# 2004–05 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2004–05 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 91st season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in Conference USA and were coached by Rick Pitino, who was in his fourth season. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.
The Cardinals won the Conference USA tournament championship (their 2nd), defeating Memphis 75–74. Louisville defeated West Virginia 93–85 (OT) to win the NCAA Tournament Albuquerque Regional and advance to the Final Four (their 8th) where they fell to eventual runner-up Illinois 72–57. The Cardinals finished with a 33–5 (14–2) record.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 20, 2004* | No. 14 | at BYU-Hawaii | W 89–79 | 1–0 | George Q. Cannon Activities Center Laie, Hawaii |
| Nov 22, 2004* | No. 14 | vs. Iowa Maui Invitational Tournament | L 71–76 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 23, 2004* | No. 14 | vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational Tournament | W 93–63 | 2–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 24, 2004* | No. 14 | vs. Stanford Maui Invitational Tournament | W 82–67 | 3–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Dec 4, 2004* | No. 17 | Lafayette | W 98–57 | 4–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 11, 2004* | No. 13 | at Florida | W 74–70 | 5–1 | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Dec 14, 2004* | No. 13 | North Carolina A&T | W 85–51 | 6–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 18, 2004* | No. 13 | No. 9 Kentucky | L 58–60 | 6–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 21, 2004* | No. 18 | IUPUI | W 80–60 | 7–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 22, 2004* | No. 18 | Austin Peay | W 77–49 | 8–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 27, 2004* | No. 19 | Morehead State | W 104–40 | 9–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 30, 2004* | | Eastern Kentucky | W 78–63 | 10–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 2, 2005* | | Tennessee State | W 98–64 | 11–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 5, 2005 | | at Houston | L 67–70 | 11–3 (0–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 8, 2005 | | TCU | W 86–61 | 12–3 (1–1) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 11, 2005 | | at Southern Miss | W 107–62 | 13–3 (2–1) | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Jan 15, 2005 | | at No. 18 Cincinnati | W 69–66 | 14–3 (3–1) | Myrl H. Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 19, 2005 | | East Carolina | W 92–41 | 15–3 (4–1) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 22, 2005* | | Tennessee | W 85–62 | 16–3 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 26, 2005 | | Marquette | W 99–52 | 17–3 (5–1) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Jan 29, 2005 | | at Tulane | W 105–69 | 18–3 (6–1) | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Feb 2, 2005 | | No. 18 Cincinnati | W 77–70 | 19–3 (7–1) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Feb 5, 2005 | | at UAB | W 77–73 | 20–3 (8–1) | Bartow Arena Birmingham, Alabama |
| Feb 9, 2005 | | Memphis | L 68–85 | 20–4 (8–2) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Mar 5, 2005 | No. 9 | at DePaul | W 66–62 | 26–4 (14–2) | Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois |
| Conference USA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 2005* | No. 6 | vs. TCU C-USA Tournament Quarterfinal | W 85–61 | 27–4 | FedExForum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Mar 11, 2005* | No. 6 | vs. UAB C-USA Tournament Semifinal | W 74–67 | 28–4 | FedExForum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Mar 12, 2005* | No. 6 | at Memphis C-USA tournament championship | W 75–74 | 29–4 | FedExForum Memphis, Tennessee |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 18, 2005* | (4 ABQ) No. 4 | vs. (13 ABQ) Louisiana-Lafayette First round | W 68–62 | 30–4 | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 20, 2005* | (4 ABQ) No. 4 | vs. (5 ABQ) No. 25 Georgia Tech Second Round | W 76–54 | 31–4 | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 24, 2005* | (4 ABQ) No. 4 | vs. (1 ABQ) No. 8 Washington Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 93–79 | 32–4 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Mar 26, 2005* | (4 ABQ) No. 4 | vs. (7 ABQ) West Virginia Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 93–85 | 33–4 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Apr 2, 2005* | (4 ABQ) No. 4 | vs. (1 CHI) No. 1 Illinois National semifinal – Final Four | L 57–72 | 33–5 | Edward Jones Dome St. Louis, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ABQ=Albuquerque. ||||||