2004 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2004 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 16, 2004, and ended with the championship game on April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. A total of 64 games were played.

2004 NCAA Division I
Men's Basketball Tournament
Season2003–04
Teams65
Finals siteAlamodome
San Antonio, Texas
ChampionsConnecticut Huskies (2nd title, 2nd title game,
2nd Final Four)
Runner-upGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1st title game,
2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachJim Calhoun (2nd title)
MOPEmeka Okafor (Connecticut)
Attendance716,899
Top scorerBen Gordon Connecticut
(154 points)
NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments
«2003 2005»

The NCAA named, for the first time, the four tournament regions after regional site host cities instead of the "East", "Midwest", "South", and "West" designations. It was also the first year that the matchups for the national semifinals were determined at least in part by the overall seeding of the top team in each regional . The top four teams in the tournament were Kentucky, Duke, Stanford, and Saint Joseph's. Had all of those teams advanced to the Final Four, Kentucky would have played Saint Joseph's and Duke would have played Stanford in the semifinal games.

Of those teams, only Duke advanced to the Final Four. They were joined by Connecticut, making their first appearance since defeating Duke for the national championship in 1999, Oklahoma State, making their first appearance since 1995, and Georgia Tech, making their first appearance since 1990.

Connecticut defeated Georgia Tech 82–73 to win their second national championship in as many tries. Emeka Okafor of Connecticut was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

As they had in 1999, Connecticut won their regional championship in Phoenix, Arizona.

Two of the tournament's top seeds failed to make it past the opening weekend. Kentucky, number one seed of the St. Louis region, and Stanford, #1 seed of the Phoenix region, both were defeated. Incidentally, both teams were defeated by schools from Alabama, as Kentucky fell to UAB while Stanford lost to Alabama.

Due to their strong 2003–04 season, Gonzaga achieved its highest NCAA tournament seed until 2013 by receiving the #2 seed in the St. Louis region. Gonzaga would receive a #1 seed in the 2013 tournament. The team failed to advance beyond the first weekend of the tournament, however.

Locations

The following were the sites that hosted rounds during the 2004 tournament:

Seattle
Denver
Kansas City
Milwaukee
Columbus
Buffalo
Raleigh
Orlando
2004 first and second rounds (note: the play-in game was held in Dayton, Ohio)
Phoenix
St. Louis
Atlanta
East Rutherford
San Antonio
2004 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

Opening round
March 16
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and second rounds
March 18 and 20
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York (Hosts: Canisius College and Niagara University)
KeyArena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: Colorado State University and Mountain West Conference)
RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
March 19 and 21
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University)
Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Big 12 Conference)
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando, Florida (Host: Stetson University)

Regionals
March 25 and 27
East Rutherford Regional, Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Host: Rutgers University)
Phoenix Regional, America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University)
March 26 and 28
Atlanta Regional, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)
St. Louis Regional, Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

Final four
April 3 and 5
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

San Antonio and the Alamodome became the hosts of the Final Four for the second time in 2004. There were no new host cities in this tournament but there were three new venues. For the first time since 1970, the tournament returned to Columbus, Ohio, this time at Nationwide Arena, home to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and sister venue to the Value City Arena on the campus of Ohio State University. After a shorter absence of only five years, basketball returned to the Mile High City at the Pepsi Center, home to the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. And for the first time since 1982, the tournament returned to Raleigh, North Carolina at the RBC Center, the off-campus home to the NC State Wolfpack, which replaced the Reynolds Coliseum, NC State's former basketball arena and the former site of tournament games in the city. This was the last tournament to feature games held at Kemper Arena and the TD Waterhouse Centre; both have been replaced in their respective cities by the Sprint Center and Amway Center, both of which have hosted games since.

Qualifying teams
East Rutherford Region
Seed School Coach Conference Record Berth Type
#1 St. Joseph's Phil Martelli Atlantic 10 27–1 At-Large Bid
#2 Oklahoma State Eddie Sutton Big 12 30–3 Tournament Champion
#3 Pittsburgh Jamie Dixon Big East 29–4 At-Large Bid
#4 Wake Forest Skip Prosser ACC 19–9 At-Large Bid
#5 Florida Billy Donovan SEC 20–10 At-Large Bid
#6 Wisconsin Bo Ryan Big Ten 24–6 Tournament Champion
#7 Memphis John Calipari C-USA 21–7 At-Large Bid
#8 Texas Tech Bob Knight Big 12 23–11 At-Large Bid
#9 Charlotte Bobby Lutz C-USA 21–8 At-Large Bid
#10 South Carolina Dave Odom SEC 23–10 At-Large Bid
#11 Richmond Jerry Wainwright Atlantic 10 20–12 At-Large Bid
#12 Manhattan Bobby Gonzalez MAAC 24–5 Tournament Champion
#13 VCU Jeff Capel CAA 23–7 Tournament Champion
#14 Central Florida Kirk Speraw Atlantic Sun 24–5 Tournament Champion
#15 Eastern Washington Ray Giacoletti Big Sky 16–12 Tournament Champion
#16 Liberty Randy Dunton Big South 17–14 Tournament Champion
St. Louis Region
Seed School Coach Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Kentucky Tubby Smith SEC 26–4 Tournament Champion
#2 Gonzaga Mark Few WCC 27–2 Tournament Champion
#3 Georgia Tech Paul Hewitt ACC 23–9 At-Large Bid
#4 Kansas Bill Self Big 12 22–9 At-Large Bid
#5 Providence Tim Welsh Big East 20–8 At-Large Bid
#6 Boston College Al Skinner Big East 23–9 At-Large Bid
#7 Michigan State Tom Izzo Big Ten 18–11 At-Large Bid
#8 Washington Lorenzo Romar Pac-10 19–11 At-Large Bid
#9 UAB Mike Anderson C-USA 20–9 At-Large Bid
#10 Nevada Trent Johnson WAC 22–8 Tournament Champion
#11 Utah Kerry Rupp Mountain West 24–8 Tournament Champion
#12 Pacific Bob Thomason Big West 23–7 Tournament Champion
#13 UIC Jimmy Collins Horizon 24–7 Tournament Champion
#14 Northern Iowa Greg McDermott Missouri Valley 20–9 Tournament Champion
#15 Valparaiso Homer Drew Mid-Continent 17–12 Tournament Champion
#16 Florida A&M Mike Gillespie MEAC 14–16 Tournament Champion
Lehigh Billy Taylor Patriot 18–10 Tournament Champion
Atlanta Region
Seed School Coach Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Duke Mike Krzyzewski ACC 27–5 At-Large Bid
#2 Mississippi State Rick Stansbury SEC 25–3 At-Large Bid
#3 Texas Rick Barnes Big 12 25–8 At-Large Bid
#4 Cincinnati Bob Huggins C-USA 24–6 Tournament Champion
#5 Illinois Bruce Weber Big Ten 24–6 At-Large Bid
#6 North Carolina Roy Williams ACC 18–10 At-Large Bid
#7 Xavier Thad Matta Atlantic 10 23–10 Tournament Champion
#8 Seton Hall Louis Orr Big East 19–9 At-Large Bid
#9 Arizona Lute Olson Pac-10 20–9 At-Large Bid
#10 Louisville Rick Pitino C-USA 20–9 At-Large Bid
#11 Air Force Joe Scott Mountain West 22–6 At-Large Bid
#12 Murray State Mick Cronin Ohio Valley 25–5 Tournament Champion
#13 East Tennessee State Murry Bartow SoCon 24–5 Tournament Champion
#14 Princeton John Thompson III Ivy 19–7 Regular Season Champion
#15 Monmouth Dave Calloway Northeast 21–11 Tournament Champion
#16 Alabama State Rob Spivery SWAC 16–14 Tournament Champion
Phoenix Region
Seed School Coach Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Stanford Mike Montgomery Pac-10 29–1 Tournament Champion
#2 Connecticut Jim Calhoun Big East 27–6 Tournament Champion
#3 North Carolina State Herb Sendek ACC 20–9 At-Large Bid
#4 Maryland Gary Williams ACC 19–11 Tournament Champion
#5 Syracuse Jim Boeheim Big East 21–7 At-Large Bid
#6 Vanderbilt Kevin Stallings SEC 21–9 At-Large Bid
#7 DePaul Dave Leitao C-USA 21–9 At-Large Bid
#8 Alabama Mark Gottfried SEC 17–12 At-Large Bid
#9 Southern Illinois Matt Painter Missouri Valley 25–4 At-Large Bid
#10 Dayton Brian Gregory Atlantic 10 24–8 At-Large Bid
#11 Western Michigan Steve Hawkins Mid-American 26–4 Tournament Champion
#12 BYU Steve Cleveland Mountain West 19–8 At-Large Bid
#13 UTEP Billy Gillispie WAC 22–7 At-Large Bid
#14 Louisiana–Lafayette (Vacated) Jessie Evans Sun Belt 18–8 Tournament Champion
#15 Vermont Tom Brennan America East 22–8 Tournament Champion
#16 Texas-San Antonio Tim Carter Southland 16–12 Tournament Champion

Bids by conference
Bids by Conference
Bids Conference
6 ACC, Big East, C-USA, SEC
4 Atlantic 10, Big 12
3 Big Ten, Mountain West, Pac-10
2 Missouri Valley, WAC
1 20 others

Record by conference
Conference # of Bids Record Win % R32 S16 E8 F4 CG
Big East 6 12–5 .706 5 3 1 1 1
SEC 6 7–6 .538 4 2 1 – –
Big Ten 3 3–3 .500 2 1 – – –
ACC 6 14–6 .700 6 3 2 2 1
Big 12 4 10–4 .714 4 3 2 1 –
Pac-10 3 1–3 .250 1 – – – –
Missouri Valley 2 0–2 .000 – – – – –
Atlantic 10 4 6–4 .600 2 2 2 – –
C–USA 6 5–6 .455 4 1 – – –
MWC 3 0–3 .000 – – – – –
WAC 2 2–2 .500 1 1 – – –
MAAC 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
WCC 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
Big West 1 1–1 .500 1 – – – –
MEAC 1 1–1* .500 – – – – –

*Florida A&M University won the Opening Round game.

The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Horizon League, Mid-Continent, Ivy, MAC, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, 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.

Final Four
The Alamodome was host of the Final Four and National Championship in 2004.

At Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

National Semifinals
  • April 3, 2004
  • With the Connecticut Huskies trailing by 8 points with less than 3 minutes to go, it looked as if the Duke Blue Devils were going to spoil Jim Calhoun's chance at a second national title. Connecticut's All-American center Emeka Okafor was limited to just 22 minutes because of early foul trouble, but he came up clutch with several big plays down the stretch and finished with 18 points and only 3 fouls. By contrast, all three of Duke's centers fouled out, including Shelden Williams, who committed his fifth foul with 3:04 to play. In addition, Duke went without a field goal for the last 41/2 minutes until Chris Duhon's meaningless three-pointer at the buzzer. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was denied his 65th NCAA Tournament victory which would have tied him with Dean Smith for the all-time record. He later broke that record.[1]
    Will Bynum's layup in the final moments kept the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets dream for a National Championship alive as they defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys, in a nail-biter, in the first of the National Semifinal doubleheader. Georgia Tech led for most of the game including a seven-point edge at halftime. However, Oklahoma State was able to tie the game on John Lucas's three-pointer with 26.3 seconds left. Georgia Tech then milked the clock which set up Bynum's game-winner. Georgia Tech advanced to their first ever National Championship appearance. Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton was denied yet another chance at an elusive national title.[2]

National Championship Game
  • April 5, 2004
    The 2004 National Championship Game proved to be a coronation for the Connecticut Huskies as they handled Paul Hewitt's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Emeka Okafor led Connecticut with 24 points and was an easy choice for Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Guard Ben Gordon added 21 points to Connecticut's cause. The victory gave Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun his second National Championship (1999).[3]

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Opening round
Opening Round Game
March 16
   
16a Florida A&M 72
16b Lehigh 57

East Rutherford Regional
First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 20–21 		Regional semifinals
March 25 		Regional finals
March 27
            
1 Saint Joseph's 82
16 Liberty 63
1 Saint Joseph's 70
Buffalo
8 Texas Tech 65
8 Texas Tech 76
9 Charlotte 73
1 Saint Joseph's 84
4 Wake Forest 80
5 Florida 60
12 Manhattan 75
12 Manhattan 80
Raleigh
4 Wake Forest 84
4 Wake Forest 79
13 VCU 78
1 Saint Joseph's 62
2 Oklahoma State 64
6 Wisconsin 76
11 Richmond 64
6 Wisconsin 55
Milwaukee
3 Pittsburgh 59
3 Pittsburgh 53
14 Central Florida 44
3 Pittsburgh 51
2 Oklahoma State 63
7 Memphis 59
10 South Carolina 43
7 Memphis 53
Kansas City
2 Oklahoma State 70
2 Oklahoma State 75
15 Eastern Washington 56

St. Louis Regional
First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 20–21 		Regional semifinals
March 26 		Regional finals
March 28
            
1 Kentucky 96
16 Florida A&M 76
1 Kentucky 75
Columbus
9 UAB 76
8 Washington 100
9 UAB 102
9 UAB 74
4 Kansas 100
5 Providence 58
12 Pacific 66
12 Pacific 63
Kansas City
4 Kansas 78
4 Kansas 78
13 UIC 53
4 Kansas 71*
3 Georgia Tech 79
6 Boston College 58
11 Utah 51
6 Boston College 54
Milwaukee
3 Georgia Tech 57
3 Georgia Tech 65
14 Northern Iowa 60
3 Georgia Tech 72
10 Nevada 67
7 Michigan State 66
10 Nevada 72
10 Nevada 91
Seattle
2 Gonzaga 72
2 Gonzaga 76
15 Valparaiso 49

Atlanta Regional
First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 20–21 		Regional semifinals
March 26 		Regional finals
March 28
            
1 Duke 96
16 Alabama State 61
1 Duke 90
Raleigh
8 Seton Hall 62
8 Seton Hall 80
9 Arizona 76
1 Duke 72
5 Illinois 62
5 Illinois 72
12 Murray State 53
5 Illinois 92
Columbus
4 Cincinnati 68
4 Cincinnati 80
13 East Tennessee State 77
1 Duke 66
7 Xavier 63
6 North Carolina 63
11 Air Force 52
6 North Carolina 75
Denver
3 Texas 78
3 Texas 66
14 Princeton 49
3 Texas 71
7 Xavier 79
7 Xavier 80
10 Louisville 70
7 Xavier 89
Orlando
2 Mississippi State 74
2 Mississippi State 85
15 Monmouth 52

Phoenix Regional
First round
March 18–19 		Second round
March 20–21 		Regional semifinals
March 25 		Regional finals
March 27
            
1 Stanford 71
16 Texas-San Antonio 45
1 Stanford 67
Seattle
8 Alabama 70
8 Alabama 65
9 Southern Illinois 64
8 Alabama 80
5 Syracuse 71
5 Syracuse 80
12 BYU 75
5 Syracuse 72
Denver
4 Maryland 70
4 Maryland 86
13 UTEP 83
8 Alabama 71
2 Connecticut 87
6 Vanderbilt 71
11 Western Michigan 58
6 Vanderbilt 75
Orlando
3 North Carolina State 73
3 North Carolina State 61
14 Louisiana–Lafayette 52
6 Vanderbilt 53
2 Connecticut 73
7 DePaul 76
10 Dayton 69**
7 DePaul 55
Buffalo
2 Connecticut 72
2 Connecticut 70
15 Vermont 53

Final Four – San Antonio, Texas
National Semifinals
April 3 		National Championship Game
April 5
      
ER2 Oklahoma State 65
SL3 Georgia Tech 67
SL3 Georgia Tech 73
PH2 Connecticut 82
AT1 Duke 78
PH2 Connecticut 79

Game summaries

Final four
CBS
April 3
6:07 pm
#3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 67, #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys 65
Scoring by half: 37–30, 30–35
Pts: L. Schenscher – 19
Rebs: L. Schenscher – 12
Asts: J. Jack – 5		 Pts: J. Graham – 17
Rebs: J. Graham – 10
Asts: T. Allen – 4
Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 44,417
Referees: Donnie Gray, Jim Burr, Tim Higgins
CBS
April 3
8:47 pm
#2 Connecticut Huskies 79, #1 Duke Blue Devils 78
Scoring by half: 34–41, 45–37
Pts: E. Okafor, B. Gordon – 18
Rebs: J. Boone – 14
Asts: T. Brown – 4		 Pts: L. Deng – 16
Rebs: L. Deng – 12
Asts: C. Duhon – 6
Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 44,417
Referees: David Hall, Orlandis Poole, Ted Hillary

National Championship
Main article: 2004 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
CBS
April 5
9:21 pm
#2 Connecticut Huskies 82, #3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 73
Scoring by half: 41–26, 41–47
Pts: E. Okafor – 24
Rebs: E. Okafor – 15
Asts: T. Brown – 4		 Pts: W. Bynum – 17
Rebs: L.Schenscher – 11
Asts: W. Bynum – 5
Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
Attendance: 44,468
Referees: Dick Cartmell, Randy McCall, Verne Harris

Announcers

Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis.

See also

References
  1. CNN Sports Illustrated. "2004 NCAA National Semifinals: (W2) Connecticut 79, (S1) Duke 78". CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  2. CNN Sports Illustrated. "2004 NCAA National Semifinals: (MW3) Georgia Tech 67, (E2) Oklahoma State 65". CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  3. CNN Sports Illustrated (April 6, 2004). "2004 NCAA National Championship: (W2) Connecticut 82, (MW3) Georgia Tech 73". CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
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