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2004-05 Big Ten Men's Basketball Season Wrapup
April 18, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
2004-05 Season Review Everybody's All-Americans: Illinois' Dee Brown was named a consensus First Team All-American, while teammates Luther Head and Deron Williams earned consensus Second Team All-America status during the 2004-05 season. Brown, the Big Ten Player of the Year, collected first team accolades from the United States Basketball Writers' Association (USBWA) and The Sporting News. He also earned Associated Press (AP) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) second team honors. Brown becomes the 64th Consensus First Team All-American in Big Ten history and the first Conference player since Indiana's A.J. Guyton in 2000. Head and Williams joined Brown as members of the NABC's All-America Second Team. Head also earned Associated Press and USBWA second team accolades, while Williams was named to The Sporting News Second Team and collected third team honors from the AP. Wooden Award All-American: Illinois' Dee Brown and Deron Williams were also named to the 2005 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team. Illinois was the only school to have two players named to this year's Wooden All-America Team, while also marking the first time that any school had two players on the team since 2003 when Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich of Kansas were selected. Weber Collects National Coach of the Year Accolades: Illinois' Bruce Weber became the first coach in Big Ten history to earn Coach of the Year from eight national media organizations. He was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, Basketball Times, CBS/Chevrolet, Naismith, NABC, Rupp Cup, The Sporting News and USBWA, marking only the fifth time a Big Ten coach has been honored by four or more national media organizations. The only other coaches to accomplish that feat were former Indiana mentor Bobby Knight (1975 and 1989), Ohio State's Randy Ayers (1991) and Purdue's Gene Keady (1996). The last Big Ten coach to claim National Coach of the Year accolades was Michigan State's Tom Izzo in 2001. Izzo Earns Coach Clair Bee Award: Michigan State's Tom Izzo also picked up Coach of the Year accolades after being named the 2005 recipient of the Coach Clair Bee Award. The Clair Bee Award honors the active Division I men's basketball coach who has made the most significant positive contribution to his sport during the preceding year. Brown Named National Player of the Year: Illinois junior Dee Brown was named National Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Brown, the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, finished his junior season averaging 13.3 points with 30 games in double figures. He also ranked second in the Big Ten in three-point field goal shooting (43.4) and third in assists (4.54). Playing Smart Basketball: Michigan State's Chris Hill was named the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year and First-Team Academic All-American, earning first-team honors for the second straight year and Academic All-America accolades for the third straight season, having received third-team honors in 2003. The MSU senior is the first Big Ten men's basketball player to be honored in three consecutive seasons since Northwestern's Shon Morris accomplished this feat from 1986-88. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Illini's Historical Run: Illinois finished the 2004-05 season with a 37-2 record, tying the winningest season in NCAA history. Only two other teams in NCAA history have reached 37 victories as Duke posted two 37-win seasons (1986 - 37-3 and 1999 - 37-2) and UNLV finished with a 37-2 mark in 1987. With their win over Nevada on March 19, the Fighting Illini also broke the Big Ten mark for most victories in a single-season, surpassing the previous mark of 33 set by Michigan State in 1999. Illinois Clinches Outright Big Ten Title: Illinois won its second consecutive outright Big Ten crown for the first time since 1951-52 and its fourth title in five seasons. The Illini nearly posted a perfect season, but fell at Ohio State, 65-64, on the last day of the regular season. The Illini have now won 17 Big Ten titles to equal Ohio State for the third-highest total in League annals behind Purdue (21) and Indiana (20). Illinois claimed four crowns in a five-year span for the first time in school history and is the first Big Ten team to accomplish that feat since Michigan State claimed at least a share of four straight titles from 1998-2001. Weber First To Open With Consecutive Crowns: Illinois' Bruce Weber became the first coach in Big Ten history to win back-to-back outright championships in his first two years at the helm. Weber led the Illini to the 2004 regular season title with a 13-3 League mark and followed with another League Championship this season with a 15-1 mark. Illinois Wins Second Big Ten Tournament Crown: The championship game of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament featured a rematch from 2004's championship game. In that edition of the title game Wisconsin defeated Illinois, 70-53. However, the Fighting Illini came out on top this year, defeating the Badgers, 54-43, to claim their second Big Ten Tournament title at the United Center in Chicago. The finals appearance was Illinois' fifth in the eight-year history of the event and its first title since 2003 when the Illini defeated Ohio State, 72-59, in the finale. Illinois becomes only the second No. 1 seed to win the Big Ten Tournament crown as Michigan State won the 1999 crown as the No. 1 seeded team before advancing to the Final Four. Augustine Named Tourney's Most Outstanding Player: Illinois' James Augustine was named the 2005 Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player after averaging a double-double (12.7 points; 10.3 rebounds) during the three victories. Augustine is the second Illinois standout to collect Most Outstanding Player accolades, joining Brian Cook, who was honored in 2003. Augustine was joined by teammate Luther Head on the All-Tournament team, while Minnesota's Vincent Grier and Wisconsin's Zach Morley and Alando Tucker also earned All-Tournament laurels. With two selections this year, Illinois now leads the Big Ten with eight overall All-Tournament picks as Augustine and Head join Cory Bradford (1999), Cook (2000-03), Roger Powell (2003), Dee Brown (2004) and Deron Williams (2004). New Tourney Attendance Records: The Big Ten set a pair of attendance records in the final two days of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago, as the event attracted a single-session record of 23,697 for the semifinal on Saturday before breaking the championship game attendance mark with 22,157 fans on site Sunday. Saturday's crowd shattered the previous single-session best of 23,509 patrons at the semifinal of the 2001 Big Ten Tournament (also held in Chicago) while Sunday's attendance total also bested the previous high set in 2001 (22,081). A total of 109,250 fans attended the 2005 Big Ten Tournament, marking the second-highest attendance total in Tournament history behind the 109,769 fans that were present for the 2001 event. This year's record crowds marked an increase of over 30,000 fans compared to the 2004 event in Indianapolis and nearly 20,000 more patrons compared to the last time the four-day event was held in Chicago in 2003. Brown Named Player of the Year: For the third time in five years, an Illinois standout collected the Big Ten's highest honor as junior Dee Brown was chosen as the Conference Player of the Year in voting by both the coaches and the media. He joined Brian Cook (2003) and Frank Williams (2001) as just the third player in program history to earn Player of the Year accolades. Brown, one of two unanimous All-Big Ten First Team picks by the coaches, led the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (.515) and three-point field goals made with 3.19 per game in League contests only. He also rated among the top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd at 2.91), assists (4th at 4.0 apg), steals (5th at 1.75 spg) and scoring (10th at 15.0 ppg). Other Individual Honors: Illinois' Dee Brown also was named the Conference Defensive Player of the Year, becoming only the second player in Big Ten history to earn Player of the Year honors and defensive accolades in the same season. In 1988, Michigan's Gary Grant became the first Conference standout to earn both awards. Brown is just the third Illinois player to collect Defensive Player of the Year laurels, joining Bruce Douglas (1985-86) and Stephen Bardo (1989). Illinois' Bruce Weber was tabbed as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media after becoming the first mentor in League history to lead his team to back-to-back outright championships in his first two years at the helm. The Illini finished the regular season with a 15-1 record, tying the 1999 Michigan State squad for the most victories in Big Ten play since the League went to a 16-game schedule. Illinois also set a school record, posting 25 consecutive victories in Big Ten play, breaking the previous school mark of 17 set during the 1914-1915 season. Indiana's D.J. White earned Freshman of the Year honors from both the coaches and media. He became the seventh Hoosier to nab Freshman of the Year honors after tying for first place in League games only with 2.12 blocks per contest, while ranking third in field goal percentage (.603) and 16th in scoring (13.9 ppg). White was joined by four other first-year standouts on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, as the five-man squad also included teammate Robert Vaden, Michigan State's Drew Neitzel, Minnesota's Dan Coleman and Penn State's Geary Claxton. Youthful All-Conference Teams: The 2005 All-Big Ten teams were dominated by underclassmen for the second consecutive year, as 12 of the 15 selections have a chance to return to their teams next season. Both First Team All-Big Ten squads included Illinois' Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams and Wisconsin's Mike Wilkinson. Indiana's Bracey Wright was the fifth choice of the media, while the coaches picked Minnesota's Vincent Grier. Williams was the only returning First Team honoree, while Brown and Wilkinson were unanimous picks. In addition, it marks only the fourth time in League history that three or more players from the same squad earned First Team accolades. Indiana had four players named to the 1975 All-Big Ten First Team (Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, Steve Green and Scott May), while Ohio State had three standouts honored in 1961 (John Havlicek, Jerry Lucas and Larry Siegfried) and 1971 (Jim Cleamons, Allan Hornyak and Luke Witte). Illinois also had three players named to the 1956 All-Big Ten First Team (George Bon Salle, Paul Judson and Bill Ridley). 2005 NCAA Tournament Review Playing for the NCAA Title: Overall, Illinois was the 21st Big Ten squad to advance to the NCAA Championship tilt and the third in the past six seasons. Indiana advanced to the 2002 national final, while Michigan State defeated Florida for the NCAA title in 2000. The ACC is the only conference to advance more teams during that time span with four squads, followed by the Big East (2), Big 12 (1), Pac-10 (1) and SEC (1). A National Championship Feat: For the first time since 1993, both a men's and women's basketball team reached the national championship game as Illinois battled North Carolina in the men's title game and Michigan State faced Baylor in the women's final. In 1993, Michigan reached the men's national championship, while Ohio State participated in the women's title game. Due to NCAA sanctions, Michigan vacated its 1993 national championship appearance. NCAA Tourney Conference Call: The Big Ten tied with the ACC for the most victories in the 2005 NCAA Tournament as both leagues tallied 12 wins. The ACC finished with a 12-4 record (.750), while the Big Ten compiled a 12-5 (.706) mark, followed by the Big East (7-6, .538), Pac-10 (5-4, .556), Big 12 (6-6, .500) and SEC (5-5, .500). The Big Ten's 12 NCAA Championship victories were the most for the Conference since the 2000 event, when the League equaled its highest win total ever with a mark of 15-5 (matching the 15 triumphs in 1989). The Big Ten is the only conference to have produced double-digits wins in NCAA Championship play in four of the last seven tournaments (13-6 in 1999, 15-5 in 2000, 10-7 in 2001). Final Four Frenzy: With Illinois and Michigan State advancing to the 2005 Final Four, the Conference has accumulated the most Final Four appearances with 39 (ACC-38) and boasts the second-most national titles (10) in college basketball history. The Pac-10 leads the nation with 15 titles. Since the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, the Big Ten has recorded the most appearances of any conference in the Big Dance with 172 (ACC, 156) and has the second-most NCAA Tournament victories with 280 (ACC, 310). Five Final Four Programs: The Big Ten is the only conference since 1990 to advance five different programs to the Final Four. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC have each had four different schools reach the national semifinals over that time span, followed by the Pac-10 (3) and Big East (2). Michigan State leads the Big Ten with four appearances (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005) and Indiana (1992 and 2002) has reached the national semifinals twice, while Illinois (2005), Ohio State (1999) and Wisconsin (2000) have each earned a Final Four spot in that time span. Outstanding Tournament Performances: For the first time since the 2000 event, two Big Ten players were named the Most Outstanding Players of their respective regionals as Illinois' Deron Williams picked up the award in the Chicago region while Michigan State's Shannon Brown was honored in the Austin region. The Conference boasted two Most Outstanding Players in both 2000 (MSU's Morris Peterson and Wisconsin's Jon Bryant) and 1999 (Peterson and OSU's Scoonie Penn), the last two years the Big Ten made up half of the Final Four. The Spartans' Charlie Bell was the most recent regional Most Outstanding Player, as he was tabbed during MSU's 2001 Final Four run. Williams is just the second Illini in school annals to earn the honor along with Nick Anderson (1989) while Brown is the fourth Spartan to be so honored along with Greg Kelser (1979), Peterson and Bell. Williams and Brown were joined by five other League standouts on the all-regional teams - Illinois' Luther Head, Michigan State's Maurice Ager and Paul Davis and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker and Clayton Hanson. Head and Williams also earned All-Tournament accolades at the Final Four, becoming the first Big Ten standouts since Indiana's duo of Dane Fife and Kyle Hornsby were named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2002 national semifinals. Big Ten Turns Low Seeds Into High Win Totals: Big Ten teams have made a habit of advancing deep into the tournament despite low seeds and that trend continued in 2005, as fifth-seeded Michigan State was the lowest-seeded team to advance to the Final Four. Two years ago, the Spartans were the lowest seed to reach the Elite Eight after winning three games despite earning a No. 7 seed. Three other Conference teams have advanced to the Final Four in the last seven years despite their low seeds, as fifth-seeded Indiana advanced to the 2002 national championship game, eighth-seeded Wisconsin reached the national semifinals in 2000 and fourth-seeded Ohio State accomplished the feat in 1999. Coaching Elite: Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo directed the Spartans to his fourth Final Four in his first 10 seasons as a college head coach, becoming just the second coach in NCAA history to accomplish this feat. Ohio State head coach Fred Taylor took his Buckeyes to four Final Fours in his first 10 seasons. Izzo also ranks second behind only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (.786) in NCAA Tournament winning percentage among active coaches at .767. Over the last eight NCAA Tournaments, Izzo has led MSU to a 23-7 record and is also one of only nine coaches in NCAA Tournament history to advance to three straight Final Fours, which he accomplished from 1999-2000. He is also the sixth active coach with four or more Final Four appearances.
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