2006 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament

The 2006 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament was held March 2–4, 2006 at the Memorial Center at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.[1]

2006 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2005–06
Teams8
SiteMemorial Center
Johnson City, TN
ChampionsBelmont (1st title)
Winning coachRick Byrd (1st title)
MVPJustin Hare (Belmont)
← 2005
2007 →
2005–06 Atlantic Sun men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Lipscomb 15 5   .750 21 11   .656
Belmont 15 5   .750 20 11   .645
Florida Atlantic 14 6   .700 15 13   .536
Gardner–Webb 13 7   .650 17 12   .586
East Tennessee State 12 8   .600 15 13   .536
Stetson 11 9   .550 14 18   .438
Kennesaw State 10 10   .500 12 17   .414
Campbell 9 11   .450 10 18   .357
Mercer 7 13   .350 9 19   .321
North Florida 3 17   .150 6 22   .214
Jacksonville 1 19   .050 1 26   .037
2006 Atlantic Sun Tournament winner
As of March 7, 2006
Rankings from AP Poll

Belmont defeated top-seeded rival Lipscomb in the championship game, 74–69, to clinch their first Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament.

The Bruins, therefore, received the Atlantic Sun's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA tournament. This was Belmont's first appearance in the Division I tournament.

Format

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The Atlantic Sun saw some significant membership changes prior to the 2005–06 season, even though the A-Sun remained fixed at 11 programs. Long-time member Georgia State departed for the CAA, Central Florida joined Conference USA, and Troy (formerly Troy State) left for the Sun Belt. Meanwhile, the conference added three new members: East Tennessee State (from the SoCon), Kennesaw State (from Division II), and North Florida (also from Division II).

Nonetheless, no changes were made to the tournament format. Only the top eight teams from the conference tournament were eligible for the tournament. These eight teams were seeded based on regular season conference records and were all entered into the quarterfinal round.

Bracket

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Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 2
Semifinals
Friday, March 3
Championship
Saturday, March 4
         
1 Lipscomb 78
8 Mercer 62
1 Lipscomb 70
4 Gardner–Webb 51
5 East Tennessee State 63
4 Gardner–Webb 64
1 Lipscomb 69
2 Belmont 74
3 Florida Atlantic 44
6 Stetson 54
6 Stetson 59
2 Belmont 72
7 Campbell 76
2 Belmont 90

References

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  1. ^ "2005-2006 Atlantic Sun Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.