen at halftime, but Louisville finally went to a zone defense coming out of the half, and West Virginia began to go cold. Louisville cut the lead to three nine minutes into the second half, but Kevin Pittsnogle extended the West Virginia lead to ten with six minutes to play with a three. But West Virginia missed their last four field goals and Louisville tied the game with 38 seconds to play on Larry O'Bannon's layup. Louisville had grabbed the momentum and scored sixteen points in overtime to secure a berth in the Final Four.

Syracuse Regional

At Carrier Dome, Syracuse

Semifinals

  • March 25
  • *North Carolina 67, Villanova 66
  • *:In a tight Sweet Sixteen contest, the top-seeded Tar Heels barely made it to the Regional Finals. The entire game was officiated closely—the first television timeout came after Villanova garnered its fifth personal foul, and two fouls led to the disqualification from the game of North Carolina star Raymond Felton with under five minutes left. Fifth-seeded Villanova stuck with UNC despite falling behind 64–54 with 3:45 left in the game. The Wildcats stormed back to cut the lead to 66–63. With eleven seconds left Allan Ray drove the lane, received contact as he made a basket, but was called for a travel on the play. On the ensuing possession, Villanova immediately fouled. Rashad McCants then made a free throw to seal the North Carolina victory.
  • *Wisconsin 65, N.C. State 56
  • *:After upsetting two higher-seeded teams, including the defending national champion, N.C. State took a nine-point halftime lead against sixth-seeded Wisconsin before the Badgers woke up, using a 13–0 second-half run to turn a three-point deficit into a ten-point lead. N.C. State hung in, cutting the Wisconsin lead to 53–49 with 5:03 to play, and then only trailed 59–54 with 1:50 to play, but N.C. State ran out of miracles and energy and their Cinderella run ended, denying them a matchup with their most hated rival for a trip to St. Louis.

Final

  • March 27
  • *North Carolina 88, Wisconsin 82
  • *:The third regional final matched up the top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels and the sixth seeded Badgers from Wisconsin. The Tar Heels started off hot in this one as Sean May and Rashad McCants scored at will. When point guard Raymond Felton garnered his second foul, head coach Roy Williams decided to pull him to prevent further foul trouble. Up 11 at the time, it seemed to be the right move. Wisconsin would prove Williams wrong as they finished the half on an 11–0 run, tying the game at 44 heading into the half. The Tar Heels struggled to start the second half as hot as the first and trailed for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Sparked by May's 29 points and 11 boards and Felton's clutch free throws, they outlasted the Badgers and won the game by six in regulation.

Austin Regional

At Frank Erwin Center, Austin

Semifinals

  • March 25
  • *Michigan State 78, Duke 68
  • *:The Spartans of Michigan State continued on to the Regional Finals by outplaying Duke in the second half and breaking a 32–32 halftime tie. Michigan State came out in the second half and secured the momentum in slowly, but surely, pulling away from Duke. The Spartans got out to a nine-point lead, allowed Duke to get within two, but then, scoring their last ten points of the game on free throws, moved on to the Regional Finals.
  • *Kentucky 62, Utah 52
  • *:After playing Kentucky well in the first half, only trailing by five at halftime, Utah ran out of steam. Utah's last chance to win the game came after Andrew Bogut missed a free throw with Utah down 38–35 with 12:17 to play. Kentucky gradually pulled away to meet Michigan State in the Regional Finals.

Final

  • March 27
  • *Michigan State 94, Kentucky 88
  • *:In this double-overtime thriller, Kentucky started out well and led Michigan State by four at halftime, but Michigan State caught up in the second half, actually leading 70–62 with 5:43 to play. Kentucky rallied back, however, cutting the lead to one when Kelenna Azubuike drained a three with 1:19 to play. After Patrick Sparks missed the front end of a one-and-one with 41 seconds to play, Michigan State's Shannon Brown appeared to ice the game with two free throws with 20 seconds to play. But with time expiring, Sparks put up a prayer from three, and the ball bounced around the rim four times before falling in. After the referees spent nearly ten minutes reviewing the play, they upheld that Sparks' shot was a three pointer, sending the game into overtime. In the first overtime, neither team relented, and Brown hit a key three-point basket for Michigan State to keep them in the game. Kentucky's Azubuike missed a three as time expired to send the game into double overtime. In the second overtime, Michigan State's mettle finally won the game for them, as they scored 11 of their 13 points from the free throw line to finally seal the game and send them to the Final Four for the fourth time under coach Tom Izzo.

Final Four

At Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis

National semifinals

  • April 2
  • *Illinois 72, Louisville 57
  • :In a packed Edwards Jones Dome, the battle between Chicago Regional Champions Illinois and Albuquerque Regional Champions Louisville took place. Although nearly three-fourths of the crowd were Illini fans, the fourth-seeded Louisville Cardinals were not fazed and gave the overall top-seeded Fighting Illini all they could handle, trailing only by three at halftime, but Illinois used an early second-half run to pull away from the Cardinals and earn a bid in the national championship game.
  • *North Carolina 87, Michigan State 71
  • :In the battle between Syracuse Regional Champions North Carolina and Austin Regional Champions Michigan State, North Carolina used a 54-point second half to erase a five-point halftime deficit and down the Spartans, who were making their fourth appearance in the Final Four under coach Tom Izzo.

National Championship Game

North Carolina was looking for its 4th National Championship, while Illinois was playing in its first. It was a tight contest for much of the first half before an 8–0 run by North Carolina allowed them to take a 35–25 lead. Eventually they would take a 40–27 lead into halftime. North Carolina increased its lead to 15 at one point in the second half. But Illinois began a furious charge: at one point, they would hit seven consecutive shots from the floor to turn a fifteen-point lead back to four. Unfazed, North Carolina would push the lead back up to ten before a 10–0 run by the Illini tied the game at 65-65. Illinois would tie the game at 70–70 on a three by Luther Head. But North Carolina would fight back as freshman Marvin Williams tapped back a Rashad McCants missed shot to put North Carolina back in front. Illinois would get several cracks to take the lead but were unable to convert. Eventually, Raymond Felton was able to steal the ball from Head, forcing Deron Williams to foul. However, Felton converted on 1 of 2 free throws, giving Illinois one last chance. But Luther Head's three pointer bounced high and out. Eventually it went into the hands of Felton who this time connected on both free throws to give North Carolina a 75–70 victory. For North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, it was his first national championship. Illinois was denied a chance to set the NCAA record for most wins in a season, instead tying it at 37. Sean May scored 26 points as he took the MOP of the Final Four.

Bracket

Opening Round game – Dayton, Ohio

Winner advances to Syracuse Regional vs. No. 1 North Carolina.

Chicago Regional

Chicago regional all-tournament team

Albuquerque Regional

Albuquerque regional all-tournament team

Syracuse Regional

Syracuse regional all-tournament team

Austin Regional

Austin regional all-tournament team

Final Four — St. Louis, Missouri

Final Four all-tournament team

Record by conference

* Oakland won the Opening Round game.
The Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Ivy, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, and Sun Belt conferences all went 0–1.
The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, and CG respectively stand for the Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship Game.

Television

ESPN carried the opening round game.
Rece Davis served as studio host, joined by analyst Fran Fraschilla.
CBS Sports carried the remaining 63 games. They were carried on a regional basis until the Elite Eight, at which point all games were shown nationally.
Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis.
The television rating indicated the tournament was watched by an average of 10.6 million viewers.

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio coverage.
Play-by-play announcerColor analystRoundSite
1st/2nd roundsCleveland, Ohio

John Tautges once again served as studio host.

Local radio

RegionSeedTeamsFlagship stationPlay-by-play announcerColor analyst
Syracuse3KansasKLWN-AM 1320Bob DavisMax Falkenstein
Chicago4Boston College
Chicago5Alabama
Chicago6LSUWDGL-FM 98.1; WWL-AM 870Jim HawthorneKevin Ford
Chicago12Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Chicago13Penn
Albuquerque2Wake Forest
Albuquerque7West VirginiaTony CaridiJay Jacobs
Albuquerque10Creighton
Albuquerque15UT-Chattanooga