2005-06 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team
| 2005–06 George Mason Patriots men's basketball | |
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CAA Regular Season Champions
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Final Four vs. Florida, L, 73–58
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| Conference | Colonial Athletic Association |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 8 |
| 2005–06 record | 27–8 (15–3 CAA) |
| Head coach | Jim Larranaga |
| Assistant coach | Scott Cherry |
| Assistant coach | James Johnson |
| Assistant coach | Chris Caputo |
| Home arena | Patriot Center |
| 2005–06 CAA men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| George Mason | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 27 | – | 8 | .771 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNC Wilmington† | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 25 | – | 8 | .758 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hofstra | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 26 | – | 7 | .788 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old Dominion | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 24 | – | 10 | .706 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northeastern | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 19 | – | 11 | .633 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VCU | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 19 | – | 10 | .655 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drexel | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 15 | – | 16 | .484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Towson | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 12 | – | 16 | .429 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 9 | – | 21 | .300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia State | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 7 | – | 22 | .241 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William & Mary | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 8 | – | 20 | .286 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 5 | – | 23 | .179 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † CAA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
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The 2005–06 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team represented George Mason University in the 2005–2006 NCAA Basketball season. The team reached several milestones, including a team record 23 regular season wins, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots eventually reached the Final Four of the NCAA, becoming the first team from the Colonial Athletic Association to accomplish that feat.
First Team All-CAA
Second Team All-CAA
CAA All-Defensive Team
CAA Player of the Week
The Patriots enjoyed their best season in 2005–2006 when they won a school-record 23 games in the regular season, and for one week were even ranked in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for the first time in school history. Head coach Jim Larranaga, who began his stint at George Mason in 1997, also became the CAA's all-time leader in coaching victories and was named the winner of the 2006 Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award on March 31, 2006, and the Virginia Coach of the Year on June 26, 2006, the same day he was nominated for an ESPY award. Although the team lost to Hofstra during the CAA tournament, George Mason were still able to grab an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. This marks the first time in which the Patriots earned an at-large bid and the first time in 20 years in which the CAA sent two teams to the tournament (the other being conference tournament winner UNC Wilmington).
The at-large selection of teams from mid-major conferences (which included George Mason) to the tournament was criticized by media personalities, most notably Billy Packer. In the case of George Mason, this was possibly because of the absence of Tony Skinn, who was suspended for one game by the Patriots for punching Hofstra guard Loren Stokes in the groin during the CAA tournament semifinal loss. Moreover, many believed that Hofstra, who didn't get invited to the tournament despite of the fact that they beat the Patriots twice in a span of ten days, deserved to get in instead of them. Nevertheless, the Patriots entered the tournament as an 11th seed and defeated the 6th seeded Michigan State Spartans, who had played in the previous year's Final Four.
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