Tournament procedure 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

2006 first , second rounds (note: play-in game held in dayton, ohio)



















2006 regionals (blue) , final 4 (red)

a total of 65 teams selected participate in tournament. of total, 31 of teams earned automatic bids winning conference tournaments. penn earned automatic bid winning regular-season title of ivy league, did not conduct conference tournament. remaining 34 teams granted at-large bids, extended ncaa selection committee.

the initial game on march 14 officially named opening round game, popularly called play-in game , had monmouth, winner of northeast conference tournament, facing hampton, won mid-eastern athletic conference tournament, chance play top seed villanova in first round of tournament. monmouth defeated hampton, 71–49, advance play villanova.

all teams seeded 1 16 within regions. selection committee seeded entire field 1 65. in practice used since 2004, ranking of 4 top seeds against each other determine pairings in final four. top overall seed seeded play fourth overall seed in national semifinals, should both teams advance far. in 2006, these rankings follows: no. 1 duke, no. 2 connecticut, no. 3 villanova, , no. 4 memphis.

the 4 regionals officially named after 4 host cities, practice began in 2004. however, in 2007, ncaa returned naming regionals geographic location. 2006 regionals were:

march 23/25:


atlanta regional, georgia dome, atlanta (host: georgia institute of technology)
oakland regional, oakland arena, oakland, california (host: university of san francisco)


march 24/26:


minneapolis regional, hubert h. humphrey metrodome, minneapolis (host: university of minnesota)
washington, d.c. regional, verizon center, washington, d.c. (host: georgetown university)

the first , second round games played @ following sites:

march 16/18:


cox arena, san diego (host: san diego state university)
greensboro coliseum, greensboro, north carolina (host: atlantic coast conference)
jacksonville veterans memorial arena, jacksonville, florida (host: jacksonville university)
jon m. huntsman center, salt lake city (host: university of utah)


march 17/19:


american airlines center, dallas (host: big 12 conference)
the palace of auburn hills, auburn hills, michigan (host: oakland university)
university of dayton arena, dayton, ohio (host: university of dayton)
wachovia center, philadelphia (host: atlantic 10 conference)

each regional winner advanced final four, held on april 1 , 3 in indianapolis, hosted butler university , horizon league.