2006 NCAA Basketball Championship Recap

The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a thrilling single-elimination tournament involving 65 teams, all vying for the national championship of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It served as the culmination of the 2005-06 basketball season. The 68th annual edition of the tournament commenced on March 14, 2006, and reached its climax with the championship game on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tournament Highlights

Final Four Surprises

The 2006 Final Four was notable for the absence of top seeds, a situation unseen since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 (and the first time since 1980). The highest remaining seed was #2 UCLA, the Oakland region winner, who were making their first Final Four appearance since their 1995 national championship victory. George Mason, an 11-seed from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), also made a remarkable run, winning the Washington, D.C. region and becoming only the second 11-seed in history to advance to the Final Four.

Championship Game

In the championship game, Florida secured its first-ever national basketball championship, defeating UCLA with a score of 73-57.

Upset Victories

George Mason's journey to the Final Four was emblematic of the numerous upsets that occurred throughout the tournament. For the second consecutive year, a No. 14 seed triumphed over a No. 3 seed, as Northwestern State defeated Iowa. Adding to the excitement, No. 13 seed Bradley defeated No. 4 seed Kansas and progressed to the Sweet Sixteen, also defeating No. 5-seeded Pittsburgh in the second round. Furthermore, two No. 12 seeds, Montana and Texas A&M, emerged victorious in their First round matchups. For the second straight year, Milwaukee won as a double-digit seed, this time as the No.

Tournament Structure and Seeding

A total of 65 teams were selected to participate in the tournament. Thirty-one of these teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. Penn secured an automatic bid by winning the regular-season title of the Ivy League, which did not conduct a conference tournament. The initial game on March 14, officially named the opening-round game but popularly called the "play-in game," featured Monmouth, the winner of the Northeast Conference tournament, against Hampton, who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, for a chance to play top seed Villanova in the first round of the Tournament.

Read also: Relive the 2006 UCLA-USC Thriller

All teams were seeded from 1 to 16 within their regions. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 65. Since 2004, the ranking of the four top seeds against each other determined the pairings in the Final Four. The top overall seed was to play the fourth overall seed in the national semifinals, should both teams advance that far. In 2006, these rankings were as follows: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Villanova, and No.

Regional Highlights

Games were held across various regions, offering unique matchups and memorable moments:

Washington, D.C. Regional

Games were held at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Minneapolis Regional

The Minneapolis Regional was held at the Hubert H.

Broadcast Team

The broadcasting teams provided expert commentary and analysis throughout the tournament:

Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Dan Bonner covered the First & Second Round at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Minneapolis Regional at the Hubert H.
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Mike Gminski covered the First & Second Round at Auburn Hills, Michigan, and the Washington, D.C. Regional.

Team Overviews

Florida Gators

Florida entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Minneapolis Regional. They were led by coach Billy Donovan and a core group of players including Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green, Corey Brewer, and Lee Humphrey. The 2006 NCAA tournament saw Florida win the first of back-to-back national championships."Humphrey nets 20, sparks Florida past South Alabama". ESPN.com. March 16, 2006."Brewer leads balanced attack as Florida routs UW-Milwaukee". ESPN.com. March 18, 2006."Brewer's late heroics have Gators feeling Elite". ESPN.com. March 24, 2006."Noah's monster night sends Florida to Final Four". ESPN.com. March 26, 2006."Florida's outside shooting vaults Gators into national title game". ESPN.com. April 1, 2006.

UCLA Bruins

UCLA entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Oakland Regional."UCLA routs Belmont in battle of the Bruins". ESPN.com. March 16, 2006."Farmar's five 3s have UCLA heading to Oakland". ESPN.com. March 18, 2006."UCLA scores final 11 points in stunning comeback over Gonzaga". ESPN.com. March 23, 2006."Afflalo, UCLA clamp down on Memphis, stamp Final Four ticket". ESPN.com. March 25, 2006."UCLA shuts down Baby, LSU in advancing to title game". ESPN.com. April 1, 2006.

Game Results

The tournament featured a series of exciting games and surprising outcomes. Here's a selection of results from various rounds:

First Round

No. 16 Monmouth 71, No.
No. 1 UConn 72, No.
No. 8 Kentucky 69, No.
No. 5 Washington 75, No.
No. 4 Illinois 78, No.
No. 11 George Mason 75, No.
No. 3 North Carolina 69, No.
No. 7 Wichita State 86, No.
No. 2 Tennessee 63, No.
No. 1 Villanova 58, No.
No. 8 Arizona 94, No.
No. 12 Montana 87, No.
No. 4 Boston College 88, No.
No. 11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82, No.
No. 3 Florida 76, No.
No. 7 Georgetown 54, No.
No. 2 Ohio State 70, No.
No. 1 Duke 70, No.
No. 8 George Washington 88, No.
No. 12 Texas A&M 66, No.
No. 4 LSU 80, No.
No. 6 West Virginia 64, No.
No. 14 Northwestern State 64, No.
No. 10 NC State 58, No.
No. 2 Texas 60, No.
No. 1 Memphis 94, No.
No. 9 Bucknell 59, No.
No. 5 Pittsburgh 79, No.
No. 13 Bradley 77, No.
No. 6 Indiana 87, No.
No. 3 Gonzaga 79, No.
No. 10 Alabama 90, No.
No. 2 UCLA 78, No.

Second Round

No. 1 UConn 87, No.
No. 5 Washington 67, No.
No. 11 George Mason 65, No.
No. 7 Wichita State 80, No.
No. 1 Villanova 82, No.
No. 4 Boston College 69, No.
No. 3 Florida 82, No.
No. 7 Georgetown 70, No.
No. 1 Duke 74, No.
No. 4 LSU 58, No.
No. 6 West Virginia 67, No.
No. 2 Texas 75, No.
No. 1 Memphis 72, No.
No. 13 Bradley 72, No.
No. 3 Gonzaga 90, No.
No. 2 UCLA 62, No.

Sweet Sixteen

No. 1 UConn 98, No.
No. 11 George Mason 63, No.
No. 1 Villanova 60, No.
No. 3 Florida 57, No.
No. 4 LSU 62, No.
No. 2 Texas 74, No.
No. 1 Memphis 80, No.

Elite Eight

No. 11 George Mason 86, No.
No. 3 Florida 75, No.
No. 4 LSU 70, No.
No. 2 UCLA 50, No.

Final Four

No. 11 George Mason 59, No.
No. 2 UCLA 73, No.

Championship

No. 3 Florida 73, No.

Additional Notes and Anecdotes

The futures of two of this year's Final Four teams would be polar opposites of the other two in 2007. This was the second of four Final Fours to feature no No.

Read also: NCAA Football 2006 Season Review

tags: #2006 #ncaa #basketball #championship #recap