The 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2004, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship game on April 4, 2005, at the Edward Jones Dome in Saint Louis, Missouri. The North Carolina Tar Heels won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 75–70 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Season headlines The preseason AP All-American team was named on November 9. Chris Paul of Wake Forest was the leading vote-getter (55 of 72 votes). The rest of the team included Lawrence Roberts of Mississippi State (50 votes), Wayne Simien of Kansas (50), Julius Hodge of NC State (41) and Hakim Warrick of Syracuse (33).Paul Tops AP Preseason All-America Team, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, retrieved 2010-07-29 In the 2005 NCAA tournament, Rick Pitino of Louisville became the first head coach to take three different teams to the NCAA tournament Final Four. He had done it previously with Providence in 1987 and Kentucky in 1993.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls November 11, 2004. 'Associated Press'RankingTeam1Kansas (25)2Wake Forest (22)3Georgia Tech (10)4North Carolina (10)5Illinois (2)6Syracuse7Oklahoma State (2)8Connecticut9Kentucky (1)10Arizona11Duke12Mississippi State13Michigan State14Louisville15Maryland16Texas17Pittsburgh18Alabama19North Carolina State20Notre Dame21Wisconsin22Washington23Florida24Memphis25Gonzaga ESPN/USA Today coachesRankingTeam1Kansas (8)2Wake Forest (12)3North Carolina (6)4Georgia Tech (1)5Illinois (1)6Syracuse7Connecticut8Oklahoma State (1)9Kentucky10Michigan State11Arizona (1)12Duke13Louisville (1)14Mississippi State15Texas16Maryland17Pittsburgh18Alabama19North Carolina State20Wisconsin 21Notre Dame22Florida23Memphis24Washington25Stanford
Conference membership changes
These schools joined new conferences for the 2004–05 season.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference CCAA (D-II) NCAA Division I Independent NCAA Division II independent NCAA Division I independent Big East Conference Atlantic Coast Conference North Central Conference (D-II) NCAA Division I independent North Central Conference (D-II) NCAA Division I Independent North Central Conference (D-II) NCAA Division I independent Big East Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
Thirty conference seasons concluded with a single-elimination tournament. Generally, all member schools were eligible to participate in their conference tournament regardless of their records, but the Big East did not invite its teams with the worst records to its 2005 tournament. Conference tournament winners received an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, while a school that won its conference regular season title but did not win its conference tournament was guaranteed a bid to the 2005 National Invitation Tournament unless it received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Ivy League was the only NCAA Division I conference that did not hold a conference tournament, instead sending its regular-season champion to the NCAA tournament.
ConferenceRegularseason WinnerConferencePlayer of the YearConferenceTournamentTournamentVenue (City)TournamentWinnerAmerica East Conference Vermont Taylor Coppenrath, VermontAmerica East Players of the Year, America East Conference, retrieved 2009-01-24 2005 America East men's basketball tournament Events Center(Vestal, New York)(Except Finals) VermontAmerica East Championship results, America East Conference, retrieved 2009-01-24Atlantic 10 Conference St. Joseph's (East)George Washington (West) Pat Carroll, St. Joseph's &Steven Smith, La Salle2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section , Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament U.S. Bank Arena(Cincinnati) George Washington2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Championship section , Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01Atlantic Coast Conference North Carolina JJ Redick, DukeRedick Named ACC Player Of The Year , Atlantic Coast Conference, retrieved 2009-02-02 2005 ACC men's basketball tournament MCI Center(Washington, D.C.) DukeAtlantic Sun Conference Central Florida & Gardner–Webb Mike Bell, Florida AtlanticAtlantic Sun men's basketball record book, Atlantic Sun Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament Curb Event Center(Nashville, Tennessee) Central FloridaBig 12 Conference Kansas & Oklahoma Wayne Simien, KansasPhillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Announced, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Big 12 men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri) Oklahoma StateBig East Conference Boston College & Connecticut Hakim Warrick, Syracuse2008–09 Big East men's basketball media guide – Records section , Big East Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Big East men's basketball tournament Madison Square Garden(New York City) SyracuseBig Sky Conference Portland State Seamus Boxley, Portland State, Big Sky Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Big Sky men's basketball tournament Memorial Coliseum(Portland, Oregon)(Semifinals and Finals) MontanaBig South Conference Winthrop Pele Paelay, Coastal Carolina2008–09 Big South men's basketball media guide – History section, Big South Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament Winthrop Coliseum(Rock Hill, South Carolina)(Semifinals and Finals) WinthropBig Ten Conference Illinois Dee Brown, IllinoisMen's Basketball Weekly Release – March 21 , Big Ten Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament United Center(Chicago) IllinoisBig West Conference Pacific David Doubley, Pacific2008–09 Big West Conference men's basketball media guide , Big West Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament Anaheim Convention Center(Anaheim, California) Utah StateColonial Athletic Association Old Dominion Alex Loughton, Old DominionCAA men's basketball record book , Colonial Athletic Association, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 CAA men's basketball tournament Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, Virginia) Old DominionConference USA Louisville Eddie Basden, CharlotteBasden and Pitino Earn C-USA Player and Coach of the Year Honors , Conference USA, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Conference USA men's basketball tournament FedExForum(Memphis, Tennessee) LouisvilleHorizon League Wisconsin-Milwaukee Ed McCants, Wisconsin-MilwaukeeHorizon League Announces Men's Basketball All-League Teams and Specialty Award Winners, Horizon League, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Horizon League men's basketball tournament U.S. Cellular Arena(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)(Except First Round) Wisconsin-MilwaukeeIvy League Penn Tim Begley, PennMen's Ivy League Outstanding performers , Ivy League, retrieved 2009-02-01 No TournamentMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference Niagara & Rider Juan Mendez, NiagaraMen's Basketball All-MAAC Awards , Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 MAAC men's basketball tournament HSBC Arena(Buffalo, New York) NiagaraMid-American Conference Miami (OH) (East)Western Michigan & Toledo (West) Turner Battle, BuffaloCharlie Coles Honored as MAC Coach of the Year – UB's Turner Battle Cops Player of the Year Award , Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 MAC men's basketball tournament Gund Arena(Cleveland, Ohio) OhioMid-Continent Conference Oral Roberts Caleb Green, Oral RobertsMen's Basketball Yearly Award Winners , Summit League, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament John Q. Hammons Arena(Tulsa, Oklahoma) OaklandMid-Eastern Athletic Conference Delaware State Chakowby Hicks, Norfolk StateRodney Martin coaching bio , Tiffin University, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, Virginia) Delaware State2008–09 MEAC men's basketball media guide , MEAC, retrieved 2009-02-01Missouri Valley Conference Southern Illinois Darren Brooks, Southern Illinois2005 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Savvis Center(St. Louis, Missouri) Southern Illinois2008–09 MVC men's basketball media guide – Tournament section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01Mountain West Conference Utah Andrew Bogut, UtahMountain West Conference Announces Men's Basketball All-Conference Team , Mountain West Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 MWC men's basketball tournament Pepsi Center(Denver, Colorado) New MexicoNortheast Conference Monmouth Blake Hamilton, MonmouthMonmouth's Blake Hamilton Selected NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year , Northeast Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament Campus Sites Fairleigh DickinsonOhio Valley Conference Tennessee Tech Willie Jenkins, Tennessee Tech2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Gaylord Entertainment Center(Nashville, Tennessee)(Semifinals and Finals) Eastern Kentucky2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2009-01-24Pacific-10 Conference Arizona Ike Diogu, Arizona StateDiogu Named 2004–05 Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year , Pacific-10 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament Staples Center(Los Angeles) Washington Patriot League Holy Cross Kevin Hamilton, Holy CrossAll-Time Patriot League Men's Basketball Awards , Patriot League, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Patriot League men's basketball tournament Campus Sites BucknellSoutheastern Conference Kentucky (East)Alabama & LSU (West) Brandon Bass, LSU2005 SEC Men's Basketball Awards Announced , Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 SEC men's basketball tournament Gaylord Entertainment Center(Nashville, Tennessee) FloridaSouthern Conference Chattanooga (North)Davidson (South) Brendan Winters, DavidsonSoCon Media names All-Conference squad, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament McKenzie Arena(Chattanooga, Tennessee) ChattanoogaChattanooga wins SoCon Tournament, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01Southland Conference Southeastern Louisiana & Northwestern State Joe Thompson, Sam Houston State2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-01 2005 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament Prather Coliseum(Natchitoches, Louisiana)(Finals) Southeastern LouisianaSouthwestern Athletic Conference Alabama A&M Obie Trotter, Alabama A&M2006–07 SWAC Men's Basketball Media Guide 2005 Southwestern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex(Birmingham, Alabama) Alabama A&MSun Belt Conference Arkansas-Little Rock (East)Denver (West) Yemi Nicholson, DenverDENVER'S NICHOLSON, WKU'S PORTER-TALBERT NAMED SUN BELT PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: All-Sun Belt teams announced , Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2009-02-02 2005 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament UNT Coliseum(Denton, Texas) Louisiana-LafayetteWest Coast Conference Gonzaga Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2009-02-02 2005 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Leavey Center(Santa Clara, California) GonzagaWestern Athletic Conference Nevada Nick Fazekas, NevadaWAC Announces All-Conference Men's Basketball Teams, Nevada Sweeps Major Awards , Western Athletic Conference, retrieved 2009-02-02 2005 WAC men's basketball tournament Lawlor Events Center(Reno, Nevada) UTEP2008–09 WAC men's basketball media guide – History section , Western Athletic Conference, retrieved 2009-02-02
Conference standings