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 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.

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.

Schedule and venues

2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Seattle
Seattle
Denver
Denver
Kansas City
Kansas City
Milwaukee
Milwaukee
Columbus
Columbus
Buffalo
Buffalo
Raleigh
Raleigh
Orlando
Orlando
2004 first and second rounds (note: the play-in game was held in Dayton, Ohio)
2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Phoenix
Phoenix
St. Louis
St. Louis
Atlanta
Atlanta
East Rutherford
East Rutherford
San Antonio
San Antonio
2004 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2004 tournament:[1]

Opening Round

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Qualifying teams

Automatic bids

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2004 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

Conference School Appearance Last bid
ACC Maryland 21st 2003
America East Vermont 2nd 2003
Atlantic 10 Xavier 16th 2003
Atlantic Sun Central Florida 3rd 1996
Big 12 Oklahoma State 21st 2003
Big East Connecticut 25th 2003
Big Sky Eastern Washington 1st Never
Big South Liberty 2nd 1994
Big Ten Wisconsin 10th 2003
Big West Pacific 6th 1997
Colonial VCU 7th 1996
C-USA Cincinnati 23rd 2003
Horizon Illinois–Chicago 3rd 2002
Ivy League Princeton 23rd 2001
MAAC Manhattan 6th 2003
MAC Western Michigan 3rd 1998
MEAC Florida A&M 2nd 1999
Mid-Con Valparaiso 7th 2002
Missouri Valley Northern Iowa 2nd 1990
Mountain West Utah 25th 2003
Northeast Monmouth 3rd 2001
Ohio Valley Murray State 12th 2002
Pac-10 Stanford 13th 2003
Patriot Lehigh 3rd 1988
SEC Kentucky 46th 2003
Southern East Tennessee State 7th 2003
Southland UTSA 3rd 1999
Sun Belt Louisiana–Lafayette 8th 2000
SWAC Alabama State 2nd 2001
WAC Nevada 3rd 1985
West Coast Gonzaga 7th 2003

Listed by region and seeding

East Rutherford Regional
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10 27–1 At-large
#2 Oklahoma State Big 12 27–3 Automatic
#3 Pittsburgh Big East 29–4 At-large
#4 Wake Forest ACC 19–9 At-large
#5 Florida SEC 20–10 At-large
#6 Wisconsin Big Ten 24–6 Automatic
#7 Memphis C-USA 21–7 At-large
#8 Texas Tech Big 12 22–10 At-large
#9 Charlotte C-USA 21–8 At-large
#10 South Carolina SEC 23–10 At-large
#11 Richmond Atlantic 10 20–12 At-large
#12 Manhattan MAAC 24–5 Automatic
#13 VCU CAA 23–7 Automatic
#14 Central Florida Atlantic Sun 25–5 Automatic
#15 Eastern Washington Big Sky 17–12 Automatic
#16 Liberty Big South 18–14 Automatic
St. Louis Regional
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Kentucky SEC 26–4 Automatic
#2 Gonzaga WCC 27–2 Automatic
#3 Georgia Tech ACC 23–9 At-large
#4 Kansas Big 12 21–8 At-large
#5 Providence Big East 20–8 At-large
#6 Boston College Big East 23–9 At-large
#7 Michigan State Big Ten 18–11 At-large
#8 Washington Pac-10 19–11 At-large
#9 UAB C-USA 20–9 At-large
#10 Nevada WAC 23–8 Automatic
#11 Utah Mountain West 24–8 Automatic
#12 Pacific Big West 25–7 Automatic
#13 Illinois–Chicago Horizon 24–7 Automatic
#14 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 21–9 Automatic
#15 Valparaiso Mid-Continent 18–12 Automatic
#16 Florida A&M MEAC 14–16 Automatic
Lehigh Patriot 20–10 Automatic
Atlanta Regional
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Duke ACC 27–5 At-large
#2 Mississippi State SEC 25–3 At-large
#3 Texas Big 12 23–7 At-large
#4 Cincinnati C-USA 24–6 Automatic
#5 Illinois Big Ten 24–6 At-large
#6 North Carolina ACC 18–10 At-large
#7 Xavier Atlantic 10 23–10 Automatic
#8 Seton Hall Big East 20–9 At-large
#9 Arizona Pac-10 20–9 At-large
#10 Louisville C-USA 20–9 At-large
#11 Air Force Mountain West 22–6 At-large
#12 Murray State Ohio Valley 28–5 Automatic
#13 East Tennessee State SoCon 27–5 Automatic
#14 Princeton Ivy 20–7 Automatic
#15 Monmouth Northeast 21–11 Automatic
#16 Alabama State SWAC 16–14 Automatic
Phoenix Regional
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Stanford Pac-10 29–1 Automatic
#2 Connecticut Big East 27–6 Automatic
#3 NC State ACC 20–9 At-large
#4 Maryland ACC 19–11 Automatic
#5 Syracuse Big East 21–7 At-large
#6 Vanderbilt SEC 21–9 At-large
#7 DePaul C-USA 21–9 At-large
#8 Alabama SEC 17–12 At-large
#9 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 25–4 At-large
#10 Dayton Atlantic 10 24–8 At-large
#11 Western Michigan Mid-American 26–4 Automatic
#12 BYU Mountain West 21–8 At-large
#13 UTEP WAC 24–7 At-large
#14 Louisiana–Lafayette (vacated) Sun Belt 20–8 Automatic
#15 Vermont America East 22–8 Automatic
#16 UTSA Southland 19–13 Automatic

Bids by conference

Bids Conference Schools
6 ACC Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest
Big East Boston College, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, Syracuse
C-USA Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Memphis, UAB
SEC Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
4 Atlantic 10 Dayton, Richmond, Saint Joseph's, Xavier
Big 12 Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech
3 Big Ten Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin
Mountain West Air Force, BYU, Utah
Pac-10 Arizona, Stanford, Washington
2 Missouri Valley Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois
WAC Nevada, UTEP
120 other conferences

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.[2]
    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.[3]

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).[4]

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

Opening Round game – Dayton, Ohio

Winner advances to 16th seed in St. Louis Regional vs. (1) Kentucky.

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 - Thu/Sat
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 - Thu/Sat
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 - Fri/Sun
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 - Fri/Sun
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 - Fri/Sun
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 - Fri/Sun
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 - Fri/Sun
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 - Thu/Sat
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 - Thu/Sat
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 - Fri/Sun
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 - Thu/Sat
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 - Fri/Sun
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 UTSA 45
1 Stanford 67
Seattle - Thu/Sat
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 - Thu/Sat
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 - Fri/Sun
3 North Carolina State 73
3 NC State 61
14 Louisiana–Lafayette 52
6 Vanderbilt 53
2 Connecticut 73
7 DePaul 76**
10 Dayton 69
7 DePaul 55
Buffalo - Thu/Sat
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, Olandis Poole, Ted Hillary

National Championship

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. ↑ "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Information". Archived from the original on July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2006.
  2. ↑ "2004 NCAA National semifinals: (W2) Connecticut 79, (S1) Duke 78". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  3. ↑ "2004 NCAA National semifinals: (MW3) Georgia Tech 67, (E2) Oklahoma State 65". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  4. ↑ "2004 NCAA national championship: (W2) Connecticut 82, (MW3) Georgia Tech 73". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. April 6, 2004. Archived from the original on February 17, 2006. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
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