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2005_NCAA_Men's_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament
2005_NCAA_Men's_Division_I_Basketball_Tournament

2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2005 NCAA Men's Division I 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 from Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.

North Carolina won its fourth national title with a 75-70 win in the championship game over Illinois. North Carolina's Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

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 four regionals are officially named after their four host cities, a practice which also began in 2004. The 2005 regionals, along with their top seeds, are listed below.

  • Midwest Regional (Chicago) (top seed: Illinois; top overall seed)
  • West Regional (Albuquerque) (top seed: Washington; fourth overall seed)
  • East Regional (Syracuse) (top seed: North Carolina; second overall seed)
  • South Regional (Austin) (top seed: Duke; third overall seed)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held from April 2-4 in St. Louis.

Midwest Regional (Chicago)
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Illinois Big Ten 32-1 Tournament Champion
#2 Oklahoma State Big 12 26-7 Tournament Champion
#3 Arizona Pac-10 30-7 At-Large Bid
#4 Boston College Big East 25-5 At-Large Bid
#5 Alabama SEC 24-8 At-Large Bid
#6 LSU SEC 20-10 At-Large Bid
#7 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 27-8 At-Large Bid
#8 Texas Big 12 20-11 At-Large Bid
#9 Nevada WAC 25-7 At-Large Bid
#10 St. Mary's WCC 25-9 At-Large Bid
#11 UAB C-USA 22-11 At-Large Bid
#12 UW-Milwaukee Horizon 26-6 Tournament Champion
#13 Pennsylvania Ivy 20-9 Regular Season Champion
#14 Utah State Big West 24-8 Tournament Champion
#15 Southeastern Louisiana Southland 24-9 Tournament Champion
#16 Farleigh Dickinson Northeast 20-13 Tournament Champion

West Regional (Albuquerque)
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Washington Pac-10 29-6 Tournament Champion
#2 Wake Forest ACC 27-6 At-Large Bid
#3 Gonzaga WCC 26-5 Tournament Champion
#4 Louisville C-USA 29-4 Tournament Champion
#5 Georgia Tech ACC 20-12 At-Large Bid
#6 Texas Tech Big 12 22-11 At-Large Bid
#7 West Virginia Big East 24-11 At-Large Bid
#8 Pacific Big West 27-4 At-Large Bid
#9 Pittsburgh Big East 20-9 At-Large Bid
#10 Creighton Missouri Valley 23-11 Tournament Champion
#11 UCLA Pac-10 18-11 At-Large Bid
#12 George Washington Atlantic 10 22-8 Tournament Champion
#13 Louisiana-Lafayette Sun Belt 20-11 Tournament Champion
#14 Winthrop Big South 27-6 Tournament Champion
#15 Chattanooga SoCon 20-11 Tournament Champion
#16 Montana Big Sky 18-13 Tournament Champion

East Regional (Syracuse)
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 North Carolina ACC 27-4 At-Large Bid
#2 Connecticut Big East 23-8 At-Large Bid
#3 Kansas Big 12 23-7 At-Large Bid
#4 Florida SEC 24-8 Tournament Champion
#5 Villanova Big East 24-8 At-Large Bid
#6 Wisconsin Big Ten 22-8 At-Large Bid
#7 Charlotte C-USA 21-8 At-Large Bid
#8 Minnesota Big Ten 21-11 At-Large Bid
#9 Iowa State Big 12 19-12 At-Large Bid
#10 North Carolina State ACC 21-14 At-Large Bid
#11 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 21-11 At-Large Bid
#12 New Mexico Mountain West 26-7 Tournament Champion
#13 Ohio Mid-American 21-11 Tournament Champion
#14 Bucknell Patriot 23-10 Tournament Champion
#15 Central Florida Atlantic Sun 24-9 Tournament Champion
Play-in Winner Oakland Mid-Continent 13-19 Tournament Champion
Play-in Loser Alabama A&M SWAC 18-14 Tournament Champion

South Regional (Austin)
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Duke ACC 27-6 Tournament Champion
#2 Kentucky SEC 28-6 At-Large Bid
#3 Oklahoma Big 12 25-8 At-Large Bid
#4 Syracuse Big East 27-7 Tournament Champion
#5 Michigan State Big Ten 22-6 At-Large Bid
#6 Utah Mountain West 29-6 At-Large Bid
#7 Cincinnati C-USA 25-8 At-Large Bid
#8 Stanford Pac-10 18-13 At-Large Bid
#9 Mississippi State SEC 23-11 At-Large Bid
#10 Iowa Big Ten 21-11 At-Large Bid
#11 UTEP WAC 27-8 Tournament Champion
#12 Old Dominion CAA 28-6 Tournament Champion
#13 Vermont America East 25-7 Tournament Champion
#14 Niagara MAAC 20-10 Tournament Champion
#15 Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley 25-4 Tournament Champion
#16 Delaware State MEAC 19-14 Tournament Champion

Bids by conference

Bids by Conference
Bids Conference
6 Big East, Big 12
5 ACC, Big Ten, SEC
4 C-USA, Pac-10
3 Missouri Valley
2 Big West, Mountain West, WCC, WAC
1 19 others

Opening Round

First Round

Midwest Regional (Chicago)

West Regional (Albuquerque)

East Regional (Syracuse)

South Regional (Austin)

Second Round

Midwest Regional (Chicago)

West Regional (Albuquerque)

  • March 19, Taco Bell Arena, Boise

  • March 20, Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville

    • Louisville (4) 76, Georgia Tech (5) 54
    • :Louisville played strong defense in eliminating the defending runner-up Yellow Jackets. Francisco Garcia scored 21, Larry O'Bannon 16, and Taquan Dean 14.
  • March 19, McKale Center, Tucson

    • Texas Tech (6) 71, Gonzaga (3) 69
    • :Texas Tech edged Gonzaga to earn a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Ronald Ross led Texas Tech with 24, and Jarrius Jackson added 18.
  • March 19, Wolstein Center, Cleveland

    • West Virginia (7) 111, Wake Forest (2) 105 (2 OT)
    • :West Virginia continued their upset run to the Sweet Sixteen with a double-overtime shootout win, erasing a thirteen-point halftime deficit. Mike Gansey led West Virginia with 29, with Tyrone Sally, the hero of the first-round victory over Creighton, scoring 21, and D'or Fischer scoring 15 off the bench.

East Regional (Syracuse)

South Regional (Austin)

Regionals

Midwest Regional (Chicago)

At Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois

Semifinals

  • March 24

    • Illinois (1) 77, UW-Milwaukee (12) 63
    • :UW-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. UW-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 UW-Milwaukee never recovered, never getting closer than seven points for the rest of the game. Following this impressive run, UW-Milwaukee coach Bruce Pearl accepted a job as the head basketball coach at the University of Tennessee.
    • Arizona (3) 79, Oklahoma State (2) 78
    • :In the other and more climactic Midwest Regional semifinal, Arizona squeaked by Oklahoma State when Salim Stoudamire canned a jumper with five 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 Elite Eight.

Final

  • March 26

    • Illinois (1) 90, Arizona (3) 89 (OT)
    • :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 just over 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.

West Regional (Albuquerque)

At University Arena, Albuquerque

Semifinals

  • March 24

    • Louisville (4) 93, Washington (1) 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 Garcia, 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 (7) 65, Texas Tech (6) 60
    • :Seventh-seeded West Virginia continued to roll onto the Elite Eight, 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 (4) 93, West Virginia (7) 85 (OT)
    • :In another Regional Final overtime game (and a preview of a future Big East rivalry), 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.

East Regional (Syracuse)

At Carrier Dome, Syracuse

Semifinals

  • March 25

    • North Carolina (1) 67, Villanova (5) 66
    • :In a tight Sweet Sixteen contest, the top-seeded Tar Heels barely made it to the Elite Eight. 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, and Allan Ray drove the lane, but was controversially called for a travel. On the ensuing possession, Villanova immediately fouled. After Rashad McCants made a free throw to seal the North Carolina victory.

    • Wisconsin (6) 65, N.C. State (10) 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 (1) 88, Wisconsin (6) 82
    • :The third regional final matched up the top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels and the sixth seeded Badgers from Wisconsin. The Badgers had a relatively easy road to the Elite Eight of the eight teams there — they took on an 11-seed, a 14-seed and a 10-seed, avoiding potential games with Kansas and UConn. 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 four in regulation.

South Regional (Austin)

At Frank Erwin Center, Austin

Semifinals

  • March 25

    • Michigan State (5) 78, Duke (1) 68
    • :The Spartans of Michigan State continued on to the Elite Eight 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 Elite Eight.
    • Kentucky (2) 62, Utah (6) 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 Elite Eight.

Final

  • March 27

    • Michigan State (5) 94, Kentucky (2) 88 (2 OT)
    • :With two of the three earlier Regional Finals going into overtime and the other not decided until the final minute, the South Regional was hard-pressed to outdo the other Regionals, but it happened in this double-overtime, controversial 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

  • :In a packed Edwards Jones Dome, the battle between (Chicago) Midwest Regional Champions Illinois and (Albuquerque) West 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.

  • :In the battle between (Syracuse) East Regional Champions North Carolina and (Austin) South 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

  • April 4

  • :Sean May celebrated his 21st birthday by giving North Carolina's team the inside track to a national title. The overpowering May scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and North Carolina withstood a furious rally by Illinois for a 75-70 victory and its fourth NCAA championship, giving coach Roy Williams his first title. "I'm just so happy for myself, my family and these seniors who went 8-20," Williams said. "They took me for a heck of a ride. It is a team. There has been some bias that we just have talent, but this is a team." In one of the most efficient performances in NCAA Tournament history, May made 10-of-11 shots and undermined undersized Illinois, which had lost just once this season with its perimeter-based three-guard attack. "This is unbelievable," said May, who was selected Final Four Most Outstanding Player. "My friends and family celebrated (my birthday) last night. The fans gave us great support. I'll never forget this. It's the best day of my life."

"They had probably more inside threat with May than we had, and it made the difference in the game," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.

Nearly 30 years ago, May's father, Scott, scored 26 points to lead Indiana to the national title and was named Most Outstanding Player, a performance May said he watched several times prior to this game. "My dad talked to me about the celebration in 1976, but I didn't know what it meant until now. I can't describe what this feels like." May also grabbed 10 rebounds as he wreaked havoc with Illinois' big men, fouling out James Augustine and nearly doing the same to Jack Ingram. And it almost wasn't enough for North Carolina (33-4). Despite May's presence in the paint, the Fighting Illini (37-2) lived up to their name, charging back from a 15-point second-half deficit by firing away from 3-point range. They were 12-of-40 from the arc, setting a championship record for 3-point shots. "It's not supposed to be easy. They got hot," May said. "They played well, but we didn't give up. We wanted to win." Leading the way were Luther Head and Deron Williams, who combined to score 28 of their 38 points in the second half. They each made three 3-pointers after halftime, including one by Head that tied it, 70-70, with 2:39 to go. But the outside shooting faltered down the stretch. Deron Williams missed a 3-pointer with two minutes left. Carolina gained control and took the lead for good when Marvin Williams tipped in a layup attempt by Rashad McCants with 1:39 left. On the next possession, Head and Deron Williams missed open 3-pointers before Head had a pass stolen by Raymond Felton - Illinois' first turnover of the second half. Felton, who had 17 points and seven assists despite being in foul trouble all night, was fouled and split a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left. Head missed another open 3-pointer and Raymond Felton sealed North Carolina's first title since 1993 with two more from the line. "We had a couple of good looks down the stretch, they just didn't work out," Weber said. "It wasn't meant to be." It was a disappointing ending to a stellar season for Illinois, which was denied the first championship in school history. The Illini have won 37 games in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any school without a title. North Carolina shot 52 percent (27-of-52) while Illinois shot just 39 percent (27-of-70). Roy Williams came up empty in four Final Fours with Kansas before returning to his alma mater two years ago. He is off the hook, joining mentor Dean Smith as a Chapel Hill champion. "I just love this team as a family," Williams said. "I'm speechless. I usually talk my rear off." "He is the greatest coach," said Felton, whose teammates piled on him on the sideline after the horn sounded. "If he retired tomorrow, I would vote for him for the Hall of Fame. He told us he would bring us a championship, and we did it as a team." Hiding Felton's foul trouble in a zone, North Carolina took control by closing the first half with 13-2 run that opened a 40-27 lead. Rashad McCants, who scored all 14 of his points in the first half, tallied seven during the spurt. Illinois helped by frequently firing - and missing - from the arc. It made just 5-of-19 3-pointers in the first half. "We just didn't fight hard enough in the first half," Weber said. "They just shot better than us." Illinois stormed back after intermission and got eight points from Williams and seven from Head during an 18-8 run to pull within 52-50 with 12:46 to play. May asserted himself, scoring 11 points over the next four minutes as the Tar Heels rebuilt a 65-55 edge with 8:51 left. But May took a brief break, and the Illini scored the next 10 points - without the help of a 3-pointer - to tie the game with 5 1/2 minutes to go.

Bracket

Winners in bold. * next to a score indicates that the game went to overtime; multiple stars indicate multiple overtimes.

Midwest Regional (Chicago)

West Regional (Albuquerque)

East Regional (Syracuse)

  64 Oakland 79   Oakland advances to 16 seed in Syracuse
65 Alabama AM 69

South Regional (Austin)

Final Four @ St. Louis, Missouri - Edward Jones Dome

Announcers

See also

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Last updated on Tuesday July 15, 2008 at 14:11:31 PDT (GMT -0700)
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