The 2005 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 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The Final Four consisted of top seed Illinois, in their first Final Four appearance since 1989, Louisville, making their first appearance since winning the national championship in 1986, North Carolina, reaching their first Final Four since their 2000 Cinderella run, and Michigan State, back in the Final Four for the first time since 2001. North Carolina emerged as the national champion for a fourth time, defeating Illinois in the final 75–70. North Carolina's Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. It was coach Roy Williams's first national championship. For the first time since 1999, when Weber State defeated North Carolina, a #14 seed defeated a #3 seed when Bucknell upset Kansas. A #13 seed, Vermont, advanced by defeating Syracuse in the first round and a #12 seed, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the Chicago region.

Tournament procedure

A total of 65 teams entered the tournament, thirty having 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 play an opening-round game, popularly called the "play-in game," the winner of which advances to the main draw of the tournament and plays a top seed in one of the regionals. Since its inception in 2001, this game has been played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. 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 2005 regionals, along with their top seeds, are listed below. Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held April 2–4 in St. Louis.

Schedule and venues

Sites hosting each round of the 2005 tournament: 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 2005 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

Listed by region and seeding

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Bids by conference

Opening round

First round

Chicago Regional

Albuquerque Regional

Syracuse Regional

Austin Regional

Second round

Chicago Regional

Albuquerque Regional

Syracuse Regional

Austin Regional

Regionals

Chicago Regional

At Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois

Semifinals

Final

Albuquerque Regional

At University Arena, Albuquerque

Semifinals

Final

Syracuse Regional

At Carrier Dome, Syracuse

Semifinals

Final

Austin Regional

At Frank Erwin Center, Austin

Semifinals

Final

Final Four

At Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis

National semifinals

National Championship Game

North Carolina was looking for its 4th National Championship, while Illinois was playing in its first. It was a tight contest for much of the first half before an 8–0 run by North Carolina allowed them to take a 35–25 lead. Eventually they would take a 40–27 lead into halftime. North Carolina increased its lead to 15 at one point in the second half. But Illinois began a furious charge: at one point, they would hit seven consecutive shots from the floor to turn a fifteen-point lead back to four. Unfazed, North Carolina would push the lead back up to ten before a 10–0 run by the Illini tied the game at 65-65. Illinois would tie the game at 70–70 on a three by Luther Head. But North Carolina would fight back as freshman Marvin Williams tapped back a Rashad McCants missed shot to put North Carolina back in front. Illinois would get several cracks to take the lead but were unable to convert. Eventually, Raymond Felton was able to steal the ball from Head, forcing Deron Williams to foul. However, Felton converted on 1 of 2 free throws, giving Illinois one last chance. But Luther Head's three pointer bounced high and out. Eventually it went into the hands of Felton who this time connected on both free throws to give North Carolina a 75–70 victory. For North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, it was his first national championship. Illinois was denied a chance to set the NCAA record for most wins in a season, instead tying it at 37. Sean May scored 26 points as he took the MOP of the Final Four.

Bracket

Opening Round game – Dayton, Ohio

Winner advances to Syracuse Regional vs. No. 1 North Carolina.

Chicago Regional

Chicago regional final

Chicago regional all-tournament team

Albuquerque Regional

Albuquerque regional final

Albuquerque regional all-tournament team

Syracuse Regional

Syracuse regional final

Syracuse regional all-tournament team

Austin Regional

Austin regional final

Austin regional all-tournament team

Final Four — St. Louis, Missouri

National semifinals

National championship

Final Four all-tournament team

Record by conference

• Oakland won the Opening Round game. The Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Ivy, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, 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.

Television

ESPN carried the opening round game. Rece Davis served as studio host, joined by analyst Fran Fraschilla. CBS Sports carried the remaining 63 games. They were carried on a regional basis until the Elite Eight, at which point all games were shown nationally. Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. The television rating indicated the tournament was watched by an average of 10.6 million viewers.

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio coverage. John Tautges once again served as studio host.

Local radio