2006 Big East men's basketball tournament

August 2023 March 2026 2006 Big East Men's 12 Madison Square Garden New York City Syracuse 5th Jim Boeheim 5th Gerry McNamara Syracuse Gerry McNamara Syracuse 65 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.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=260700221 https://web.archive.org/web/20060314095837/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=260700221 dead March 14, 2006 Syracuse completes improbable run to Big East title 2006-03-11 ESPN.com 2009-06-13 Gerry McNamara of Syracuse was given the Dave Gavitt Trophy, awarded to the tournament's most outstanding player. Due to NCAA sanctions for the use of ineligible players, all of Syracuse's wins from the 2005–06 season, including its four Big East tournament wins, later were vacated. Syracuse to vacate wins, lose 12 scholarships; Boeheim suspended http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25095512/syracuse-will-have-to-vacate-wins-lose-12-scholarships-boeheim-suspended-9-games CBSSports.com 2016-02-16 NCAA investigation costs Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim 108 wins, drops him to 6th all-time http://www.syracuse.com/orangesports/index.ssf/2015/03/ncaa_investigations_costs_syracuse_head_coach_jim_boeheim_108_wins_drops_him_to.html?hootPostID=d9ff86f3d7fb24ca2870087c6cd18641 syracuse.com 6 March 2015 2016-02-16 Syracuse basketball's 101 vacated wins will include memorable 2006 Big East title http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2016/10/syracuse_basketball_ncaa_vacated_wins.html syracuse.com 2006-10-17 2017-01-30 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 two of the four wins. They would go on to lose to Texas A&M in the first round of the tournament.Orange Hoops 2006 season recap Bracket First roundWednesday, March 8 QuarterfinalsThursday, March 9 SemifinalsFriday, March 10 FinalSaturday, March 11 8 Cincinnati 73 9 Syracuse 74 5 #23 Georgetown 67 12 Notre Dame 63 7 Seton Hall 48 10 Rutgers 61 6 #15 Pittsburgh 61 11 Louisville 56 1 #1 Connecticut 84 9 Syracuse 86* 4 Marquette 59 5 #23 Georgetown 62 2 #2 Villanova 87 10 Rutgers 55 3 #19 West Virginia 57 6 #15 Pittsburgh 68 9 Syracuse 58 5 #23 Georgetown 57 2 #2 Villanova 54 6 #15 Pittsburgh 68 9 Syracuse 65 6 #15 Pittsburgh 61 * – Overtime Notes: By finishing below twelfth place during the regular season, DePaul, Providence, St. John's, and South Florida did not qualify for the tournament. The NCAA later vacated all of Syracuse's victories during the 2005–06 season, including its four tournament wins, because of the use of an ineligible player. Games 1st round: Wednesday, March 8 Noon Team12Tot.Syracuse (9 seed)393574Cincinnati (8 seed)343973 2PM Team12Tot.Georgetown (5 seed)274067Notre Dame (12 seed)303363 7PM Team12Tot.Seton Hall (7 seed)192948Rutgers (10 seed)233861 9PM Team12Tot.Pittsburgh (6 seed)392261Louisville (11 seed)164056 Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 9 Noon Team12OTTot.Syracuse (9 seed)39351286Connecticut (1 seed)28461084 2 PM Team12Tot.Georgetown (5 seed)224062Marquette (4 seed)223759 7 PM Team12Tot.Villanova (2 seed)345387Rutgers (10 seed)332255 9 PM Team12Tot.West Virginia (3 seed)312657Pittsburgh (6 seed)244468 Semifinals: Friday, March 10 7 PM Team12Tot.Syracuse (9 seed)213758Georgetown (5 seed)362157 9 PM Team12Tot.Pittsburgh (6 seed)323668Villanova (2 seed)213354 Finals: Saturday, March 11 8 PM Team12Tot.Syracuse (9 seed)343165Pittsburgh (6 seed)253661 Awards Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Gerry McNamara, Syracuse All-Tournament Team Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh Demetris Nichols, Syracuse Darryl Watkins, Syracuse Randy Foye, Villanova References Tournament Category:Big East men's basketball tournament Category:College basketball tournaments in New York City Category:Sports competitions in Manhattan Big East men's basketball tournament Big East men's basketball tournament Category:2000s in Manhattan