Scoring an astonishing 103 points, Louisville paved their way to the Elite Eight after an impressive blowout over Arizona. Earl Clark led Louisville's explosive offense with 19 points and nine rebounds. The Cardinals' offense shot 57.6 percent from the field, while their defense held Arizona to only 64 points in this lopsided victory.

Illinois fought back from a 15-point deficit to beat the Arizona Wildcats 90-89 in an overtime thriller. Luther Head and Deron Williams led the way on a spectacular 20-5 run which tied the game with a Williams 3-pointer. Both teams continued to battle it out for the next 5 minutes with Illinois edging out the Wildcats by only one point. Illinois went on to win the following game against Louisville earning a spot in the title game.

Salim Stoudamire made an off-balance jumper with 2.8 seconds left to win the game for the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona's Hassan Adams scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds, but the top scorer of the night was the Cowboys' Joey Graham who netted 26 points. The Wildcats' thrilling 79-78 victory over Oklahoma State propelled Arizona to the Elite Eight where they faced Illinois in another thriller that went down-to-the-wire.

No.2 seed Kansas knocked off top-seeded Arizona as the Jayhawks held onto a 78-75 win that earned them a trip to the Final Four for the second consecutive year. Kirk Hinrich's game high 28 points and Jeff Graves' double-double helped give the Jayhawks a chance to win the title after a stopover in the Final Four.

Top-seeded Arizona started hot and wound up defeating Notre Dame 88-71. High school rivals Jason Gardner and Chris Thomas battled it out with Thomas scoring 20 and Gardner netting 19. Gardner ultimately won out as Arizona went on to play Kansas in the Elite Eight.

Oklahoma's aggressive defense and potent offense allowed the No.2 seed Sooners to take over the second half and beat the Arizona Wildcats 88-67. In addition to cutting the Wildcats' shooting percentage nearly in half, Hollis Price's 26 points and Aaron McGhee's 21 helped the Sooners overcome a sluggish first half and earn a berth in the Elite Eight.

National player of the year Shane Battier led the Blue Devils to their third national championship after defeating the Arizona Wildcats 82-72. Battier collected 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots, while Mike Dunleavy Jr. netted 21 points. Although Arizona trailed by just two at halftime, the Blue Devils dominated the final five minutes of play, even holding Arizona scoreless for the remaining 2:50 seconds. The Blue Devils' Mike Krzyzewski tied Bob Knight, his college coach at Army, with three national championships and his ninth title game appearance.

Arizona dominated defending champ Michigan State 80-61 and earned their first trip to the title game since they won it all in 1997. The Wildcats extended their winning streak to 11, as both Jason Gardner and Richard Jefferson had big nights with 21 and 17 points respectively. Arizona ended up losing against Duke 82-72 in the championship game three days later.

Playing as the No. 1 team in the nation, Arizona beat Illinois in a 87-81 battle that advanced the Wildcats to their first Final Four appearance since winning the National Championship in 1997. The Fighting Illini were able close the gap to within three points with less than 2 minutes left in the game, however, the Wildcats held on and extended their winning streak to ten.

Arizona came back from a sluggish first half to beat Ole Miss 66-56. The Wildcats emerged from their first-half shooting slump on the heels of Loren Woods and Richard Jefferson, who ended up with a combined 31 points and 22 rebounds. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1998 where they edged out the Fighting Illini.