# 2005–06 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

The 2005–06 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2005–06 collegiate men's basketball season. The Huskies completed the season with a 30–4 overall record. The Huskies were members of the Big East Conference where they finished with a 14–2 record and were the regular season champions. They made it to the Elite Eight in the 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Huskies played their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut and the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and they were led by twentieth-year head coach Jim Calhoun.

## Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jeff Adrien PF | Brookline, Massachusetts | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Aug 18, 2004 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Craig Austrie SG | Stamford, Connecticut | Trinity Catholic HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Mar 28, 2005 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Andrew Bynum C | Metuchen, New Jersey | St. Joseph HS | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Oct 26, 2004 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Robert Garrison PG | Niagara Falls, New York | Niagara Falls HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jul 21, 2004 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Marcus Johnson SF | Los Angeles | Westchester Senior HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 19, 2004 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 25 Rivals: 10 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Connecticut Commit List for 2005". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011. "ESPN – Connecticut Basketball Recruiting 2005". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011. "2005 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011. ||||||

## Roster

Listed are the student athletes who are members of the 2005–2006 team.
| # | Name | Position | Year |
| 4 | Jeff Adrien | Forward | Fr |
| 31 | Rashad Anderson | Guard | Sr |
| 11 | Hilton Armstrong | Forward | Sr |
| 24 | Craig Austrie | Guard | Fr |
| 21 | Josh Boone | Forward | Jr |
| 33 | Denham Brown | Forward | Sr |
| 55 | Nick Forostoski | Forward | Sr |
| 35 | Marty Gagne | Guard | Jr |
| 25 | Rob Garrison | Guard | Fr |
| 22 | Rudy Gay | Forward | So |
| 1 | Marcus Johnson | Forward | Fr |
| 32 | Ed Nelson | Forward | Sr |
| 45 | Osazee Omokaro | Forward | Sr |
| 10 | Ben Spencer | Guard | So |
| 13 | Ryan Thompson | Guard | Sr |
| 5 | Marcus Williams | Guard | Jr |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3, 2005* | No. 3 | Bryant | W 109–62 | | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| November 9, 2005* | No. 3 | Concordia | W 106–47 | | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 19, 2005* 11:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 3 | at Pepperdine | W 75–56 | 1–0 | Firestone Fieldhouse (3,210) Malibu, California |
| November 21, 2005* 11:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | vs. Arkansas Maui Invitational Tournament | W 77–68 | 2–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| November 22, 2005* 9:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | vs. No. 9 Arizona Maui Invitational Tournament | W 79–70 | 3–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| November 23, 2005* 9:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | vs. No. 8 Gonzaga Maui Invitational Tournament | W 65–63 | 4–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| November 29, 2005* 7:00 p.m., WTXX | No. 3 | Army | W 68–54 | 5–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 2, 2005* 7:30 p.m., WTIC | No. 3 | Texas Southern | W 113–49 | 6–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| December 8, 2005* 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | UMass | W 78–60 | 7–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 18, 2005* 2:00 p.m., WTXX | No. 2 | New Hampshire | W 86–44 | 8–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 23, 2005* 2:00 p.m., WTIC | No. 2 | Morehead State | W 129–61 | 9–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| December 28, 2005* 7:00 p.m., WTXX | No. 2 | Stony Brook | W 85–52 | 10–0 | Hartford Civic Center (15,528) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 30, 2005* 7:00 p.m., WTIC | No. 2 | Quinnipiac | W 111–75 | 11–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 3, 2006 9:00 p.m., WTIC | No. 2 | at Marquette | L 79–94 | 11–1 (0–1) | Bradley Center (15,831) Milwaukee |
| January 7, 2006* 4:00 p.m., CBS | No. 2 | LSU | W 67–66 | 12–1 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 9, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | No. 25 Cincinnati | W 70–59 | 13–1 (1–1) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 14, 2006 12:00 p.m., WTXX | No. 4 | Georgetown Rivalry | W 74–67 | 14–1 (2–1) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 16, 2006 9:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | at No. 20 Syracuse Rivalry | W 88–80 | 15–1 (3–1) | Carrier Dome (26,805) Syracuse, New York |
| January 21, 2006 9:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | at No. 17 Louisville ESPN College GameDay | W 71–58 | 16–1 (4–1) | Freedom Hall (20,091) Louisville, Kentucky |
| January 25, 2006 7:30 p.m., WTXX | No. 1 | St. John's | W 66–50 | 17–1 (5–1) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| January 28, 2006 2:00 p.m., WTIC | No. 1 | at Providence | W 76–62 | 18–1 (6–1) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island |
| January 31, 2006 7:30 p.m., WTXX | No. 1 | No. 9 Pittsburgh | W 80–76 | 19–1 (7–1) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| February 4, 2006* 1:00 p.m., CBS | No. 1 | at No. 22 Indiana | W 88–80 | 20–1 | Assembly Hall (17,324) Bloomington, Indiana |
| February 8, 2006 9:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | Syracuse Rivalry | W 73–50 | 21–1 (8–1) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| February 11, 2006 8:00 p.m., WTIC | No. 1 | at Seton Hall | W 99–57 | 22–1 (9–1) | Continental Airlines Arena (13,996) East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| February 13, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | at No. 4 Villanova | L 64–69 | 22–2 (9–2) | Wachovia Center (20,859) Philadelphia |
| February 18, 2006 3:45 p.m., CBS | No. 1 | at No. 11 West Virginia | W 81–75 | 23–2 (10–2) | WVU Coliseum (14,683) Morgantown, West Virginia |
| February 21, 2006 7:00 p.m., WTXX | No. 3 | Notre Dame | W 75–74 $^{OT}$ | 24–2 (11–2) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| February 26, 2006 2:00 p.m., CBS | No. 3 | No. 2 Villanova | W 89–75 | 25–2 (12–2) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| March 1, 2006 7:00 p.m., WTXX | No. 2 | at South Florida | W 66–53 | 26–2 (13–2) | USF Sun Dome (9,636) Tampa, Florida |
| March 4, 2006 2:00 p.m., CBS | No. 2 | Louisville | W 84–80 | 27–2 (14–2) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| Big East Tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2006 12:00 p.m., ESPN | (1) No. 1 | vs. (9) Syracuse Quarterfinals/Rivalry | L 84–86 $^{OT}$ | 27–3 | Madison Square Garden (19,594) New York City |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 17, 2006* 7:25 p.m., CBS | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (16 W) Albany First Round | W 72–59 | 28–3 | Wachovia Center (19,990) Philadelphia |
| March 19, 2006* 2:30 p.m., CBS | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (8 W) Kentucky Second Round | W 87–83 | 29–3 | Wachovia Center (19,990) Philadelphia |
| March 24, 2006* 9:50 p.m., CBS | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (5 W) No. 17 Washington Sweet Sixteen | W 98–92 $^{OT}$ | 30–3 | Verizon Center (19,638) Washington, D.C. |
| March 26, 2006* 2:40 p.m., CBS | (1 W) No. 2 | vs. (11 W) George Mason Elite Eight | L 84–86 $^{OT}$ | 30–4 | Verizon Center (19,718) Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## NCAA basketball tournament

Their Elite Eight matchup found themselves facing the George Mason Patriots. The Patriots were able to defeat the top-seeded Huskies, 86–84 in overtime, in what is recognized as one of the most memorable games in tournament history.
* East
** Connecticut 72, Albany 59
** Connecticut 87, Kentucky 83
** Connecticut 98, Washington 92
** George Mason 86, Connecticut 84

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 8 | Rudy Gay | Houston Rockets |
| 1 | 12 | Hilton Armstrong | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets |
| 1 | 22 | Marcus Williams | New Jersey Nets |
| 1 | 23 | Josh Boone | New Jersey Nets |
| 2 | 40 | Denham Brown | Seattle SuperSonics |