Electronic Arts' college basketball series returns for another year on the PlayStation 2 and makes its debut on the Xbox with NCAA March Madness 2004.

The number of included teams has been doubled to over 320 from the predecessor and several authentic arenas have been added. All the previous year's game modes return, including single games, tournaments, season and dynasty. Newly added are the mascot game, in which the teams consist of players in their schools' mascot outfits. A rivalry mode allows a quick set-up of a game pitching classic rival teams against each other. The dynasty mode has added Campus Challenges: by completing these challenges in dynasty games, players earn points that can be used to improve players' stats. Exclusive to the PS2 version is the introduction of online multiplayer, featuring single games and tournaments.

Some of the gameplay changes on the court were previously seen in NBA Live 2004: these include the separation of the buttons for dunks and shots and the introduction of the pro hop button, which allows for context-sensitive special offensive moves.