FEATURE
March Madness 2005 recap
Selection Sunday just passed, and you’re getting ready to fill out your brackets for this year’s edition of March Madness. But before you make your last pick, here is a quick recap of what happened last year.
First Round
In the Chicago Region, Farleigh Dickenson had the unenviable task of facing top seed Illinois in Round 1, but rose to the occasion. Heading into half-time, the Knights held a 32-31 lead. Unfortunately for Farleigh Dickenson, The Fighting Illini smelled the coffee, lived up to their billing and defeated the Knights by a final score of 67-55.
The biggest shock in the Chicago region occurred when the fifth seeded Crimson Tide of Alabama fell 83-73 to the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s shooting left the Crimson Tide seeing red in the first half. Going into half-time the Panthers led 45-32 and were an amazing 10-16 from 3-point range. Alabama finished the game with 19 turnovers, which didn’t help matters.
Another upset saw the 11th-seeded University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers beat the sixth seeded LSU Tigers. LSU dug itself into a 41-29 hole at the half and could never really recover.
In the Syracuse region, the North Carolina Tar Heels had their way with Oakland hammering the Golden Grizzlies 96-68. Michael Jordan’s alma mater made 12 of their first 14 shots and finished the game shooting 64 percent from the field.
In one of the most exciting games in the region, 14th seeded Bucknell stunned third seed Kansas 64-63. The Bisons nearly blew a 5-point lead with a minute to go, but maintained their composure and eked out a 1-point victory over the Jayhawks.
Another notable Syracuse region upset occurred when the Charlotte 49ers fell to the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
The only major upset in the Austin region occurred when the Syracuse Orange fell to the Vermont Catamounts in OT. With a little more than a minute in the overtime session, Catamounts’ T.J. Sorrentine nailed a 3-pointer to put his team ahead by 59-55. Syracuse made it 59-57 but Gerry McNamara turned the ball over and the Orange’s fate was sealed.
Second Round
The Illinois Fighting Illini continued to play strong as they knocked off ninth seeded Nevada 71-59.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin-Milwaukee carried their hot play into the second round, knocking off fourth seed Boston College 83-75, despite the fact that the Eagles jumped out to an early 11-0 lead. It was the second tournament win for the Panthers.
In a mild upset in the Albuquerque region Rick Pitino’s fourth seeded Louisville Cardinals beat the fifth seeded Georgia Tech by a tally of 76-54. The Cards made 15 of 24 shots in the first 20 minutes.
The North Carolina Tar Heels continued to waste their competition as they beat Iowa St. 92-65. With the victory, the Heels made their twentieth trip to the Sweet 16.
The Wolfpack of North Carolina State were able to pull an upset of even greater proportions in Round 2 as they whacked the second seeded UConn Huskies 65-62. Connecticut was the defending NCAA champions.
Sweet 16
With only the Sweet 16 left, the men were separated from the boys. Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s carriage turned into a pumpkin as the Fighting Illini took down the 2005 Cinderella team 77-63. The victory increased Illinois record to 35-1 for the season.
In the Albuquerque region, fourth seed Louisville upset the top seeded Washington Huskies by a count of 93-79. The Cards were hot from beyond the arc making 11 of 26 rainmakers. They also remained undefeated when nailing 10 or more 3-pointers.
In the Syracuse region, North Carolina got their first true test and passed as they beat Villanova 67-66. In the final seconds of that game, a possible Tar Heel foul was ruled a ‘Nova travel and UNC hung on for the win.
The Austin region saw an upset, as the Duke Blue Devils fell to the Michigan State Spartans 78-68. The MSU ‘D’ forced Duke to commit 22 turnovers.
Elite Eight
Berths for Arch Madness were on the line as the Elite Eight battled for the right to head to St. Louis. Illinois defeated the Arizona Wildcats erasing a 15-point deficit with 4:02 left in the second. Illinois seemed like a team of destiny.
In the Albuquerque region, the winner of the Louisville-West Virginia match would move on to face the Illini. Despite making the second most 3-pointers in tourney history, the Mountaineers still lost to the Louisville Cardinals. For their part, Pitino’s boys made 11 rainmakers of their own and shot 68 percent from the field in the second half.
UNC faced Wisconsin coming out of the Syracuse region and the Tar Heels came away with an 88-82 victory to earn a Final Four berth.
The Michigan State Spartans emerged from the Austin region with a 94-88 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Final Four
Coach Bruce Weber of Illinois matched wits with Louisville and Rick Pitino with a berth for the title game on the line. The Illini held a slight 1-point lead with 10:25 left in the second half, but the Illini pulled away after that. With the victory Weber’s team not only earned a shot at the national title, but matched an NCAA record for wins in a season.
Illinois’ opponent was decided when the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Michigan State Spartans 87-71. The Tar Heels rebounded from a horrible opening frame and shot 57 percent in the second half.
NCAA basketball title game
The title game saw the No. 1 seeds from the Chicago region and Syracuse region battle it out for NCAA supremacy. Illinois sought to establish a NCAA record for wins and North Carolina sought to get their fourth NCAA title. Tar Heel Sean May had a monster game scored 18-points in the second half as UNC did Michael Jordan proud taking home the 2005 title. May finished the day with 26-points and was named the Final Four Most Outstanding player. The loss was only Illinois’ second of the season.
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