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

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls November 11, 2004.

Conference membership changes

These schools joined new conferences for the 2004–05 season.

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.

Conference standings

Division I independents

Eight schools played as Division I independents. However, Longwood, UC Davis, Northern Colorado, and Utah Valley were making a transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I during the season and were not yet considered full Division I schools.

Informal championships

Temple and Villanova finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

Statistical leaders

Source for additional stats categories ***** Coleman and Funn tied for the national assists lead. Each player had 224 assists in 28 games.

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

The NCAA Tournament tipped off on March 15, 2005 with the opening round game in Dayton, Ohio, and concluded on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO. 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 post-season tournament, went to its regular season champion. The remaining 34 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Big East Conference led the way with eight bids. North Carolina won their fourth NCAA title, beating Illinois 75–70 in the final. North Carolina forward Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Final Four – St. Louis, Missouri – Edward Jones Dome

National Invitation tournament

After the NCAA Tournament field was announced, the National Invitation Tournament invited 32 teams to participate, reducing the field's size from 40. Eight teams were given automatic bids for winning their conference regular seasons, and 24 other teams were also invited. Dave Odom's South Carolina Gamecocks won the title, defeating the Saint Joseph's Hawks 60–57 in the championship game. The Gamecocks' Carlos Powell was named tournament MVP.

NIT Semifinals & Final

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

Major player of the year awards

Major freshman of the year awards

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.