 | |||||
| Season | 2005–06 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 65 | ||||
| Finals site | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||
| Champions | Florida Gators (1st title, 2nd title game, 3rd Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | UCLA Bruins (13th title game, 16th Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Billy Donovan (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Joakim Noah (Florida) | ||||
| Attendance | 70,254 | ||||
| Top scorers | Glen Davis (LSU) Joakim Noah (Florida) (97 points) | ||||
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The 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season. It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Final Four featured no top seeds for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 (the first time since 1980), with the highest remaining seed being Oakland region winner, #2 UCLA, making their first Final Four appearance since their 1995 national championship. For only the second time in history, an 11-seed advanced to the Final Four as George Mason of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) won the Washington, D.C. region. Those two teams were joined by Atlanta region winner LSU (who was the first team to advance to the Final Four as an 11-seed in 1986), and Minneapolis region winner Florida, who had not made the Final Four since their runner-up finish in 2000 also in Indianapolis.
Florida won its first-ever national basketball championship by defeating UCLA 73–57 in the final game. Florida's Joakim Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament.
George Mason's run was one of several upsets by lower-seeded teams in the tournament. For the second consecutive year, a No. 14 seed beat a No. 3 seed as Northwestern State defeated Iowa. No. 13 seed Bradley also defeated No. 4 seed Kansas and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating No. 5-seeded Pittsburgh in the second round. Two No. 12 seeds won as well, as Montana and Texas A&M both won their respective First round matchups. For the second straight year, Milwaukee won as a double-digit seed, this time as the No. 11-seeded Panthers defeated Oklahoma in the first round.
American East Conference champion Albany and ASUN champion Belmont made their first appearance in the tournament.