2004–05 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2004–05 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 91st season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in Conference USA and were coached by Rick Pitino, who was in his fourth season. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.

2004–05 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
NCAA Albuquerque Regional Champions
Conference USA tournament champions
Conference USA regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceConference USA
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 4
Record33–5 (14–2 CUSA)
Head coach
Home arenaFreedom Hall
Seasons
2004–05 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Louisville 14 2   .875 33 5   .868
Charlotte 12 4   .750 21 8   .724
No. 23 Cincinnati 12 4   .750 25 8   .758
UAB 10 6   .625 22 11   .667
DePaul 10 6   .625 20 11   .645
Houston 9 7   .563 18 14   .563
Memphis 9 7   .563 22 16   .579
TCU 8 8   .500 21 14   .600
Marquette 7 9   .438 19 12   .613
Saint Louis 6 10   .375 9 21   .300
South Florida 5 11   .313 14 16   .467
Tulane 4 12   .250 10 18   .357
East Carolina 4 12   .250 9 19   .321
Southern Miss 2 14   .125 11 17   .393
2005 Conference USA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Cardinals won the Conference USA tournament championship (their 2nd), defeating Memphis 75–74. Louisville defeated West Virginia 93–85 (OT) to win the NCAA Tournament Albuquerque Regional and advance to the Final Four (their 8th) where they fell to eventual runner-up Illinois 72–57. The Cardinals finished with a 33–5 (14–2) record.[2]

Roster

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2004–05 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
SF 32 Francisco García 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 20, 2004*
No. 14 at BYU-Hawaii W 89–79  1–0
George Q. Cannon Activities Center 
Laie, Hawaii
Nov 22, 2004*
No. 14 vs. Iowa
Maui Invitational Tournament
L 71–76  1–1
Lahaina Civic Center 
Lahaina, Hawaii
Nov 23, 2004*
No. 14 vs. Chaminade
Maui Invitational Tournament
W 93–63  2–1
Lahaina Civic Center 
Lahaina, Hawaii
Nov 24, 2004*
No. 14 vs. Stanford
Maui Invitational Tournament
W 82–67  3–1
Lahaina Civic Center 
Lahaina, Hawaii
Dec 4, 2004*
No. 17 Lafayette W 98–57  4–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 11, 2004*
No. 13 at Florida W 74–70  5–1
Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, Florida
Dec 14, 2004*
No. 13 North Carolina A&T W 85–51  6–1
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 18, 2004*
No. 13 No. 9 Kentucky L 58–60  6–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 21, 2004*
No. 18 IUPUI W 80–60  7–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 22, 2004*
No. 18 Austin Peay W 77–49  8–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 27, 2004*
No. 19 Morehead State W 104–40  9–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 30, 2004*
Eastern Kentucky W 78–63  10–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 2, 2005*
Tennessee State W 98–64  11–2
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 5, 2005
at Houston L 67–70  11–3
(0–1)
Hofheinz Pavilion 
Houston, Texas
Jan 8, 2005
TCU W 86–61  12–3
(1–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 11, 2005
at Southern Miss W 107–62  13–3
(2–1)
Reed Green Coliseum 
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Jan 15, 2005
at No. 18 Cincinnati W 69–66  14–3
(3–1)
Myrl H. Shoemaker Center 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 19, 2005
East Carolina W 92–41  15–3
(4–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 22, 2005*
Tennessee W 85–62  16–3
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 26, 2005
Marquette W 99–52  17–3
(5–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 29, 2005
at Tulane W 105–69  18–3
(6–1)
Avron B. Fogelman Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 2, 2005
No. 18 Cincinnati W 77–70  19–3
(7–1)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 5, 2005
at UAB W 77–73  20–3
(8–1)
Bartow Arena 
Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 9, 2005
Memphis L 68–85  20–4
(8–2)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 5, 2005
No. 9 at DePaul W 66–62  26–4
(14–2)
Allstate Arena 
Rosemont, Illinois
Conference USA Tournament
Mar 10, 2005*
No. 6 vs. TCU
C-USA Tournament Quarterfinal
W 85–61  27–4
FedExForum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 11, 2005*
No. 6 vs. UAB
C-USA Tournament Semifinal
W 74–67  28–4
FedExForum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 12, 2005*
No. 6 at Memphis
C-USA tournament championship
W 75–74  29–4
FedExForum 
Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 18, 2005*
(4 ABQ) No. 4 vs. (13 ABQ) Louisiana-Lafayette
First round
W 68–62  30–4
Bridgestone Arena 
Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 20, 2005*
(4 ABQ) No. 4 vs. (5 ABQ) No. 25 Georgia Tech
Second Round
W 76–54  31–4
Bridgestone Arena 
Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 24, 2005*
(4 ABQ) No. 4 vs. (1 ABQ) No. 8 Washington
Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 93–79  32–4
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 26, 2005*
(4 ABQ) No. 4 vs. (7 ABQ) West Virginia
Regional Final – Elite Eight
W 93–85 OT[3] 33–4
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Apr 2, 2005*
(4 ABQ) No. 4 vs. (1 CHI) No. 1 Illinois
National semifinal – Final Four
L 57–72[4]  33–5
Edward Jones Dome 
St. Louis, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ABQ=Albuquerque.

Rankings

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[5]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 2004-05 Conference USA Season Summary
  2. ^ "Louisville Basketball Media Guide". Louisville Basketball Media Guide. UofL Athletic Association. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  3. ^ "For Cardinals, No Mountain High Enough". The Washington Post. March 27, 2005. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Illini beat down Louisville in second half". ESPN. April 2, 2005. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  5. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1141–1142. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.