Teams 64 | ||
 | ||
Finals site New Orleans Arena
New Orleans Champions Connecticut (5th title) Runner-up Tennessee (11th title game) Semifinalists Minnesota (1st Final Four)
LSU (1st Final Four) MOP Diana Taurasi Connecticut | ||
The 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 20, 2004 and concluded on April 6, 2004 when Connecticut won a third consecutive national championship, becoming only the second school in history to accomplish such a feat. The Final Four was held at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 4–6, 2004, and was hosted by Tulane University. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrivals Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, 70-61 in the championship game. UConn's Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year. The tournament was also notable as UC Santa Barbara became the first double digit seed not to lose by a double digit margin in the Sweet 16 as they lost to UConn 63-57.
Contents
Tournament records
Qualifying teams – automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA tournament.
Qualifying teams – at-large
Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.
Bids by conference
Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-three cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from eight of the conferences.
First and second rounds
In 2004, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. Sixteen sites for the first two rounds were determined approximately a year before the team selections and seedings were completed, following a practice established in 2003.
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:
Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 27 to March 30 at these sites:
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held April 4 and April 6 in New Orleans at the New Orleans Arena (Host: Tulane University)
Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. Tennessee had the most teams with six bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.
Brackets
Data Source
Final Four – New Orleans
E-East; ME-Mideast; MW-Midwest; W-West.
Record by conference
Nineteen conferences went 0-1: America East, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference Colonial, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Summit League, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southland, SWAC, and West Coast Conference