2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2006 Big East Men's Basketball Championship was played from March 8 to March 11, 2006. The tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was a single-elimination tournament with four rounds. Villanova and Connecticut tied for the best regular season conference record. Based on tie-breakers, Connecticut was awarded the #1 seed.
The Syracuse Orange won the tournament for the second consecutive season and fifth time overall, and were awarded an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. As a 9-seed, the Orange are the lowest seeded team to win the Big East Tournament, and became the first school to win four games in the tournament.[2] Gerry McNamara of Syracuse was given the Dave Gavitt Trophy, awarded to the tournament's most outstanding player.

2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2005–06
Teams12
SiteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsSyracuse (5th title)
Winning coachJim Boeheim (5th title)
MVPGerry McNamara (Syracuse)
Top scorerGerry McNamara (Syracuse)
(65 points)
2005–06 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 2 Connecticut14–2 .875  30–4  .882
No. 3 Villanova14–2 .875  28–5  .848
No. 22 West Virginia11–5 .688  22–11  .667
Marquette10–6 .625  20–11  .645
No. 23 Georgetown10–6 .625  23–10  .697
No. 16 Pittsburgh10–6 .625  25–8  .758
Seton Hall9–7 .563  18–12  .600
Cincinnati8–8 .500  21–13  .618
No. 21 Syracuse†7–9 .438  23–12  .657
Rutgers7–9 .438  19–14  .576
Louisville6–10 .375  21–13  .618
Notre Dame6–10 .375  16–14  .533
DePaul*5–11 .313  12–15  .444
Providence*5–11 .313  12–15  .444
St. John's*5–11 .313  12–15  .444
South Florida*1–15 .063  7–22  .241
† 2006 Big East Tournament winner
As of April 3, 2006[1]; Rankings from AP Poll
*Did not qualify for 2006 Big East Tournament.

Syracuse's Run

This tournament is best remembered for Syracuse's improbable run to the championship as a #9 seed, with McNamara pulling off excellent 3-point shooting and some improbable buzzer beaters and last-second shots to lead them. In the first game, after Devan Downey of Cincinnati stole the inbounds pass with ten seconds left and was fouled, he made one of two to put the Bearcats up two points. However, with just a half second left, McNamara made a running one-handed three-pointer to secure the victory, 74–73.

After jumping out to a big lead against Connecticut in the second game, Uconn battled back for much of the game until they finally took their first lead of the game with 30 seconds to play. Incredibly, McNamara was the hero for Syracuse again, hitting a 30-foot three-pointer with 5 seconds left to send the game into overtime. The Orange went on to win 86–84, holding off the Huskies on a last-second effort. McNamara finished with thirteen assists, ten in the first half alone.

They faced Georgetown in the semifinals in their attempt to become the first team to win the Big East Tournament as one of the teams forced to play on the first day, requiring four wins in a row. The Hoyas went up early, holding a fifteen-point lead at the half. McNamara sat out for ten minutes because of a nagging groin injury. Surprising everyone, McNamara came out in the second half and drained five three-pointers, including one with 45 seconds left and the Orange down four. Demetris Nichols knocked away the inbounds pass for Georgetown, allowing McNamara to take possession and rush down the floor with time running out. He passed to an open Eric Devendorf who laid the winning shot in with 1.5 seconds to go. The Orange had advanced to the finals, beating Georgetown, 58–57.

After improbably winning three straight games either in overtime or by one point, they got a slightly easier win in the finals against Pittsburgh, winning 65–61. The Orange led most of the game, but midway through the second half, the Panthers had taken the lead. McNamara quickly made a three-point shot after that and Josh Wright made four clutch free throws in the final minute to secure the historic championship. Syracuse had finished just 7–9 in the Big East that year, and would have likely been left out of the NCAA tournament had they not pulled off at least three of the four wins. They would go on to lose to Texas A&M in the first round of the tournament.[3]

Bracket
  First Round
Wednesday, March 8		 Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 9		 Semifinals
Friday, March 10		 Final
Saturday, March 11
                                     
       
  1 #1 Connecticut 84  
    9 Syracuse 86*  
8 Cincinnati 73
9 Syracuse 74  
  9 Syracuse 58  
  5 #23 Georgetown 57  
       
       
  4 Marquette 59
    5 #23 Georgetown 62  
5 #23 Georgetown 67
12 Notre Dame 63  
  9 Syracuse 65
  6 #15 Pittsburgh 61
       
       
  2 #2 Villanova 87
    10 Rutgers 55  
7 Seton Hall 48
10 Rutgers 61  
  2 #2 Villanova 54
  6 #15 Pittsburgh 68  
       
       
  3 #19 West Virginia 57
    6 #15 Pittsburgh 68  
6 #15 Pittsburgh 61
11 Louisville 56  

* – Overtime

Note: By finishing below twelfth place during the regular season, DePaul, Providence, St. John's, and South Florida did not qualify for the tournament.

Games
  • 1st round: Wednesday, March 8
Noon
Team 1 2 Tot.
Syracuse (9 seed) 3935 74
Cincinnati (8 seed) 3439 73
2PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Georgetown (5 seed) 2740 67
Notre Dame (12 seed) 3033 63
7PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Seton Hall (7 seed) 1929 48
Rutgers (10 seed) 2338 61
9PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Pittsburgh (6 seed) 3922 61
Louisville (11 seed) 1640 56
  • Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 9
Noon
Team 1 2 OT Tot.
Syracuse (9 seed) 393512 86
Connecticut (1 seed) 284610 84
2 PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Georgetown (5 seed) 2240 62
Marquette (4 seed) 2237 59
7 PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Villanova (2 seed) 3453 87
Rutgers (10 seed) 3322 55
9 PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
West Virginia (3 seed) 3126 57
Pittsburgh (6 seed) 2444 68
  • Semifinals: Friday, March 10
7 PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Syracuse (9 seed) 2137 58
Georgetown (5 seed) 3621 57
9 PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Pittsburgh (6 seed) 3236 68
Villanova (2 seed) 2133 54
  • Finals: Saturday, March 11
8 PM
Team 1 2 Tot.
Syracuse (9 seed) 3431 65
Pittsburgh (6 seed) 2536 61

Awards

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Gerry McNamara, Syracuse

All-Tournament Team

References
  1. "2005-06 Big East Conference Season Summary: Standings" sports-reference.com. Retrieved 11-14-2013.
  2. "Syracuse completes improbable run to Big East title". ESPN.com. 2006-03-11. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  3. Orange Hoops 2006 season recap
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