A year ago, I took a look back at the 1995 tournament to get us geared up for March Madness. This year, we'll look back at the incredible year 2006 was for March Madness. It was a tournament, when all was said and done, no 1-seeds made the Final 4 for the first time since 1980. Of course, the story that captured our attention was the incredible run by George Mason who slayed one giant after another on their magical journey.
Midwest/Minneapolis Region
Yes, in 2006 we called the regions by their regional final host city. In the Midwest, Florida came out of this region as a 3-seed on their way to the National Championship. Florida won every game in this run by double digits exempt in their Sweet 16 tilt against Georgetown.
This region was the least thrilling. UWM, as an 11-seed throttled the 6-seed Oklahoma. This came on the heels of their Sweet 16 run. There'd be no repeat run as Florida smoked them in the Round of 32.
The best game came between former Big East foes when Villanova, the 1-seed, outlasted Boston College in overtime. Villanova got their final 2 points from Will Sheridan with :03 left in overtime on a goaltend.
West/Oakland
The West from 2006 is best remembered for two things. The first was Bradley making their first Sweet 16 in 50 years as a 13-seed. The second would be the wild Gonzaga-UCLA Sweet 16 game.
Bradley first met Kansas in round one. Kansas was a young team, the core would win a national title in two seasons, who was overwhelmed early by Bradley. The Braves had a halftime lead of 37-27, punctuated by a 30' at the buzzer by Will Franklin. The Braves, lead by Marcellus Sommerville's 21 points and 5 3's held the Jayhawks off and sent them packing for the second consecutive season as a first round upset victim.
In the second round, Bradley jumped all over Pitt and won 72-66. In that game, they were lead by Patrick O'Bryant who scored 28 points. The run ended at the hands of Memphis in the Sweet 16 but was still a memorable one.
The other moment became an indelible moment often relived every year. Gonzaga, behind Adam Morrison jumped out to a 17-point first half lead over UCLA. The Bruins slowly climbed back into the game but were still down 9 with 3 minutes left. Remarkably, UCLA would score the final 11 points and end Morrison's fine college career as he sat and wept on the court as the game ended.
South/Atlanta
The South gave us two remarkable buzzer beaters. The first was the incredible upset of Northwestern State over Iowa, 64-63. Iowa was up 17 with 8 1/2 minutes left when Northwestern State began its comeback. Iowa still lead by a point late when Greg Brunner went to the line. Brunner would make 1 of 2 giving Northwestern State a chance to tie or win. As we know, Jermaine Walker made an incredible fadeaway three to shock the Hawkeyes.
Not to be outdone, Texas would do the same against West Virginia in the Sweet 16. The Mountaineers Kevin Pittsnogle would make a 3 to tie it with :05 left. The Longhorns Kenton Paulino would answer with a 3 at the buzzer to win the game for Texas.
In the regional final, LSU would defeat Texas in overtime. The 4-seed had defeated Duke in the Sweet 16 and ended the career of JJ Redick.
East/Washington D.C.
Here's the region where it all happened. Crazy buzzer beater? Check, Chris Lofton falling away 3 to defeat Winthrop in the 1st round. Shaky, prohibitive favorite 1-seed? Check. Scrappy, dismissed underdog who shut up Billy Packer? Check.
Before we tell the story of George Mason, let's relive how shaky UConn was in this run. The 1-seed trailed 16-seed Albany by 12 in the second half before eventually pulling away. They held off 8-seed Kentucky who twice cut it to 2 late before Rudy Gay won it at the FT line. In the Sweet 16, they overcame 26 turnovers and an 11 point 2nd half deficit to beat Washington in overtime. Washington was ahead 80-76 with 11 seconds left when UConn's Marcus Williams made a layup and was fouled. He made the FT. UConn fouled Brandon Roy who calmly made both FTs. UConn's Rashad Anderson would make a 3 with 1.8 seconds left to send it to overtime where UConn finally won.
On the other side of the bracket was George Mason. The Patriots were blasted on selection Sunday as undeserving of a bid, most prominently by CBS Billy Packer. They had lost in the Colonial Tournament to Hofstra. Save a bracket buster win in February over Wichita State, the resume was pretty thin. But they were selected and they made the most unlikely run ever.
In the opening round, they outmuscled Michigan State despite being without suspended star Tony Skinn. They out rebounded Sparty, 40-24 and overcame going 10-21at the line to close the game.
Next up was North Carolina, the 3-seed. The defending champs were a young squad who still managed to jump out to a 16-2 lead. Slowly but surely, though, GMU came back and ended up winning 65-60. They got a bit of a reprieve, beating the 7-seed Wichita State and Mark Turgeon handidly in the Sweet 16.
Next up was UConn. This was supposed to be the team to get Jim Calhoun a 3rd title. Even with the struggles to this point in the tournament, they were still a prohibitive favorite. UConn jumped out early and were up 43-34 at half. George Mason remarkably would hit 6 straight 3 pointers at one point in the 2nd half in a seesaw battle. They lead late but UConn's Denham Brown tied it at the buzzer. George Mason would make 5 of 6 shots in overtime and would overcome Jai Lewis missing 3 free throws in the final :15 seconds of overtime and Brown missing a potential game winning 3. They became the second 11 seed to make the Final 4.
Sadly, the Final 4 itself was a bit of a dud. All three games were decided by double digits culminating in the crowning of Florida. Still, the run up to it was one of the best tournaments of all time.
