2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game
| National championship game | |||||||||||||
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| Date | April 4, 2005 | ||||||||||||
| Venue | Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri | ||||||||||||
| MVP | Sean May, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Favorite | North Carolina by 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| Referees | Ed Corbett, John Cahill, Verne Harris | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 47,262 | ||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim Nantz (play-by-play) Billy Packer (color) Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (sideline) | ||||||||||||
| Nielsen Ratings | 15.0 | ||||||||||||
The 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final game of the 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2004-05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The game was played on April 4, 2005, at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri and featured the Chicago Regional Champion, overall #1-seed Illinois and Syracuse Regional Champion, #1-seeded North Carolina. This was the first championship game since 1999 that was played between two #1 seeds.
North Carolina took off with a 40–27 lead at the half and Illinois failed to mount a comeback win after coming back as much as 15. The Tar Heels won 75–70, for their 4th national championship, and first under Roy Williams. As of 2024, this remains Illinois’ sole appearance in the national championship game.