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This was the first year in which the regional sites were referred to by the cities in which the games were held in instead of the "East", "Midwest", "South", and "West" designations. It was also the first year that the matchups for the national semifinals were determined at least in part by the overall seeding of the top team in each regional. The top four teams in the tournament were Kentucky, Stanford, Duke and Saint Joseph's. Had all of those teams advanced to the Final Four, Kentucky would have played Saint Joseph's and Stanford would have played Duke in the semifinal games. Only Duke advanced to the Final Four, where it played and lost to Connecticut in the semifinals. Despite being a #2 seed, Connecticut was widely considered the best team in the tournament, and many commentators felt this semifinal game should have been for the national championship.
With the very talented Connecticut Huskies trailing by 9 with 4:32 to go it looked as if the Duke Blue Devils were going to spoil Jim Calhoun's chance at a second national title. However, Connecticut scored 12 straight points at one point to complete the comeback. It was a survival game to the truest sense. Connecticut's All-American center Emeka Okafor was limited to just 22 minutes because of early foul trouble, but he came up clutch with several big plays down the stretch. Connecticut clearly wore down Duke, as all three of their centers fouled out (Shelden Williams, Shavlik Randolph, and Nick Horvath). Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was denied his 65th NCAA Tournament victory which would have tied him with Dean Smith for the all-time record.
Will Bynum's layup in the final moments kept the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets dream for a National Championship alive as they defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys, in a nail biter, in the first of the National Semifinal doubleheader. Georgia Tech led for most of the game including a seven point edge at halftime. However, Oklahoma State was able to tie the game on John Lucas's three-pointer with 26.3 seconds left. Georgia Tech then milked the clock which set up Bynum's game winner. Georgia Tech advanced to their first ever National Championship appearance. Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton was denied yet another chance at a elusive national title.
The 2004 National Championship Game proved to be a coronation for the Connecticut Huskies as they easily handled Paul Hewitt's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The final nine point margin of victory for the Huskies was misleading, as Connecticut led 60-35 midway through the 2nd Half. Emeka Okafor led Connecticut with 24 points and was an easy choice for Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Guard Ben Gordon added 21 points to Connecticut's cause. The victory gave Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun his second National Championship (1999).
