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2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded with the University of Florida winning its first-ever national title over UCLA 73-57 on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. Florida's Joakim Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. The 2006 tournament was notable for George Mason University, an 11th-seed, defeating four consecutive higher seeds, including 1st-seeded Connecticut in a thrilling overtime regional final, to reach the Final Four, only the second time in tournament history that an 11th seed achieved this feat.

Tournament procedure

A total of 65 teams were selected to participate in the tournament. 31 of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. Pennsylvania earned an automatic bid by winning the regular-season title of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a conference tournament. The remaining 34 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

The initial game on March 14, popularly called the "play-in game," had Monmouth, winner of the Northeast Conference tournament, facing Hampton, who won the automatic bid from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship, for a chance to play top seed Villanova in the first round of the tournament. Monmouth defeated Hampton, 71-49, to earn that right.

All 64 teams were seeded from 1 to 16 within their regionals; the winner of the play-in game automatically received a 16 seed. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65. In a practice since 2004, the ranking of the four top seeds against each other would determine the pairings in the Final Four. The top overall seed would be seeded to play the fourth overall seed in the national semifinals, should both teams advance that far. In 2006, these rankings were as follows: #1 Duke, #2 Connecticut, #3 Villanova, and #4 Memphis.

The four regionals were officially named after the four host cities, a practice which also began in 2004. However, in 2007, the NCAA returned to naming regionals by their geographic location. The 2006 regionals were:

Atlanta Regional, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)
Oakland Regional, Oakland Arena, Oakland, California (Host: University of San Francisco)

Minneapolis Regional, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
Washington, D.C. Regional, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University)

The first and second round games were played at the following sites:

Cox Arena, San Diego, California (Host: San Diego State University)
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference)
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida (Host: Jacksonville University)
Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)
Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan (Host: Oakland University)
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Host: Atlantic 10 Conference)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 1 and 3 in Indianapolis, hosted by Butler University and the Horizon League.

Qualifying teams

Atlanta
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Duke ACC 30-3 Tournament Champion
#2 Texas Big 12 27-6 At-Large Bid
#3 Iowa Big Ten 25-8 Tournament Champion
#4 LSU SEC 23-8 At-Large Bid
#5 Syracuse Big East 23-11 Tournament Champion
#6 West Virginia Big East 20-10 At-Large Bid
#7 California Pac-10 20-10 At-Large Bid
#8 George Washington Atlantic 10 26-2 At-Large Bid
#9 UNC-Wilmington CAA 25-7 Tournament Champion
#10 North Carolina State ACC 21-9 At-Large Bid
#11 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 22-10 Tournament Champion
#12 Texas A&M Big 12 21-8 At-Large Bid
#13 Iona MAAC 23-7 Tournament Champion
#14 Northwestern State Southland 25-7 Tournament Champion
#15 Pennsylvania Ivy 20-8 Regular Season Champion
#16 Southern SWAC 19-12 Tournament Champion

Oakland
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Memphis C-USA 30-3 Tournament Champion
#2 UCLA Pac-10 27-6 Tournament Champion
#3 Gonzaga WCC 27-3 Tournament Champion
#4 Kansas Big 12 25-7 Tournament Champion
#5 Pittsburgh Big East 24-7 At-Large Bid
#6 Indiana Big Ten 18-11 At-Large Bid
#7 Marquette Big East 20-10 At-Large Bid
#8 Arkansas SEC 22-9 At-Large Bid
#9 Bucknell Patriot 26-4 Tournament Champion
#10 Alabama SEC 17-12 At-Large Bid
#11 San Diego State Mountain West 24-8 Tournament Champion
#12 Kent State Mid-American 25-8 Tournament Champion
#13 Bradley Missouri Valley 20-10 At-Large Bid
#14 Xavier Atlantic 10 21-10 Tournament Champion
#15 Belmont Atlantic Sun 20-10 Tournament Champion
#16 Oral Roberts Mid-Continent 21-11 Tournament Champion

Washington, D.C.
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Connecticut Big East 27-3 At-Large Bid
#2 Tennessee SEC 21-7 At-Large Bid
#3 North Carolina ACC 23-8 At-Large Bid
#4 Illinois Big Ten 25-6 At-Large Bid
#5 Washington Pac-10 24-6 At-Large Bid
#6 Michigan State Big Ten 22-11 At-Large Bid
#7 Wichita State Missouri Valley 24-8 At-Large Bid
#8 Kentucky SEC 21-12 At-Large Bid
#9 UAB C-USA 24-6 At-Large Bid
#10 Seton Hall Big East 18-11 At-Large Bid
#11 George Mason CAA 25-7 At-Large Bid
#12 Utah State WAC 23-8 At-Large Bid
#13 Air Force Mountain West 24-6 At-Large Bid
#14 Murray State Ohio Valley 24-6 Tournament Champion
#15 Winthrop Big South 23-7 Tournament Champion
#16 Albany America East 21-10 Tournament Champion

Minneapolis
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type
#1 Villanova Big East 25-4 At-Large Bid
#2 Ohio State Big Ten 25-5 At-Large Bid
#3 Florida SEC 27-6 Tournament Champion
#4 Boston College ACC 26-7 At-Large Bid
#5 Nevada WAC 27-5 Tournament Champion
#6 Oklahoma Big 12 20-8 At-Large Bid
#7 Georgetown Big East 21-9 At-Large Bid
#8 Arizona Pac-10 19-12 At-Large Bid
#9 Wisconsin Big Ten 19-11 At-Large Bid
#10 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 23-9 At-Large Bid
#11 UW-Milwaukee Horizon 21-8 Tournament Champion
#12 Montana Big Sky 23-6 Tournament Champion
#13 Pacific Big West 24-7 Tournament Champion
#14 South Alabama Sun Belt 24-6 Tournament Champion
#15 Davidson Southern 18-10 Tournament Champion
Play-in Winner Monmouth Northeast 18-14 Tournament Champion
Play-in Loser Hampton MEAC 16-15 Tournament Champion

Bids by conference

Bids by Conference
Bids Conference(s)
8 Big East
6 SEC, Big Ten
4 ACC, Big 12, Pac-10, Missouri Valley
2 Atlantic 10, CAA, C-USA, Mountain West, WAC
1 19 others

Non-qualifying teams

Several teams missed the cut despite having resumes that were arguably better than the weakest at-large selections. According to ESPN.com, the "biggest snubs", in order of perceived severity, were Missouri State, Hofstra, Creighton, Cincinnati, Florida State, Michigan, and Maryland. However, all were invited to the 2006 National Invitation Tournament, which was won by South Carolina.

Scores and schedule

Opening round "Play-In" Game

First round

The games on March 16 2006 at the Cox Arena in San Diego, California were delayed for more than 70 minutes due to a bomb scare.

Atlanta Regional

Oakland Regional

  • March 16, Cox Arena, San Diego, California

    • (10) Alabama 90, (7) Marquette 85
    • :Jean Felix scored 31 points off of the bench and Ronald Steele added 23 to lead the Crimson Tide to a comeback win. Steve Novak had an open look for a three to tie the game late at 88, but missed badly. Dominic James led all Golden Eagles scorers with 20.
    • (2) UCLA 78, (15) Belmont 44
    • :Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored 19 points and contributed eight rebounds to guide the Bruins from Westwood to an easy victory over the Bruins from Nashville.
  • March 16, Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

    • (3) Gonzaga 79, (14) Xavier 75
    • :The Bulldogs fell behind by nine early in the second half, but kept the game close until Adam Morrison took over late, giving them the lead for good with a three-pointer with 1:58 left. He finished with 35 points, and J. P. Batista added 18 points and eight rebounds.
    • (6) Indiana 87, (11) San Diego St. 83
    • :Despite 24 points from Aztec star Mohamed Abukar, Robert Vaden's go-ahead three-pointer with 3.3 seconds left extended Mike Davis' career for one more game.
  • March 17, American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

    • (9) Bucknell 59, (8) Arkansas 55
    • :Charles Lee had 24 points and the Bison combined for eleven threes as they won their first round NCAA Tournament game for the second straight year.
    • (1) Memphis 94, (16) Oral Roberts 78
    • : After the Golden Eagles went up 33-29 with 5:39 left before halftime, the ORU faithful were expecting a miracle as no #16 seed had ever beaten a #1 seed, but Memphis and Andre Allen pulled away.
  • March 17, Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan

    • (5) Pittsburgh 79, (12) Kent State 64
    • :Aaron Gray had 17 and Ronald Ramon added 16 of his own as both were perfect (6-for-6) with their field goals in the easy win.
    • (13) Bradley 77, (4) Kansas 73
    • :The Braves pulled off the upset, becoming the only #13 seed of the year to stay alive, as Kansas went home in the first round for the second straight year as a top 4 seed (it lost to 14th-seeded Bucknell in 2005). Marcellus Sommerville had 21 points for Bradley.

Minneapolis Regional

  • March 16, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida

    • (11) UW-Milwaukee 82, (6) Oklahoma 74
    • :Boo Davis had 26 points and six rebounds for Milwaukee as the Panthers led by as many as fourteen in the second half.
    • (3) Florida 76, (14) South Alabama 50
    • :Playing close to home, Florida had no trouble disposing of the Sun Belt Conference's automatic qualifier; the Gators were led by Lee Humphrey's 20 points and the all-around scoreline of Joakim Noah with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five blocks, and three steals.
  • March 16, Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

    • (4) Boston College 88, (13) Pacific 76 (2 OT)
    • :In a double-overtime thriller, Pacific nearly pulled off the day's biggest upset against a team that many had projected to reach the Final Four. Pacific tied the game in regulation with nine seconds remaining on a three-pointer by Christian Maråker. In this first overtime, Pacific had a six-point lead, but poor execution on both ends allowed BC back in the game and Craig Smith made the game-tying free throws after a controversial foul. In the second overtime, Boston College simply outlasted an exhausted Tigers squad.
    • (12) Montana 87, (5) Nevada 79
    • :Nevada's star Nick Fazekas scored 24 but missed 13 of his 23 shots from the field, while a much smaller Montana squad was led to its first tournament win since 1975 by great shooting and former Montana star and then-coach Larry Krystkowiak.
  • March 17, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio

    • (2) Ohio State 70, (15) Davidson 62
    • :Although the Wildcats led by four at the half, the Buckeyes, behind 19 points from big man Terence Dials, put them away after Davidson got it to within three points with a little over seven minutes to play.
    • (7) Georgetown 54, (10) Northern Iowa 49
    • :The Panthers opened the second half in a 2-of-18 shooting slump against the Big East's stingiest defense and never picked it up enough to retake the lead against the Hoyas, against whom they had led throughout the first half.
  • March 17, Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    • (8) Arizona 94, (9) Wisconsin 75
    • :Bo Ryan and the Badgers were never really in the game as Hassan Adams, returning from a two-game suspension, scored 21, going 10-for-14 from the field. "We played offensively as well as we played all year," said Lute Olson, coach of the Wildcats.
    • (1) Villanova 58, (16) Monmouth 45
    • :The Hawks cut Villanova's lead to within seven points with 6:22 remaining in the second half after a Tyler Azzarelli three-pointer, but Villanova star senior guards Randy Foye and Allan Ray combined for 36 points to lead the Wildcats to the second round, despite a poor shooting performance.

Washington, D.C. Regional

  • March 16, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina

    • (7) Wichita State 86, (10) Seton Hall 66
    • :Wichita State won easily, opening up a 16-point lead at halftime and never letting Louis Orr's Pirates get within single digits during the second half. Orr was fired shortly thereafter.
    • (2) Tennessee 63, (15) Winthrop 61
    • :In a game featuring several lead changes in the final minutes, Tennessee barely escaped, winning with Chris Lofton's fallaway 19-foot jumper from the corner with 0.4 seconds remaining.
  • March 16, Cox Arena, San Diego, California

    • (4) Illinois 78, (13) Air Force 69
    • :The most questioned at-large bid in the field fell short of pulling the upset against last year's national runner-up, as freshman Jamar Smith leads the Illini with 20 points.
    • (5) Washington 75, (12) Utah State 61
    • :Pac-10 POY Brandon Roy had 28 points and Jamaal Williams added 15 for the Huskies in the win.
  • March 17, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio

    • (11) George Mason 75, (6) Michigan State 65
    • :The Colonial Athletic Association's first at-large team in over 20 years wins its first-round game without one of its leading scorers (Tony Skinn, missing due to a one-game suspension). The Patriots upset the Spartans, a Final Four team just a year ago.
    • (3) North Carolina 69, (14) Murray State 65
    • :The defending champion Tar Heels, behind 24 points from freshman star Tyler Hansbrough, sneaked by the Racers, who were hoping to pull off the upset behind 18 points from Trey Pearson, who missed a critical three-pointer with 20 seconds left.
  • March 17, Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    • (1) Connecticut 72, (16) Albany 59
    • : UConn went on a 34-9 run, including several three-pointers by Marcus Williams, to erase a twelve-point lead by the Great Danes with just over eleven minutes to play in the second half.
    • (8) Kentucky 69, (9) UAB 64
    • : The Wildcats avenged their 2004 second-round exit at the hands of the Blazers, with Bobby Perry putting up a career-high 25 points while the Blazers' starting lineup mustered only 27 points.

Second round

Atlanta Regional

Oakland Regional

  • March 18, Cox Arena, San Diego, California

    • (2) UCLA 62, (10) Alabama 59
    • :Undermanned, with six players combining to play all but five minutes of the game, the tenth-seeded Crimson Tide put forth a valiant effort before falling to the UCLA Bruins, 62-59. Alabama was kept in the game by poor UCLA free-throw shooting, as the Bruins went 5-for-13 from the line in the game. Sophomore guard Jordan Farmar poured in 18 points for UCLA. Alabama point guard Ronald Steele played a stellar game, scoring 21. Both teams shot around 50% in this well-played affair.
  • March 18, Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

    • (3) Gonzaga 90, (6) Indiana 80
    • :The Bulldogs survived a subpar game, in which an effective Hoosiers defense held Adam Morrison to only 14 points. J. P. Batista had 20, and four other Zags scored in double figures, with Sean Mallon racking up a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds). This result seemingly ended a cycle of recent NCAA frustration for Gonzaga, which had exited on the first weekend of each of the last four tournaments.
  • March 19, Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan

    • (13) Bradley 72, (5) Pittsburgh 66
    • :Bradley advanced to its first Sweet Sixteen in 51 years with the win, its second consecutive upset.
  • March 19, American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

    • (1) Memphis 72, (9) Bucknell 56
    • :The star of Bucknell's win over Arkansas in the first round, Charles Lee, went out early with foul trouble and Memphis took the game over, hitting almost 50% of its shots, with four players scoring in double figures.

Minneapolis Regional

Washington, D.C. Regional

Regional Semifinals

Atlanta Regional

  • March 23, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

    • (4) LSU 62, (1) Duke 54
    • :The Blue Devils picked the wrong night and the wrong team to score their lowest total of the season, as the Bayou Bengals stunned the overall number #1 seed to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. J.J. Redick was held to 11 points as he went 3-for-18 from the field in his final game in Royal Blue and White; his team shot a horrendous 27.7% from the field (18-for-65). Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Darrel Mitchell led the Tigers with fourteen points each.
    • (2) Texas 74, (6) West Virginia 71
    • :Mike Gansey's three-pointer pulled West Virginia to within two with fourteen seconds remaining. After LaMarcus Aldridge hit one of two free throws to bolster the Longhorns' lead to 71-68, the Mountaineers rushed down the court and set up a game-tying three by Kevin Pittsnogle, sending the WVU fans into raptures. But rather than calling a timeout and giving the Mountaineers' defense a chance to reset, A.J. Abrams sped down the court and found Kenton Paulino, who nailed a game-winning three-point basket at the buzzer to stun the Mountaineers and send the Longhorns into the regional final.

Oakland Regional

  • March 23, Oakland Arena, Oakland, California

    • (1) Memphis 80, (13) Bradley 64
    • :The Tigers' Rodney Carney ended the Braves' Cinderella run as he scored 23 points in the win, while Darius Washington chipped in with 18 points of his own. Bradley was plagued by fourteen first-half turnovers, leading to 18 Memphis points in that stanza. Marcellus Sommerville finished with 18 points in his last game in the Braves' colors.
    • (2) UCLA 73, (3) Gonzaga 71
    • :UCLA went on an 11-0 run in the final minutes to come back and win a game which Gonzaga had led up until the very end. The Bulldogs dominated the first half, leading by as many as 17 points and taking a thirteen-point lead into the locker room at halftime. However, UCLA began chipping away at the lead in the second half. With 3:26 remaining, a pair of Adam Morrison free throws gave Gonzaga a 71-62 lead. From that point on, the Bruin defense held Gonzaga scoreless, and the offense produced a series of crucial scores. One controversial call during this stretch denied Darren Collison continuation on a lay-in attempt but still gave him a 1-and-1, of which he missed the front end. Two free throws from middling foul shooter Ryan Hollins cut the Gonzaga lead to one, 71-70, with 19.7 seconds left. The Bulldogs inbounded to Adam Morrison, who, double-teamed, passed it to forward J. P. Batista. Batista, double-teamed as well, was stripped by one of the defenders, wing Cedric Bozeman. The other, point guard Jordan Farmar, picked up the loose ball, dribbled to safety, and lobbed inside to open forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, whose layup gave UCLA its first lead at 72-71. With less than 10 seconds left, Gonzaga inbounded to point guard Derek Raivio, who dribbled up court but could not elude Mbah a Moute who forced a held ball that gave possession back to UCLA. On the ensuing inbounds, Gonzaga fouled 80% free throw shooter Arron Afflalo, who made the second of two to give UCLA a 73-71 lead. With a few seconds left, Gonzaga hurled a fullcourt pass to Batista, whose turnaround jumper at the buzzer bounced harmlessly off the backboard. In the final game of his college career, Morrison led all scorers with 24 points but fell onto the court in tears and was consoled by Afflalo.

Minneapolis Regional

  • March 24, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    • (1) Villanova 60, (4) Boston College 59 (OT)
    • :The Wildcats pulled off a slow but effective comeback and ended Craig Smith's career at Boston College. Randy Foye hit 10-of-25 shots from the field for a team-leading 29 points; Allan Ray was the next highest 'Cats scorer with nine. With three seconds to go, Will Sheridan was left alone under the basket thanks to a well-executed Villanova inbounds play. Sheridan's shot was blocked on the way down by Sean Williams, resulting in a goaltending call and a counted basket, putting Villanova up for good. The Eagles' Smith and Jared Dudley each had fourteen points in the loss.
    • (3) Florida 57, (7) Georgetown 53
    • :In a tight game all the way, four Hoyas scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough as Darrel Owens missed a wide-open three-pointer with seven seconds to go and Florida leading, 55-53. The Gators advanced behind 15 points from Joakim Noah and a difficult shot late in the game by Corey Brewer to give them a lead that they never lost. Florida also broke a school record for victories in a season, with 30. That record had been previously held by their two prior final four teams, in 1993-94, and 1999-2000, at 29.

Washington, D.C. Regional

  • March 24, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

    • (11) George Mason 63, (7) Wichita State 55
    • :In a battle of Cinderellas, and a rematch of a February showdown in the BracketBusters event won by George Mason on the road, the Patriots had control of the Shockers throughout most of the game to beat them for the second time this season and advance to the Elite Eight.
    • (1) Connecticut 98, (5) Washington 92 (OT)
    • :A game which some, including Washington athletic director Todd Turner, considered to be poorly officiated saw Brandon Roy missing much of the second half. Connecticut's Rashad Anderson hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. In the extra period, a controversial no-call on what looked like an obvious goal-tend of a Roy lay-in by UConn's Hilton Armstrong prevented Washington from tying the game. However, Washington's Ryan Appleby later connected from long range to cut UConn's lead to 94-92. Appleby then stole the ensuing UConn inbounds in the key with 13 seconds remaining, but instead of going to the hoop for the tie, he dribbled to safety on the perimeter and passed it to Joel Smith. Smith's cross-court pass, intended for Brandon Roy, was intercepted by UConn point guard Marcus Williams, who was fouled by Roy, making Roy the fifth Washington player to foul out. Williams hit the two free throws to clinch a spot in the Elite Eight for UConn.

Regional Finals

Atlanta Regional

  • March 25, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

    • (4) LSU 70, (2) Texas 60 (OT)
    • :Though the game was close throughout, Texas needed a three-pointer from Daniel Gibson to tie the game and send it to overtime. Gibson's shot, however, was the closest Texas came to defeating LSU, as the Tigers took over in overtime. LSU's Glen "Big Baby" Davis had 26 points and a game-clinching three-pointer while Tyrus Thomas chipped in 21 points and thirteen rebounds. Gibson had 15 but teammate LaMarcus Aldridge was a non-factor, scoring only four points as LSU advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1986.

Oakland Regional

  • March 25, Oakland Arena, Oakland, California

    • (2) UCLA 50, (1) Memphis 45
    • :Though neither team played as well as it had in the previous three games, UCLA made fewer mistakes than Memphis and pulled out the victory in this low-scoring match. Both teams shot poorly; Memphis shot 31.5% from the floor with UCLA shooting only slightly better at 35.0% while going 20-for-39 from the free-throw line. The normally reliable three-point shooting touch of the Tigers (the team averaged 8 three-pointers a game) was absent, as they were 0-for-14 from long range until the last 17 seconds of the game. The Bruins advanced to the Final Four for the first time since winning in Seattle in 1995.

Minneapolis Regional

  • March 26, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    • (3) Florida 75, (1) Villanova 62
    • :Though this game was close for the first several minutes, Florida took the lead with about 13:30 left in the first half and never relinquished it. Villanova kept the game fairly close, but Florida's big men inside were too much for the smaller Wildcats, as Al Horford scored 12 and grabbed fourteen rebounds and Joakim Noah scored 21 and grabbed 15 rebounds. Randy Foye scored 25 for Villanova, but Allan Ray scored only eleven on 5-of-19 shooting.

Washington, D.C. Regional

  • March 26, Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

    • (11) George Mason 86, (1) Connecticut 84 (OT)
    • :In a game where UConn led by as many as 12 points, George Mason was able — behind the crowd support of a quasi-home court, as the school is roughly 20 miles from the Verizon Center — to go ahead in the game's final ten minutes. UConn fought back from a five-point deficit, however, and was able to force overtime on a last-second layup by Denham Brown. George Mason kept its hot shooting in overtime, but missed some critical free throws which again opened the door for UConn in the final seconds. It was Brown again who would get the final shot, but his three-point attempt clanked off the front of the rim and George Mason headed to the Final Four. George Mason is the second #11 seed to reach the Final Four in tournament history, the other being the LSU Tigers in the 1986 tournament. Even more significantly, the Patriots were the first mid-major team to reach the Final Four since the Rick Majerus- led Utah Utes reached the final weekend in 1998. No mid-major has won the NCAA Tournament since UNLV in 1990

Final Four

The 2006 Final Four was just the second tournament not containing a #1 seed since seedings began in 1979, and the first since the introduction of the 64-team field in the 1985 Tournament. The other occasion was in the 1980 Final Four. This was also the last Final Four to be held at the RCA Dome, with the 2010 Final Four slated to be across the street at the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

National Semifinals

  • April 1, RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

    • (Min 3) Florida 73, (Wsh 11) George Mason 58
    • :In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, George Mason's cinderella run came to an end against the Florida Gators in the first Final Four matchup of 2006. The Patriots fought back from a ten-point deficit early to get within one point with 7:17 to go in the first half, and were down by five at halftime. Florida controlled the second half, however, leading by ten or more for most of the half and going on to win by a score of 73-58. George Mason fell victim, in large part, to Florida's long-range shooting, as the Gators hit 12-of-25 three-point baskets. Though the Patriots had been shooting extremely well in previous rounds, they were not able to counter Florida's three-point barrage with their own long-range shooting, going 2-of-11 as a team from three. Both teams had four players in double figures in the scoring column. The Gators outrebounded the Patriots, 36-25.
    • (Oak 2) UCLA 59, (Atl 4) LSU 45
    • :UCLA became the second entrant to the 2006 championship game after a dominating performance against LSU. The Bruins led by fifteen at halftime and the Tigers never threatened in second half as the Bruins went on to win by a score of 59-45. UCLA's defense clamped down on LSU's inside offensive game, which had played a big role in LSU's trip to the Final Four. The Tigers were unable to respond with long and medium-range shooting, going 0-for-8 from three and 32% from the floor. On the other hand, the Bruins shot 41% from the floor and had nine more rebounds than LSU. To contain LSU's inside game, UCLA relied on a constant rotation of defenders off its bench, insuring that LSU's Glen Davis always faced rested defenders. This marked the Bruins' thirteenth appearance in the National Championship game.

National Championship Game

  • April 3, RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

    • (Min 3) Florida 73, (Oak 2) UCLA 57
    • :In a first half dominated by Florida, UCLA went down by as many as thirteen points with about seven minutes left to go in the half. The Gators led at halftime by a score of 36-25. Florida opened up a sizeable lead in the second half, going up by 20 points with 13:20 left. UCLA closed the gap, getting within twelve with 5:52 left in the game, but the Gators held off the Bruins and won the championship, 73-57. The Bruins' otherwise reliable defense could not handle the Gators' inside men and perimeter shooting, as Florida shot 45% from the floor for the game and scored 45 points, the total amount scored by both of UCLA's previous two opponents, by the 16:06 mark in the second half. UCLA's Arron Afflalo, one of the team's leading scorers, scored his first point with about eleven minutes to go in the game, while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored his first with about 10 minutes to go. Afflalo finished with ten points and Mbah a Moute with six points and ten rebounds, while Bruin Jordan Farmar led all scorers scoring 18 points and had four assists while Ryan Hollins scored ten and had ten rebounds. Florida's Joakim Noah scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, had eight rebounds, and six blocks, a new record for the championship game, and was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Lee Humphrey scored 15 points, shooting 4-of-8 on threes, Corey Brewer scored eleven and had four assists, and Al Horford had 14 points and eight boards. Florida's win gave it its first NCAA men's basketball championship, and the first by a charter member of the Southeastern Conference other than Kentucky (Arkansas won the 1994 National Championship after defecting from the now-defunct Southwest Conference).

Brackets

Atlanta Regional

(*)-Denotes an Overtime Game

Oakland Regional

Minneapolis Regional

Washington, D.C. Regional

Final Four

A-Atlanta, O-Oakland, W-Washington, D.C., M-Minneapolis.

Announcers

Notes

  • The futures of two of this year's Final Four teams would be polar opposites of the other two in 2007. Both George Mason and LSU would fail to receive a bid to either the NCAA tournament or the NIT, while both Florida and UCLA would return to the Final Four (the two teams would have a rematch, this time in the semifinals, with the same results, a Florida victory).

See also

References

External links

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Last updated on Thursday August 28, 2008 at 13:35:01 PDT (GMT -0700)
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