# 2005–06 Northwestern State Demons basketball team

The 2005–06 Northwestern State Demons basketball team represented Northwestern State University during the 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Demons, led by 7th year head coach Mike McConathy, played their home games at Prather Coliseum and were members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 26–8, 15–1 in Southland play to win the regular season title. They were champions of the Southland Conference tournament, winning the championship game over Stephen F. Austin, to earn an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA tournament. As No. 14 seed in the Atlanta region, Northwestern State knocked off No. 3 seed Iowa by draining a corner three with time running out. The Demons were then beaten by No. 6 seed West Virginia in the second round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state, |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| Nov 18, 2005* | | East Texas Baptist | W 77–74 | 1–0 | Prather Coliseum (530) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Nov 20, 2005* | | at Missouri | L 72–81 | 1–1 | Mizzou Arena (5,755) Columbia, Missouri |
| Nov 26, 2005* | | at Mississippi State | W 76–75 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,139) Starkville, Mississippi |
| Nov 29, 2005* | | at Centenary | W 76–74 | 3–1 | Gold Dome (1,834) Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Dec 3, 2005* | | at Wichita State | L 55–57 | 3–2 | Charles Koch Arena (10,478) Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 5, 2005* | | at Oklahoma State | W 68–64 | 4–2 | Gallagher-Iba Arena (10,448) Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Dec 10, 2005* | | Harding | W 89–61 | 5–2 | Prather Coliseum (1,230) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Dec 14, 2005* | | LSU–Shreveport | W 92–82 | 6–2 | Prather Coliseum (2,103) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Dec 21, 2005* | | vs. Oregon State Rainbow Classic | W 72–61 | 7–2 | Stan Sheriff Center (NA) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 22, 2005* | | vs. Iowa State Rainbow Classic | L 77–81 $^{2OT}$ | 7–3 | Stan Sheriff Center (NA) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 23, 2005* | | at Hawaii Rainbow Classic | L 76–80 | 7–4 | Stan Sheriff Center (NA) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 31, 2005* | | at Texas A&M | L 61–73 | 7–5 | Reed Arena (5,549) College Station, Texas |
| Southland Regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 2006 | | at Texas–Arlington | W 79–67 | 8–5 (1–0) | Texas Hall (747) Arlington, Texas |
| Jan 7, 2006 | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 81–68 | 9–5 (2–0) | Fant-Ewing Coliseum (1,075) Monroe, Louisiana |
| Jan 11, 2006 | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 70–60 | 10–5 (3–0) | Prather Coliseum (2,830) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Jan 14, 2006 | | at Sam Houston State | L 73–80 | 10–6 (3–1) | Johnson Coliseum (2,780) Huntsville, Texas |
| Jan 21, 2006 | | at Southeastern Louisiana | W 60–58 | 11–6 (4–1) | University Center (2,723) Hammond, Louisiana |
| Jan 26, 2006 | | UTSA | W 70–59 | 12–6 (5–1) | Prather Coliseum (2,123) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Jan 28, 2006 | | Texas State | W 89–71 | 13–6 (6–1) | Prather Coliseum (2,330) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Feb 2, 2006 | | Sam Houston State | W 77–68 | 14–6 (7–1) | Prather Coliseum (2,522) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Feb 4, 2006 | | at Stephen F. Austin | W 72–66 | 15–6 (8–1) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,815) Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Feb 9, 2006 | | Texas–Arlington | W 82–79 | 16–6 (9–1) | Prather Coliseum (2,330) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Feb 11, 2006 | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 81–65 | 17–6 (10–1) | Prather Coliseum (2,630) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Feb 16, 2006 | | at Nicholls State | W 79–70 | 18–6 (11–1) | Stopher Gym (720) Thibodaux, Louisiana |
| Feb 18, 2006* | | at Utah State ESPN Bracket Buster | L 63–66 | 18–7 | Smith Spectrum (7,740) Logan, Utah |
| Feb 23, 2006 | | Lamar | W 80–67 | 19–7 (12–1) | Prather Coliseum (1,923) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Feb 25, 2006 | | McNeese State | W 97–79 | 20–7 (13–1) | Prather Coliseum (2,230) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Mar 1, 2006 | | at Texas State | W 76–71 | 21–7 (14–1) | Strahan Coliseum (725) San Marcos, Texas |
| Mar 3, 2006 | | at UTSA | W 85–64 | 22–7 (15–1) | Convocation Center (1,442) San Antonio, Texas |
| 2006 Southland Conference tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2006* | (1) | (6) UTSA Quarterfinals | W 75–61 | 23–7 | Prather Coliseum (2,930) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Mar 9, 2006* | (1) | (6) Lamar Semifinals | W 80–66 | 24–7 | Prather Coliseum (3,403) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Mar 12, 2006* | (1) | (2) Sam Houston State Championship game | W 95–87 | 25–7 | Prather Coliseum (3,930) Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| 2006 NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 2006* | (14 A) | vs. (3 A) No. 15 Iowa First round | W 64–63 | 26–7 | Palace of Auburn Hills (18,456) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| Mar 19, 2006* | (14 A) | vs. (6 A) No. 22 West Virginia Second round | L 54–67 | 26–8 | Palace of Auburn Hills (19,689) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||