It began on March 16, 2004, and ended with the championship game on April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

It was also the first year that the matchups for the national semifinals were determined at least in part by the overall seeding of the top team in each regional [citation needed].

The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Horizon League, Mid-Continent, Ivy, MAC, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, and Sun Belt conferences all went 0–1.

The columns R32, S16, E8, F4, and CG respectively stand for the Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship Game.

Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis.