Roy Williams has been close on many occasions but the North Carolina coach finally captured his first NCAA crown by guiding the Tar Heels to a 75-70 win over Illinois for the fourth championship in school history. North Carolina big man Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
65-Team Field
The NCAA continued its 65-team system with a play-in game between the 64th and 65th teams for the fifth consecutive year. The tournament ran from March 15 to April 4 with the Final Four being played at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.
North Carolina No. 1 Seed in Syracuse Regional
Roy Williams's North Carolina was given the No. 1 seed in the Syracuse Regional. The Tar Heels crushed Oakland in the first round 96-68 and then dominated Iowa State 92-65 in the second round. North Carolina barely survived 5 seed Villanova 67-66 as 'Nova's Allan Ray was controversially called for travelling late in the game. Sean May had 29 points and 11 rebounds in helping UNC outlast 6 seed Wisconsin 88-82 to return to the Final Four.
Few Upsets
The 2005 tournament saw few big upsets. In the Chicago regional, 12 seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee knocked off No. 5 Alabama and No. 4 Boston College before losing to top seed Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen. In the Albuquerque regional, No. 7 West Virginia beat No. 2 Wake Forest in double overtime in the second round and No. 6 Texas Tech knocked off 3 seed Gonzaga. No. 4 Louisville upset top seed Washington in the Sweet Sixteen. In the Syracuse regional, No. 14 Bucknell upset 3 seed Kansas in the first round and No. 10 N.C. State knocked off No. 2 seed and defending champion Connecticut 65-62 in the second round. And Austin No. 1 seed Duke was beaten by 5 seed Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen.
Two No. 1s, Louisville, Michigan State Into Final Four
Joining North Carolina in advancing to the Final Four in St. Louis were top ranked Illinois, which needed an amazing comeback from 15 points down with five minutes left against Arizona to win its regional final and reach its fifth semifinal and first since 1989; Albuquerque 4 seed Louisville, in its first Final Four since 1986; and Austin 5 seed Michigan State, back in the Final Four for the first time after three straight trips from 1999 to 2001.
North Carolina, Illinois Ease Into Final
North Carolina scored 54 points in the second half to ease into the final with an 87-71 victory over Michigan State. The top-ranked Illinois had the lion's share of the fan support in St. Louis but had a fight with Louisville until a second-half run gave the Illini a 72-57 victory and their first appearance in the title game.
May Too Much For Illini
In Monday's final, North Carolina built a 13-point first half lead and held on as Illinois tried another furious comeback like it did against Arizona in the Elite Eight. But Sean May and Raymond Felton would not let the Tar Heels lose in clinching a 75-70 victory. Illinois tied the game in the second half but North Carolina came up with big shots as Felton knocked down a ice-cold three-pointer and then freshman Marvin Williams came up with a follow basket with just more than two minutes left for a 72-70 lead. Illini guard Luther Head would miss a three-pointer and then Felton grabbed a steal off a Head pass and hit three free throws to secure the win. May, celebrating his 21st birthday, finished the game with 26 points and 10 rebounds. And North Carolina held Illinois scoreless for the final 2:30 in securing Williams' much-awaited first NCAA crown.
Williams' Long Wait Over
Roy Williams came close plenty of times, reaching five Final Fours and three championship games in his 17 seasons. And he was finally a champion.
