The 2004–05

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

men's basketball season was the 26th in conference history, and involved its 12 full-time member schools.

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of .

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

won the Big East tournament championship.

Season summary & highlights

* The Big East contracted for the first time when

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Virginia Tech left to join the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

before the season. The Big East's membership dropped from 14 to 12 teams. *

was the champion of the 2004 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. *

and

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. * 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

after the end of the season.

Head coaches

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.

Regular-season statistical leaders

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.

National Invitation Tournament

Two Big East teams received bids to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

, which did not yet have

seeding The term seeding and related terms such as seeded are used in several different contexts: *Sowing, planting seeds in a place or on an object *Cloud seeding, manipulating cloud formations *Seeding (computing), a concept in computing and peer-to-pee ...

. They played in two of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Notre Dame lost in the first round and Georgetown in the quarterfinals.

Awards and honors

Big East Conference

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

: *

Hakim Warrick Hakim Hanif Warrick (born July 8, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange from 2001 to 2005. Warrick won an NCAA championship in 2003 and blocked a potential game-tying thr ...

, Syracuse, F, Sr.

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

: * Josh Boone, Connecticut, C, So. Co-Rookies of the Year: *

Rudy Gay Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. (born August 17, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward, he played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being selected eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, ...

, 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 Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: *

Al Skinner Albert Lee Skinner Jr. (born June 16, 1952) is an American men's college basketball head coach and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. He was formerly the head coach of the Boston College Eagles men's basketball team and was ...

, Boston College (8th season) All-Big East First Team * Craig Smith, Boston College, F, Jr., , ,

Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...

, Calif. * Jared Dudley, Boston College, F, So., , ,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, Calif. * Chevon Troutman, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., , ,

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, Pa. *

Ryan Gomes Ryan Anthony Gomes (born September 1, 1982) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach for the Providence Friars. He was named a First Team All-American power forward at Providence C ...

, Providence, F, Sr., , ,

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

, Conn. *

Gerry McNamara Gerry McNamara (born August 28, 1983) is an American former basketball player and current head coach of the Siena Saints men's basketball team. Gerry is the former associate head coach of the Syracuse University men's basketball team. A forme ...

, Syracuse, G, Jr., , ,

, Pa. *

, Syracuse, F, Sr., , ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pa. All-Big East Second Team: *

Charlie Villanueva Charlie Alexander Villanueva Mejia (born August 24, 1984) is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player who played for the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Associat ...

, Connecticut, F, So., , ,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, N.Y. * Josh Boone, Connecticut, C, So., , , Mount Airy, Md. *

Carl Krauser Carl Isaac Krauser (born May 13, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Quebec Kebs of the National Basketball League of Canada. He was a point guard for the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsb ...

, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., , ,

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, N.Y. *

Allan Ray Allan Nathaniel Ray (born June 17, 1984) is an American sports agent and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for four years at Villanova University. He played one season ( 2006–07) with the Boston Celtics of th ...

, Villanova, G, Jr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. *

Curtis Sumpter Curtis Sumpter (born January 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player currently working as an assistant coach for the Delaware 87ers of the NBA G League. A 6'7" forward from Brooklyn, New York, Sumpter was named to the All-Big East ...

, Villanova, F, Jr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. All-Big East Third Team: * Marcus Williams, Connecticut, G, So., , ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Calif. *

Brandon Bowman Brandon Kyle Bowman (born October 15, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who plays for Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Liga Artzit. He played college basketball at Georgetown University where he played primarily at the small forward ...

, Georgetown, F, Jr., , ,

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, Calif. * Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Sr., , ,

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Ind. *

Daryll Hill Daryll Hill (born July 31, 1982) is an American former basketball player from Queens, New York. He played at Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens. He went on to play basketball at St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens. At St. John's he le ...

, St. John's, G, So., , ,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, N.Y. *

Randy Foye Randy Foye (born September 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Villanova University. He was selected seventh overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, but was immediately traded to ...

, Villanova, G, Jr., , , Newark, N.J. Big East All-Rookie Team: * Sean Williams, Boston College, F, Fr., , ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Tex. *

, Connecticut, F, Fr., , ,

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Md. * Jeff Green, Georgetown, F, Fr., , , Hyattsville, Md. * Ronald Ramón, Pittsburgh, G, Fr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. * Ollie Bailey, Rutgers, F, Fr., , ,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Ill. *

Kyle Lowry Kyle Terrell Lowry (born March 25, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A six-time All-Star, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016 and won an NBA c ...

, 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: *

, 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 *

, Providence * Craig Smith, Boston College

References

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