March 19, 2001
The NCAA Men's Basketball West Regional will return to Phoenix as America West Arena and Arizona State will host the event for the second time on March 25-27, 2004.
America West Arena, built in 1992 and home of the Phoenix Suns, and Arizona State hosted the event on March18-20, 1999, when eventual NCAA champion Connecticut beat Iowa 87-68 and then topped Gonzaga 67-62 in the regional final. The Iowa-UCONN game was the final one for Dr. Tom Davis at Iowa while Gonzaga also beat Florida 73-72 on a last-second shot.
"We are delighted that the NCAA has deemed our site and our staff worthy as hosts of the 2004 NCAA regional tournament," said ASU Athletic Director Gene Smith. "We have made a commitment to Rob Evans and his basketball program, and bringing events such as this to the Phoenix metropolitan area is proof of that. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is perhaps the most exciting event in sports for the month of March and we will be honored to host a portion of it here."
The four teams will come from subregionals held March 18-20 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo., and Key Arena in Seattle, Wash. The Final Four will be held in San Antonio on April 3-5.
Arizona State has served as a university host on eight occasions as the University Activity Center (now Wells Fargo Arena) hosted first-round games in 1975, 1976 and 1978 and then hosted first- and second-round games 1980, 1992 and 1996.
The West subregionals will be held at University Arena in Albuquerque, N.M., and at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on March 14-16 next year. The 2002 West Regional will be held at the San Jose Arena on March 21-23.