The 2005–06 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 27th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools.
Connecticut and Villanova were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . Syracuse won the Big East tournament championship, although this later was vacated.
Season summary & highlights Although Boston College left to join the Atlantic Coast Conference before the season, the Big East expanded for the first time since the 2000–01 season, growing to 16 teams with the addition of Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, and South Florida. Connecticut and Villanova were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . It was Boston College's sixth and Connecticut's ninth conference championship or co-championship. Syracuse won its fifth — and second consecutive — Big East tournament championship. The Orange became the first No. 9 seed to win the tournament, as well as the first team to win four games in four days in a Big East tournament. The heroics of senior guard Gerry McNamara, voted the Big East's "Most Overrated" player in two separate polls of Big East players and assistant coaches published by Sports Illustrated and the Syracuse Post-Standard prior to the tournament, fueled Syracuse's run, and he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Syracuse defeated Cincinnati by one point, Connecticut by two points in overtime, Georgetown by one point, and finally Pittsburgh by four points, all in upsets. Due to NCAA sanctions imposed in March 2015 because of the Syracuse University athletics scandal, all of Syracuse's wins from this season, including those in the Big East Tournament, later were vacated. Despite this, Syracuse retained its 2006 Big East Tournament championship.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Cincinnati Andy Kennedy 1st Interim coach; resigned March 23, 2006 Connecticut Jim Calhoun 20th DePaul Jerry Wainwright 1st Georgetown John Thompson III 2nd Louisville Rick Pitino 5th Marquette Tom Crean 7th Notre Dame Mike Brey 6th Pittsburgh Jamie Dixon 3rd Providence Tim Welsh 8th Rutgers Gary Waters 5th Resigned March 1, 2006 St. John's Norm Roberts 2nd Seton Hall Louis Orr 5th Fired March 24, 2006 South Florida Robert McCullum 3rd Syracuse Jim Boeheim 30th Villanova Jay Wright 5th Big East Coach of the Year West Virginia John Beilein 4th
Rankings Connecticut was ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 5 all season, reaching No. 1 in several weeks and finishing at No. 2. Villanova spent the entire season in the Top 10 and all but one week in the Top 5, reaching No. 2 and finishing at No. 3. Georgetown, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia spent time in the Top 25, and all but Louisville finished the season as ranked teams. Cincinnati also made an appearance in the Top 25.
+ 2005–06 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll Pre 11/14 11/21 11/28 12/5 12/12 12/19 12/26 1/2 1/9 1/16 1/23 1/30 2/6 2/13 2/20 2/27 3/6 Final Cincinnati 25 Connecticut 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 4 3 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 2 DePaul Georgetown 21 17 15 17 23 20 23 23 Louisville 7 7 6 7 5 4 11 10 9 10 17 22 Marquette Notre Dame Pittsburgh 22 12 9 12 9 14 9 9 8 15 16 Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall South Florida Syracuse 16 16 17 20 25 21 Villanova 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 8 6 4 4 4 2 4 2 3 West Virginia 14 14 13 25 24 16 12 9 11 9 11 14 16 19 22
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Quincy Douby RU 25.4 Randy Foye Vill 20.5 Kevin Pittsnogle WVU 19.3 Allan Ray Vill 18.5 Chris Quinn ND 17.7
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Aaron Gray Pitt 10.5 Solomon Jones USF 9.8 Eric Hicks Cin 9.7 Torin Francis ND 9.4 Geoff McDermott Prov 9.0
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Chris Quinn ND 6.4 Gerry McNamara Syr 5.9 Dominic James Mar 5.4 Eugene Lawrence SJU 4.9 Carl Krauser Pitt 4.8
StealsNameSchoolSPG Kyle Lowry Vill 2.3 Jerel McNeal Mar 2.1 Devan Downey Cin 1.9 Gerry McNamara Syr 1.9 Mike Gansey WVU 1.9
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Eric Hicks Cin 3.3 Hilton Armstrong Conn 3.1 Solomon Jones USF 3.1 Darryl Watkins Syr 2.8 McHugh Mattis USF 2.1
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Randall Hanke Prov .677 Mike Gansey WVU .550 Aaron Gray Pitt .526 James White Cin .488 Sammy Mejía DeP .484
3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Steve Novak Mar .467 Conn .407 Quincy Douby RU .401 Kevin Pittsnogle WVU .401 Colin Falls ND .397
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Gerry McNamara Syr .902 Allan Ray Vill .889 Chris Quinn ND .872 Taquan Dean Lou .860 Kevin Pittsnogle WVU .857
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding Teams were seeded in the Big East tournament based on conference record and tiebreakers. The No. 5 through No. 12 seeds played in the first round, and the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds received byes into the quarterfinal round. Teams which finished below 12th place in the conference after the application as necessary of tiebreakers did not qualify for the tournament
Seeding was and By finishing below 12th place, DePaul, Providence, St. John's, and South Florida did not qualify for the tournament.
The NCAA later vacated all of Syracuse's wins during the season, including its four Big East Tournament victories, because of the use of an ineligible player.
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Eight Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Connecticut seeded No. 1 in the Washington, D.C., Region and Villanova No. 1 in the Minneapolis Region. Marquette, Seton Hall, and Syracuse lost in the first round and Pittsburgh in the second round. Georgetown and West Virginia were defeated in the regional semifinals and Connecticut and Villanova in the regional finals.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Connecticut 1 16 Albany, 8 Kentucky, 5 Washington, 11 George Mason, Villanova Minneapolis 1 16 Monmouth, 8 Arizona, 4 Boston College, 3 Florida, West Virginia Atlanta 6 11 Southern Illinois, 14 Northwestern State, 2 Texas, Georgetown Minneapolis 7 10 Northern Iowa, 2 Ohio State, 3 Florida, Pittsburgh Oakland 5 12 Kent State, 13 Bradley, Syracuse Atlanta 5 12 Texas A&M, Marquette Oakland 7 10 Alabama, Seton Hall Washington, D.C. 10 7 Wichita State,
National Invitation Tournament
Four Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, with Cincinnati seeded No. 1 in the Cincinnati Bracket and Louisville No. 1 in the Louisville Bracket. Rutgers lost in the first round, Notre Dame in the second round, Cincinnati in the quarterfinals, and Louisville in the semifinals.
School Bracket Seed Opening round Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Louisville Louisville 1 Bye 10 Delaware State, 4 Clemson, 2 Missouri State, C3 South Carolina, Cincinnati Cincinnati 1 Bye 9 Charlotte, 4 Minnesota, 3 South Carolina, Notre Dame Michigan 5 Bye 4 Vanderbilt, 1 Michigan, Rutgers Maryland 8 7 Penn State, 2 Saint Joseph's,
Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Randy Foye, Villanova, G Sr. Defensive Player of the Year: Hilton Armstrong, Connecticut, C Sr. Rookie of the Year: Dominic James, Marquette, G, Fr. Most Improved Player: Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh, C Jr. Coach of the Year: Jay Wright, Villanova (5th season)
All-Big East First Team Eric Hicks, Boston College, F Sr., , , Greensboro, N.C. Rudy Gay, Connecticut, F, So., , , Baltimore, Md. Steve Novak, Marquette, F Sr., , , Brown Deer, Wisc. Chris Quinn, Notre Dame, G Sr., , , Dublin, Ohio Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh, C Jr., , , Emmaus, Pa. Quincy Douby, Rutgers, G Jr., , , New York, N.Y. Gerry McNamara, Syracuse, G Sr., , , Scranton, Pa. Randy Foye, Villanova, G Sr., , , Newark, N.J. Allan Ray, Villanova, G Sr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Mike Gansey, West Virginia, F Sr., , , Olmsted Falls, Ohio
All-Big East Second Team: Hilton Armstrong, Connecticut, C Sr., , , Peekskill, N.Y. Marcus Williams, Connecticut, G Jr., , , Los Angeles, Calif. Jeff Green, Georgetown, F, So., , , Hyattsville, Md. Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, C, So., , , Adelphi, Md. Taquan Dean, Louisville, G Sr., , , Neptune, N.J. Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh, G Sr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Donnie McGrath, Providence, G Sr., , , Katonah, N.Y. Donald Copeland, Seton Hall, G Sr., , , Jersey City, N.J. Kelly Whitney, Seton Hall, F Sr., , , Chicago, Ill. Kyle Lowry, Villanova, G, So., , , Philadelphia, Pa.
Big East All-Rookie Team: Devan Downey, Cincinnati, G, Fr., , , Chester, S.C. Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, Fr., , , Brookline, Mass. Wilson Chandler, DePaul, F, Fr., , , Benton Harbor, Mich. Dominic James, Marquette, G, Fr., , , Richmond, Ind. Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, Fr., , , Chicago, Ill. Sam Young, Pittsburgh, F, Fr., , , Clinton, Md. Geoff McDermott, Providence, F, Fr., , , New Rochelle, N.Y. Sharaud Curry, Providence, G, Fr., , , Gainesville, Ga. Anthony Farmer, Rutgers, G, Fr., , , Millville, N.J. JR Inman, Rutgers, F, Fr., , , Pomona, N.Y. Eric Devendorf, Syracuse, G, Fr., , , Bay City, Mich.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 2006 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America First Team: Randy Foye, Villanova, Key Stats: 20.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 41.1 FG%, 35.0 3P%, 677 points
Consensus All-America Second Team: Rudy Gay, Connecticut, Key Stats: 15.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.6 bpg, 46.1 FG%, 31.8 3P%, 503 points Allan Ray, Villanova, Key Stats: 18.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 38.9 FG%, 37.2 3P%, 591 points
First Team All-America: Randy Foye, Villanova, Key Stats: 20.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 41.1 FG%, 35.0 3P%, 677 points
Second Team All-America: Rudy Gay, Connecticut, Key Stats: 15.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.6 bpg, 46.1 FG%, 31.8 3P%, 503 points
Third Team All-America: Allan Ray, Villanova, Key Stats: 18.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 38.9 FG%, 37.2 3P%, 591 points
AP Honorable Mention Quincy Douby, Rutgers Mike Gansey, West Virginia Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh Gerry McNamara, Syracuse Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia Chris Quinn, Notre Dame Marcus Williams, Connecticut
See also 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2005–06 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team 2005–06 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2005–06 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2005–06 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team 2005–06 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team 2005–06 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2005–06 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 2005–06 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team 2005–06 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team 2005–06 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team 2005–06 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team
References