2006 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament

2006 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	2005–06
Teams	8
First round site	Campus sites Campus locations
Finals site	Prather Coliseum Natchitoches, Louisiana
Champions	Northwestern State (2nd title)
Winning coach	Mike McConathy (2nd title)
MVP	Clifton Lee (Northwestern State)
Southland Conference men's basketball tournaments

2005–06 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northwestern State †	15	–	1		.938			26	–	8		.765
Sam Houston State	11	–	5		.688			22	–	9		.710
Southeastern Louisiana	10	–	6		.625			16	–	12		.571
Stephen F. Austin	9	–	7		.563			17	–	12		.586
Lamar	9	–	7		.563			17	–	14		.548
McNeese State	9	–	7		.563			14	–	14		.500
Texas–Arlington	7	–	9		.438			14	–	16		.467
UTSA	6	–	10		.375			11	–	17		.393
Louisiana–Monroe	6	–	10		.375			10	–	18		.357
Nicholls State	5	–	11		.313			9	–	18		.333
Texas State	1	–	15		.063			3	–	24		.111
† 2006 Southland tournament winner As of March 6, 2006

The 2006 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament took place March 7–12, 2006. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds were played at the home arena of the higher seeded-teams, with the championship game played at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Number 1 seed Northwestern State won the championship game over number 2 seed Sam Houston State, 95–97.

The Demons earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they won the first NCAA Tournament game in the round of 64 by knocking off Iowa, 64–63 in the opening round. The Demons lost in the second round to No. 6 seed West Virginia.

Format

The top eight eligible men's basketball teams in the Southland Conference receive a berth in the conference tournament. After the conference season, teams were seeded by conference record.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals March 7					Semifinals March 9					Finals March 12
	1	Northwestern State	75
	8	UTSA	61
						1	Northwestern State	80
						6	Lamar	66
	4	Stephen F. Austin	72
	5	McNeese State	70
											1	Northwestern State	95
	(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
											2	Sam Houston State	87
	3	Southeastern Louisiana	65
	6	Lamar	68
						2	Sam Houston State	78
						4	Stephen F. Austin	72
	2	Sam Houston State	86
	7	Texas–Arlington	84