The 2004–05 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 26th in conference history, and involved its 12 full-time member schools.
Boston College and Connecticut were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . Syracuse won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights The Big East contracted for the first time when Miami and Virginia Tech left to join the Atlantic Coast Conference before the season. The Big East's membership dropped from 14 to 12 teams. Syracuse was the champion of the 2004 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Boston College and Connecticut were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . It was Boston College's sixth and Connecticut's ninth conference championship or co-championship. Syracuse won its fourth Big East tournament championship. St. John's was ineligible for the Big East tournament or any other postseason play due to sanctions against the program. Due to NCAA sanctions imposed in March 2015 because of the Syracuse University athletics scandal, 15 of Syracuse's wins this season later were vacated. Despite this, Syracuse retained its 2005 Big East Tournament championship.NCAA Career Statistics, search under coaches for Jim Boeheim This was Boston College's 26th and last season as a member of the Big East Conference. A member of the Big East from the conference's first season in 1979–80, Boston College moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference after the end of the season.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 8th Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award) Connecticut Jim Calhoun 19th Georgetown John Thompson III 1st Notre Dame Mike Brey 5th Pittsburgh Jamie Dixon 2nd Providence Tim Welsh 7th Rutgers Gary Waters 4th St. John's Norm Roberts 1st Seton Hall Louis Orr 4th Syracuse Jim Boeheim 29th Villanova Jay Wright 4th West Virginia John Beilein 3rd
Rankings Connecticut and Syracuse were ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 25 all season, with Syracuse reaching No. 3. Boston College, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Villanova, and West Virginia also appeared in the Top 25, with Boston College also reaching No. 3. Boston College, Connecticut, Syracuse, and Villanova all finished the season as ranked teams.
+ 2004–05 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll Pre 11/15 11/22 11/29 12/6 12/13 12/20 12/27 1/3 1/10 1/17 1/24 1/31 2/7 2/14 2/21 2/28 3/7 FinalBoston College 25 13 9 8 5 4 6 3 5 7 14 Connecticut 8 8 7 7 7 11 11 11 10 12 16 19 23 19 18 17 15 12 13 Georgetown Notre Dame 20 20 21 20 Pittsburgh 17 17 16 13 11 10 10 10 16 20 21 20 16 18 17 18 24 22 Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall Syracuse 6 5 4 3 4 8 7 7 6 7 7 4 8 8 9 15 13 16 11 Villanova 24 22 25 23 19 19 19 West Virginia 21
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Ryan Gomes Prov 21.6 Hakim Warrick Syr 21.4 Daryll Hill SJU 20.7 Craig Smith BC 18.0 Jared Dudley BC 16.5
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Hakim Warrick Syr 8.6 Craig Smith BC 8.5 Josh Boone Conn 8.4 Charlie Villanueva Conn 8.3 Ryan Gomes Prov 8.2
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Marcus Williams Conn 7.8 Chris Thomas ND 6.7 Carl Krauser Pitt 5.9 Gerry McNamara Syr 4.9 Louis Hinnant BC 4.8
StealsNameSchoolSPG Randy Foye Vill 2.1 Chris Thomas ND 2.1 Gerry McNamara Syr 1.9 Cedric Jackson SJU 1.8 Daryll Hill SJU 1.8
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Josh Boone Conn 2.9 Jason Fraser Vill 2.4 Sean Williams BC 2.3 Randall Hanke Prov 2.1 D'or Fischer WVU 1.9
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Chris Taft Pitt .580 Chevon Troutman Pitt .566 Hakim Warrick Syr .548 Charlie Villanueva Conn .521 Craig Smith BC .504
3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Colin Falls ND .413 Allan Ray Vill .376 Syr .340 No other qualifiers
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Chris Thomas ND .891 Gerry McNamara Syr .874 Jermaine Watson BC .830 Allan Ray Vill .828 Curtis Sumpter Vill .810
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding St. John's was ineligible for the Big East tournament because of sanctions against the program. The other 11 teams were seeded in the tournament based on conference record and tiebreakers. The No. 6 through No. 11 seeds played in the first round, and the No. 1 through No. 5 seeds received byes into the quarterfinal round.
Seeding was and
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Pittsburgh and Syracuse lost in the first round and Boston College and Connecticut lost in the second round. Villanova was defeated in the regional semifinals and West Virginia in the regional finals.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 West Virginia Albuquerque 7 Villanova Syracuse 5 Connecticut Syracuse 2 Boston College Chicago 4 Syracuse Austin 4 Pittsburgh Albuquerque 9 8 Pacific,
National Invitation Tournament
Two Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. They played in two of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Notre Dame lost in the first round and Georgetown in the quarterfinals.
School Opening round Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Georgetown Bye Notre Dame Bye
Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, F, Sr. Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Boone, Connecticut, C, So. Co-Rookies of the Year: Rudy Gay, Connecticut, F, Fr. Jeff Green, Georgetown, F, Fr. Co-Most Improved Players: Jared Dudley, Boston College, F, So. Marcus Williams, Connecticut, G, So. Coach of the Year: Al Skinner, Boston College (8th season)
All-Big East First Team Craig Smith, Boston College, F, Jr., , , Inglewood, Calif. Jared Dudley, Boston College, F, So., , , San Diego, Calif. Chevon Troutman, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., , , Scranton, Pa. Ryan Gomes, Providence, F, Sr., , , Waterbury, Conn. Gerry McNamara, Syracuse, G, Jr., , , Scranton, Pa. Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, F, Sr., , , Philadelphia, Pa.
All-Big East Second Team: Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut, F, So., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Josh Boone, Connecticut, C, So., , , Mount Airy, Md. Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Allan Ray, Villanova, G, Jr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Curtis Sumpter, Villanova, F, Jr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y.
All-Big East Third Team: Marcus Williams, Connecticut, G, So., , , Los Angeles, Calif. Brandon Bowman, Georgetown, F, Jr., , , Beverly Hills, Calif. Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Sr., , , Indianapolis, Ind. Daryll Hill, St. John's, G, So., , , Queens, N.Y. Randy Foye, Villanova, G, Jr., , , Newark, N.J.
Big East All-Rookie Team: Sean Williams, Boston College, F, Fr., , , Houston, Tex. Rudy Gay, Connecticut, F, Fr., , , Baltimore, Md. Jeff Green, Georgetown, F, Fr., , , Hyattsville, Md. Ronald Ramón, Pittsburgh, G, Fr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Ollie Bailey, Rutgers, F, Fr., , , Chicago, Ill. Kyle Lowry, Villanova, G, Fr., , , Philadelphia, Pa.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 2005 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America First Team: Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, Key Stats: 21.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 54.8 FG%, 726 points
First Team All-America: Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, Key Stats: 21.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 54.8 FG%, 726 points
AP Honorable Mention Josh Boone, Connecticut Jared Dudley, Boston College Ryan Gomes, Providence Craig Smith, Boston College
See also 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2004–05 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 2004–05 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2004–05 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2004–05 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2004–05 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 2004–05 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team 2004–05 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team 2004–05 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team
References