2005 North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Ring

 2005 North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Ring

The 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

The Final Four consisted of Illinois, the overall top seed and in the Final Four for the first time since 1989, Louisville, making their first appearance since winning the national championship in 1986, North Carolina, reaching their first Final Four since their 2000 Cinderella run, and Michigan State, back in the Final Four for the first time since 2001.

North Carolina emerged as the national champions for a fourth time, defeating Illinois in the final 75-70.[1] North Carolina's Sean May was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Coach Roy Williams won his first national championship.

For the first time since 1999, when Weber State defeated North Carolina, a #14 seed defeated a #3 seed when Bucknell upset Kansas. A #13 seed, Vermont, advanced by defeating Syracuse in the first round[3] and a #12 seed, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the Chicago region.