2004–05 Big East Conference men's basketball season

2004–05 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
2004–05 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 19, 2004; through March 12, 2005
Number of teams	12
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Boston College and Connecticut (13–3)
Season MVP	Hakim Warrick – Syracuse
Tournament
Champions	Syracuse
Finals MVP	Hakim Warrick – Syracuse


	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 14 Boston College	13	–	3	.813	25	–	5	.833
No. 13 Connecticut	13	–	3	.813	23	–	8	.742
No. 19 Villanova	11	–	5	.688	24	–	8	.750
Pittsburgh	10	–	6	.625	20	–	9	.690
Notre Dame	9	–	7	.563	17	–	12	.586
Georgetown	8	–	8	.500	19	–	13	.594
West Virginia	8	–	8	.500	24	–	11	.686
Providence	4	–	12	.250	14	–	17	.452
Seton Hall	4	–	12	.250	12	–	16	.429
Rutgers	2	–	14	.125	10	–	19	.345
St. John's*	3	–	13	.188	9	–	18	.333
No. 11 Syracuse†**	0	–	5	.000	12	–	7	.632

† 2005 Big East tournament winner As of April 4, 2005 Rankings from AP Poll Not eligible for the 2005 Big East tournament due to sanctions against the program. *Syracuse had 15 regular season games vacated due to sanctions against the program; Syracuse′s disputed record was 27–7, 11–5.

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 13–3. 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 13–3. 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.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]
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

School	Coach	Season	Notes
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 Rankings
**Key:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
AP Poll^[5]	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	Final
Boston 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

Name	School	PPG
Scoring
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

Name	School	RPG
Rebounding
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

Name	School	APG
Assists
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

Name	School	SPG
Steals
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

Name	School	BPG
Blocks
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

Name	School	FG%
Field Goals
Chris Taft	Pitt	.580
Chevon Troutman	Pitt	.566
Hakim Warrick	Syr	.548
Charlie Villanueva	Conn	.521
Craig Smith	BC	.504

Name	School	3FG%
3-Pt Field Goals
Colin Falls	ND	.413
Allan Ray	Vill	.376
Gerry McNamara	Syr	.340
No other qualifiers

Name	School	FT%
Free Throws
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 (1) Boston College, (2) Connecticut, (3) Syracuse, (4) Villanova, (5) Pittsburgh, (6) Notre Dame, (7) Georgetown, (8) West Virginia, (9) Providence, (10) Seton Hall, and (11) Rutgers.

Bracket

First round Wednesday, March 9			Quarterfinals Thursday, March 10			Semifinals Friday, March 11			Final Saturday, March 12

			1	#7 Boston College	72

			8	West Virginia	78
8	West Virginia	82

9	Providence	59
						8	West Virginia	78

						4	#19 Villanova	76



			4	#19 Villanova	67

			5	#22 Pittsburgh	58



									8	West Virginia	59

									3	#16 Syracuse	68



			2	#12 Connecticut	66

			7	Georgetown	62
7	Georgetown	56

10	Seton Hall	51
						2	#12 Connecticut	63

						3	#16 Syracuse	67



			3	#16 Syracuse	81

			11	Rutgers	57
6	Notre Dame	65

11	Rutgers	72

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	10 Creighton, W 63–61	2 Wake Forest, W 111–105^(2OT)	6 Texas Tech, W 65–60	4 Alabama, L 93–85^(OT)
Villanova	Syracuse	5	12 New Mexico, W 55–47	4 Florida, W 76–65	1 North Carolina, L 67–66
Connecticut	Syracuse	2	15 UCF, W 77–71	10 NC State, L 65–62
Boston College	Chicago	4	13 Penn, W 85–65	12 Milwaukee, L 83–75
Syracuse	Austin	4	13 Vermont, L 60–57^(OT)
Pittsburgh	Albuquerque	9	8 Pacific, L 79–71

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	Boston University, W 64–34	Cal State Fullerton, W 74–57	South Carolina, L 69–66
Notre Dame	Bye	Holy Cross, L 78–73

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., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 250 lb (113 kg), Inglewood, Calif.
Jared Dudley, Boston College, F, So., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 225 lb (102 kg), San Diego, Calif.
Chevon Troutman, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 240 lb (109 kg), Scranton, Pa.
Ryan Gomes, Providence, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 250 lb (113 kg), Waterbury, Conn.
Gerry McNamara, Syracuse, G, Jr., 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 182 lb (83 kg), Scranton, Pa.
Hakim Warrick, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 219 lb (99 kg), Philadelphia, Pa.

All-Big East Second Team:

Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut, F, So., 6 ft 11 in (211 cm), 240 lb (109 kg), Brooklyn, N.Y.
Josh Boone, Connecticut, C, So., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 237 lb (108 kg), Mount Airy, Md.
Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 200 lb (91 kg), The Bronx, N.Y.
Allan Ray, Villanova, G, Jr., 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), The Bronx, N.Y.
Curtis Sumpter, Villanova, F, Jr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 225 lb (102 kg), Brooklyn, N.Y.

All-Big East Third Team:

Marcus Williams, Connecticut, G, So., 6 ft 3 in (191 cm), 205 lb (93 kg), Los Angeles, Calif.
Brandon Bowman, Georgetown, F, Jr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 223 lb (101 kg), Beverly Hills, Calif.
Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, G, Sr., 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), Indianapolis, Ind.
Daryll Hill, St. John's, G, So., 6 ft 0 in (183 cm), 168 lb (76 kg), Queens, N.Y.
Randy Foye, Villanova, G, Jr., 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), 210 lb (95 kg), Newark, N.J.

Big East All-Rookie Team:

Sean Williams, Boston College, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 235 lb (107 kg), Houston, Tex.
Rudy Gay, Connecticut, F, Fr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 220 lb (100 kg), Baltimore, Md.
Jeff Green, Georgetown, F, Fr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 235 lb (107 kg), Hyattsville, Md.
Ronald Ramón, Pittsburgh, G, Fr., 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), 185 lb (84 kg), The Bronx, N.Y.
Ollie Bailey, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 230 lb (104 kg), Chicago, Ill.
Kyle Lowry, Villanova, G, Fr., 6 ft 0 in (183 cm), 175 lb (79 kg), 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

References

^ NCAA Career Statistics, search under coaches for Jim Boeheim
^ "Syracuse to vacate wins, lose 12 scholarships; Boeheim suspended". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
^ "NCAA investigation costs Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim 108 wins, drops him to 6th all-time". syracuse.com. March 6, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
^ syracuse.com (October 19, 2016). "Syracuse basketball can't keep wins, but it can keep Big East, NCAA banners". syracuse.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
^ "2004-05 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[1] NCAA Career Statistics, search under coaches for Jim Boeheim

[2] "Syracuse to vacate wins, lose 12 scholarships; Boeheim suspended". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.

[3] "NCAA investigation costs Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim 108 wins, drops him to 6th all-time". syracuse.com. March 6, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.

[4] syracuse.com (October 19, 2016). "Syracuse basketball can't keep wins, but it can keep Big East, NCAA banners". syracuse.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.

[5] "2004-05 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

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Big East Conference men's basketball
Teams	Butler Bulldogs Creighton Bluejays DePaul Blue Demons Georgetown Hoyas Marquette Golden Eagles Providence Friars St. John's Red Storm Seton Hall Pirates UConn Huskies Villanova Wildcats Xavier Musketeers
Championships & awards	Tournament Regular season champions Coach of the Year Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Sixth Man of the Year Most Improved Player Freshman/Rookie of the Year All-Big East
Conference challenges	Big East–Big 12 Battle (2019–2024) Gavitt Tipoff Games (2015–2023) SEC–Big East Challenge (2007–2012)
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