# 2004–05 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team

The 2004–05 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee during the 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by head coach Bruce Pearl, played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Arena and Klotsche Center and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 26–6, 14–2 in Horizon League play to finish in first place. They were champions of the Horizon League tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they received a #12 seed and defeated No. 5 seed Alabama and No. 4 seed Boston College to reach their 1st Sweet 16 in school history. Their season ended after losing to the eventual National runner-up and No. 1 overall seed Illinois.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 10, 2004* | | Lawrence | W 89–55 | | U.S. Cellular Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 20, 2004* | | Prairie View | W 117–55 | 1–0 | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,278) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Nov 23, 2004* | | Wisconsin–Parkside | W 87–50 | 2–0 | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,352) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Nov 28, 2004* | | Air Force | W 50–45 | 3–0 | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,120) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 1, 2004* | | South Dakota State | W 89–54 | 4–0 | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,053) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 4, 2004 | | at Illinois-Chicago | W 75–67 | 5–0 (1–0) | UIC Pavilion (6,004) Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 7, 2004* | | at Saint Louis | W 57–47 | 6–0 | Scottrade Center (7,202) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Dec 11, 2004* | | at Valparaiso | L 71–72 | 6–1 | Athletics-Recreation Center (4,242) Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Dec 15, 2004* | | at Wisconsin | L 37–66 | 6–2 | Kohl Center (17,142) Madison, Wisconsin |
| Dec 22, 2004* | | vs. No. 2 Kansas Yellow Book Shootout | L 62–73 | 6–3 | Kemper Arena (17,843) Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 30, 2004* | | at Manhattan | W 88–78 $^{OT}$ | 7–3 | Draddy Gymnasium (2,482) New York, New York |
| Jan 3, 2005 | | Detroit | L 68–76 | 7–4 (1–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,355) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 6, 2005 | | at Butler | W 71–68 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 (2–1) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (4,143) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 8, 2005 | | Loyola–Chicago | W 73–56 | 9–4 (3–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (4,632) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 12, 2005 | | at Youngstown State | W 65–42 | 10–4 (4–1) | Beeghly Center (2,793) Youngstown, Ohio |
| Jan 15, 2005 | | Green Bay | W 86–56 | 11–4 (5–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (5,212) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 17, 2005 | | Wright State | W 71–66 | 12–4 (6–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (2,831) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 20, 2005 | | Cleveland State | W 85–65 | 13–4 (7–1) | U.S. Cellular Arena (3,689) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 22, 2005 | | at Detroit | W 61–48 | 14–4 (8–1) | Calihan Hall (1,240) Detroit, Michigan |
| Jan 26, 2005* | | at Purdue | W 73–68 | 15–4 | Mackey Arena (11,278) West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Jan 29, 2005 | | at Green Bay | L 72–76 | 15–5 (8–2) | Resch Center (8,072) Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Feb 2, 2005 | | at Wright State | W 79–70 | 16–5 (9–2) | Ervin J. Nutter Center (4,134) Fairborn, Ohio |
| Feb 5, 2005 | | Illinois-Chicago | W 85–75 | 17–5 (10–2) | U.S. Cellular Arena (6,041) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 10, 2005 | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 74–67 | 18–5 (11–2) | Joseph J. Gentile Center (2,682) Chicago, Illinois |
| Feb 12, 2005 | | Youngstown State | W 90–67 | 19–5 (12–2) | U.S. Cellular Arena (6,455) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 16, 2005 | | Butler | W 64–53 | 20–5 (13–2) | U.S. Cellular Arena (5,469) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 19, 2005* | | at Hawaii | W 87–81 | 21–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (8,024) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Feb 26, 2005 | | at Cleveland State | W 81–59 | 22–5 (14–2) | Henry J. Goodman Arena (3,461) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Horizon League Tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 2005* | | Loyola–Chicago Semifinals | W 94–76 | 23–5 | U.S. Cellular Arena (8,653) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Mar 8, 2005* | | Detroit Championship game | W 59–58 | 24–5 | U.S. Cellular Arena (10,783) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 2005* | (12 CHI) | vs. (5 CHI) No. 21 Alabama First round | W 83–73 | 25–5 | Henry J. Goodman Arena (13,222) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Mar 19, 2005* | (12 CHI) | vs. (4 CHI) No. 14 Boston College Second Round | W 83–75 | 26–5 | Henry J. Goodman Arena (13,332) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Mar 24, 2005* | (12 CHI) | vs. (1 CHI) No. 1 Illinois Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 63–77 | 26–6 | Allstate Arena (16,957) Rosemont, Illinois |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. CHI=Chicago. ||||||

### 2005 Horizon League Tournament

| First round Tuesday, March 1 | First round Tuesday, March 1 | Second Round Friday, March 4 | Second Round Friday, March 4 | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 | Semifinals Saturday, March 5 | Championship Tuesday, March 8 | Championship Tuesday, March 8 |
| | | | | Milwaukee | 94 | | |
| Loyola | 78 | | | Loyola | 76 | | |
| Youngstown State | 75 | Loyola (OT) | 87 | | | | |
| UIC | 84 | UIC | 81 | | | | |
| Cleveland State | 65 | | | | | Milwaukee | 59 |
| | | | | | | Detroit | 58 |
| | | | | Green Bay | 55 | | |
| | | | | Detroit | 61 | | |
| | | Detroit | 61 | | | | |
| Wright State | 61 | Wright State | 48 | | | | |
| Butler | 57 | | | | | | |
First round games at campus sites of higher seeds Second round and semifinals hosted by the top seed. Championship hosted by best remaining seed

## Awards and honors

* Ed McCants – Horizon League Player of the Year
* Bruce Pearl – Horizon League Coach of the Year