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. It 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 Illinois, the overall top seed and in the Final Four for the first time 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 champions for a fourth time, defeating Illinois in the final 75-70. North Carolina's Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Coach Roy Williams won his 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.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Tournament procedure
A total of 65 teams entered the tournament. Thirty of the teams 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 played an opening-round game, popularly called the "play-in game"; the winner of that game advanced to the main draw of the tournament and plays a top seed in one of the regionals. This game has been played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio since its inception in 2001.
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 (top seed: Illinois; top overall seed)
- Albuquerque Regional (top seed: Washington; fourth overall seed)
- Syracuse Regional (top seed: North Carolina; second overall seed)
- Austin Regional (top seed: Duke; third overall seed)
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held April 2-4 in St. Louis.
Locations
The 2005 play-in game was played on Tuesday, March 15, at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, as it had been since its inception in 2001.
The first and second-round games were played at the following sites:
The regional final sites, named after their host cities, were:
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four at the Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the Missouri Valley Conference. The semi-final games were held on April 2 and the final on April 4, 2005.
Qualifying teams
Bids by conference
Opening round
- University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
First round
Chicago Regional
- March 17, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
- Illinois (1) 67, Fairleigh Dickinson (16) 55
- Nevada (9) 61, Texas (8) 57
- March 17, Wolstein Center, Cleveland
- Milwaukee (12) 83, Alabama (5) 73
- Boston College (4) 85, Penn (13) 65
- March 17, Taco Bell Arena, Boise
- UAB (11) 82, LSU (6) 68
- Arizona (3) 66, Utah State (14) 53
- March 18, Ford Center, Oklahoma City
- Southern Illinois (7) 65, Saint Mary's (10) 56
- Oklahoma State (2) 63, SE Louisiana (15) 50
Albuquerque Regional
- March 17, Taco Bell Arena, Boise
- Washington (1) 88, Montana (16) 77
- Pacific (8) 79, Pittsburgh (9) 71
- March 18, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
- Georgia Tech (5) 80, George Washington (12) 68
- Louisville (4) 68, Louisiana-Lafayette (13) 62
- March 17, McKale Center, Tucson
- Texas Tech (6) 78, UCLA (11) 66
- Gonzaga (3) 74, Winthrop (14) 64
- March 17, Wolstein Center, Cleveland
- West Virginia (7) 63, Creighton (10) 61
- Wake Forest (2) 70, UT-Chattanooga (15) 54
Syracuse Regional
- March 18, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
- North Carolina (1) 96, Oakland (16) 68
- Iowa State (9) 64, Minnesota (8) 53
- March 18, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
- Villanova (5) 55, New Mexico (12) 47
- Florida (4) 67, Ohio (13) 62
- March 18, Ford Center, Oklahoma City
- Wisconsin (6) 57, Northern Iowa (11) 52
- Bucknell (14) 64, Kansas (3) 63
- March 18, DCU Center, Worcester
- N.C. State (10) 75, Charlotte (7) 63
- Connecticut (2) 77, UCF (15) 71
Austin Regional
- March 18, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
- Duke (1) 57, Delaware State (16) 46
- Mississippi State (9) 93, Stanford (8) 70
- March 18, DCU Center, Worcester
- Michigan State (5) 89, Old Dominion (12) 81
- Vermont (13) 60, Syracuse(Vacated) (4) 57 (OT)
- March 17, McKale Center, Tucson
- Utah (6) 60, UTEP (11) 54
- Oklahoma (3) 84, Niagara (14) 67
- March 17, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
- Cincinnati (7) 76, Iowa (10) 64
- Kentucky (2) 72, Eastern Kentucky (15) 64
Second round
Chicago Regional
- March 19, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
- Illinois (1) 71, Nevada (9) 59
- March 19, Wolstein Center, Cleveland
- Milwaukee (12) 83, Boston College (4) 75
- March 19, Taco Bell Arena, Boise
- Arizona (3) 85, UAB (11) 63
- March 20, Ford Center, Oklahoma City
- Oklahoma State (2) 85, Southern Illinois (7) 77
Albuquerque Regional
- March 19, Taco Bell Arena, Boise
- Washington (1) 97, Pacific (8) 79
- March 20, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
- Louisville (4) 76, Georgia Tech (5) 54
- March 19, McKale Center, Tucson
- Texas Tech (6) 71, Gonzaga (3) 69
- March 19, Wolstein Center, Cleveland
- West Virginia (7) 111, Wake Forest (2) 105 (2 OT)
Syracuse Regional
- March 20, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
- North Carolina (1) 92, Iowa State (9) 65
- March 20, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville
- Villanova (5) 76, Florida (4) 65
- March 20, Ford Center, Oklahoma City
- Wisconsin (6) 71, Bucknell (14) 62
- March 20, DCU Center, Worcester
- N.C. State (10) 65, Connecticut (2) 62
Austin Regional
- March 20, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte
- Duke (1) 63, Mississippi State (9) 55
- March 20, DCU Center, Worcester
- Michigan State (5) 72, Vermont (13) 61
- March 19, McKale Center, Tucson
- Utah (6) 67, Oklahoma (3) 58
- March 19, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
- Kentucky (2) 69, Cincinnati (7) 60
Regionals
Chicago Regional
At Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Semifinals
- March 24
- Illinois (1) 77, Milwaukee (12) 63
- Arizona (3) 79, Oklahoma State (2) 78
Final
- March 26
- Illinois (1) 90, Arizona (3) 89 (OT)
Albuquerque Regional
At University Arena, Albuquerque
Semifinals
- March 24
- Louisville (4) 93, Washington (1) 79
- West Virginia (7) 65, Texas Tech (6) 60
Final
- March 26
- Louisville (4) 93, West Virginia (7) 85 (OT)
Syracuse Regional
At Carrier Dome, Syracuse
Semifinals
- March 25
- North Carolina (1) 67, Villanova (5) 66
- Wisconsin (6) 65, N.C. State (10) 56
Final
- March 27
- North Carolina (1) 88, Wisconsin (6) 82
Austin Regional
At Frank Erwin Center, Austin
Semifinals
- March 25
- Michigan State (5) 78, Duke (1) 68
- Kentucky (2) 62, Utah (6) 52
Final
- March 27
- Michigan State (5) 94, Kentucky (2) 88 (2 OT)
Final Four
At Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis
National Semifinals
- April 2
- Illinois (Chicago 1) 72, Louisville (Albuquerque 4) 57
- North Carolina (Syracuse 1) 87, Michigan State (Austin 5) 71
National Championship Game
- April 4
- North Carolina (Syracuse 1) 75, Illinois (Chicago 1) 70
North Carolina was playing looking for its 4th National Championship while Illinois was playing in its first National Championship. 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
Winners in bold. * next to a score indicates that the game went to overtime; multiple stars indicate multiple overtimes.
Chicago Regional
First round summary
Second round summary
Albuquerque Regional
First round summary
Second round summary
Syracuse Regional
Austin Regional
Final Four -- St. Louis, Missouri
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.
- Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin - Opening Round Game at Dayton, Ohio
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.
- Jim Nantz and Billy Packer - First & Second Round at Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin Regional at Austin, Texas; Final Four at St. Louis, Missouri
- Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas - First & Second Round at Indianapolis, Indiana; Chicago Regional at Chicago, Illinois
- Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery - First & Second Round at Nashville, Tennessee; Syracuse Regional at Syracuse, New York
- Gus Johnson and Len Elmore - First & Second Round at Worcester, Massachusetts; Albuquerque Regional at Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner - First & Second Round at Tucson, Arizona
- Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel - First & Second Round at Cleveland, Ohio
- Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel - First & Second Round at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Tim Brando and Mike Gminski - First & Second Round at Boise, Idaho
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.
John Tautges once again served as studio host.
Local radio
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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