# 2005–06 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 2005–06 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as members of the Big Ten Conference during the 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Steve Alford and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena. They finished the season 25–9 overall and 11–5 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as #3 seed in the Atlanta Regional. The season ended in disappointment with an opening round loss at the buzzer to #14 seed Northwestern State, 64–63.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| 11/14/2005* 7:35 pm | No. 20 | Maryland-Eastern Shore Guardians Classic | W 86–41 | 1–0 | 16 – 2 tied | 10 – Thomas | 7 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,553) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 11/15/2005* 7:35 pm | No. 20 | Colgate Guardians Classic | W 73–51 | 2–0 | 16 – Brunner | 8 – 2 tied | 8 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (8,526) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 11/21/2005* 8:05 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | vs. No. 7 Kentucky Guardians Classic | W 67–63 | 3–0 | 17 – Brunner | 12 – Brunner | 8 – Horner | Municipal Auditorium (6,091) Kansas City, Missouri |
| 11/22/2005* 9:05 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | vs. No. 2 Texas Guardians Classic | L 59–68 | 3–1 | 23 – Haluska | 8 – 2 tied | 7 – Horner | Municipal Auditorium (6,357) Kansas City, Missouri |
| 11/26/2005* 12:05 pm | No. 18 | Texas-San Antonio | W 79–46 | 4–1 | 15 – Haluska | 8 – Thomas | 4 – 2 tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,683) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 11/30/2005* 8:35 pm | No. 14 | No. 24 NC State ACC – Big Ten Challenge | W 45–42 | 5–1 | 18 – Haluska | 8 – Hansen | 6 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,043) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 12/2/2005* 8:10 pm | No. 14 | Fairfield Hawkeye Challenge | W 75–59 | 6–1 | 23 – Brunner | 11 – Brunner | 10 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,002) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 12/3/2005* 8:10 pm | No. 14 | Valparaiso Hawkeye Challenge | W 72–59 | 7–1 | 19 – Horner | 13 – Brunner | 6 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,804) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 12/6/2005* 7:05 pm | No. 12 | at Northern Iowa Iowa Big Four | L 63–67 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 | 26 – Brunner | 10 – Brunner | 3 – Haluska | UNI-Dome (13,288) Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| 12/9/2005* 7:05 pm | No. 12 | at Iowa State Rivalry | L 60–72 | 7–3 | 16 – Haluska | 12 – Brunner | 5 – 2 tied | Hilton Coliseum (14,092) Ames, Iowa |
| 12/17/2005* 7:05 pm | No. 22 | Arizona State | W 62–43 | 8–3 | 17 – Haluska | 15 – Brunner | 7 – Freeman | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (10,902) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 12/20/2005* 7:05 pm | No. 25 | Drake Iowa Big Four | W 65–60 | 9–3 | 17 – Brunner | 12 – Brunner | 6 – Haluska | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (9,732) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 12/22/2005* 7:05 pm | No. 25 | Robert Morris | W 73–51 | 10–3 | 18 – Haluska | 10 – Brunner | 6 – Henderson | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (9,985) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 12/30/2005* 7:05 pm | | Saint Louis | W 60–50 | 11–3 | 17 – 2 tied | 8 – Brunner | 6 – Horner | Scottrade Center (10,489) St. Louis, Missouri |
| 1/5/2006 7:05 pm | | at Wisconsin | L 52–66 | 11–4 (0–1) | 11 – 2 tied | 10 – Brunner | 3 – 2 tied | Kohl Center (17,142) Madison, Wisconsin |
| 1/7/2006 1:05 pm | | No. 6 Illinois | W 63–48 | 12–4 (1–1) | 16 – Horner | 12 – Brunner | 6 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 1/14/2006 11:15 am | | at Penn State | W 80–76 | 13–4 (2–1) | 29 – Haluska | 7 – Thomas | 9 – Horner | Bryce Jordan Center (8,293) University Park, PA |
| 1/18/2006 7:05 pm | No. 23 | Minnesota | W 76–72 $^{3OT}$ | 14–4 (3–1) | 20 – Hansen | 23 – Brunner | 10 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,535) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 1/21/2006 11:05 am | No. 23 | at No. 11 Michigan State | L 55–85 | 14–5 (3–2) | 19 – Haluska | 11 – Brunner | 5 – Horner | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, Michigan |
| 1/24/2006 8:05 pm | | No. 13 Indiana | W 73–60 | 15–5 (4–2) | 20 – Haluska | 10 – Haluska | 8 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,825) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 1/28/2006 7:05 pm | | No. 16 Ohio State | W 67–62 | 16–5 (5–2) | 18 – Haluska | 9 – Brunner | 5 – 2 tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 2/1/2006 7:05 pm | No. 23 | at Purdue | W 77–68 | 17–5 (6–2) | 32 – Horner | 7 – Brunner | 4 – 2 tied | Mackey Arena (10,514) West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 2/4/2006 4:10 pm | No. 23 | No. 21 Michigan | W 94–66 | 18–5 (7–2) | 18 – Haluska | 9 – Brunner | 6 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 2/8/2006 7:05 pm | No. 18 | at Northwestern | L 48–51 | 18–6 (7–3) | 13 – Brunner | 11 – Brunner | 5 – Horner | Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,764) Evanston, Illinois |
| 2/11/2006 11:05 am | No. 18 | at No. 24 Indiana | W 70–67 | 19–6 (8–3) | 19 – Brunner | 8 – Brunner | 3 – 2 tied | Assembly Hall (17,278) Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/14/2006 | No. 18 | No. 16 Michigan State | W 66–54 | 20–6 (9–3) | 15 – 2 tied | 10 – Brunner | 6 – Horner | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 2/18/2006 | No. 18 | at Minnesota | L 61–74 | 20–7 (9–4) | 17 – Brunner | 7 – Brunner | 5 – Horner | Williams Arena (14,308) Minneapolis, MN |
| 2/25/2006 | No. 20 | at No. 8 Illinois | L 59–71 | 20–8 (9–5) | 27 – Brunner | 8 – Horner | 4 – Horner | Assembly Hall (16,618) Champaign, Illinois |
| 3/1/2006 | No. 23 | Penn State | W 65–38 | 21–8 (10–5) | 6 – Henderson | 10 – Brunner | 5 – Henderson | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,012) Iowa City, Iowa |
| 3/4/2006 | No. 23 | Wisconsin | W 59–44 | 22–8 (11–5) | 22 – Horner | 9 – Thomas | 6 – Henderson | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| 3/10/2006* | (2) No. 20 | vs. (10) Minnesota Quarterfinals | W 67–57 | 23–8 | 26 – Horner | 8 – Hansen | 6 – Horner | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 3/11/2006* | (2) No. 20 | vs. (6) Michigan State Semifinals | W 53–48 | 24–8 | 14 – Horner | 8 – 2 Tied | 2 – 3 Tied | Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis |
| 3/12/2006* CBS | (2) No. 20 | vs. (1) No. 7 Ohio State Championship Game | W 67–60 | 25–8 | 18 – Horner | 8 – 2 Tied | 10 – Horner | Conseco Fieldhouse (17,591) Indianapolis |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| 3/17/2006* 11:25 am, CBS | (3 A) No. 11 | vs. (14 A) Northwestern State First Round | L 63–64 | 25–9 | 20 – Haluska | 10 – Brunner | 4 – Horner | The Palace of Auburn Hills (18,456) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A=Atlanta Regional. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 22 | 25 | RV | — | — | 23 | — | 23 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 15 | Not released |
| Coaches | 20 | | 17 | 15 | 13 | 23 | RV | RV | — | — | 25 | — | — | 19 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 23 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll. *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings