2005–06 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2005–06 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the University of Montana during the 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by second-year head coach Larry Krystkowiak, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 24–7, 10–4 in Big Sky play to finish tied for second place in the conference regular season standings. Montana won the Big Sky Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. After upsetting No. 5 seed Nevada in the opening round,^[1] the Grizzlies lost to No. 4 seed Boston College.^[2]

2005–06 Montana Grizzlies basketball
Big Sky tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Round of 32
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	24–7 (10–4 Big Sky)
Head coach	Larry Krystkowiak (2nd season)
Home arena	Dahlberg Arena
Seasons ← 2004–05 2006–07 →

2005–06 Big Sky men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Arizona	12	–	2		.857			21	–	11		.656
Montana †	10	–	4		.714			24	–	7		.774
Eastern Washington	9	–	5		.643			15	–	15		.500
Montana State	7	–	7		.500			15	–	15		.500
Sacramento State	5	–	9		.357			15	–	15		.500
Portland State	5	–	9		.357			12	–	16		.429
Idaho State	4	–	10		.286			13	–	14		.481
Weber State	4	–	10		.286			10	–	17		.370
† 2006 Big Sky tournament winner

Roster

2005–06 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 12 Kevin Criswell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Colstrip, Montana F 34 Andrew Strait 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Yakima, Washington	Head coach Wayne Tinkle Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

^[3]

Schedule and results

^[4]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 18, 2005*		at Boise State	L 69–90	0–1	Taco Bell Arena  Boise, Idaho
2006 Big Sky Tournament
Mar 7, 2006*	(2)	vs. (3) Eastern Washington Semifinals	W 73–71 OT	22–6	Walkup Skydome  Flagstaff, Arizona
Mar 8, 2006*	(2)	at (1) Northern Arizona Championship game	W 73–60	23–6	Walkup Skydome  Flagstaff, Arizona
2006 NCAA Tournament
Mar 16, 2006*	(12 MW)	vs. (5 MW) No. 20 Nevada First Round	W 87–79[1]	24–6	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 18, 2006* 3:40 p.m.	(12 MW)	vs. (4 MW) No. 7 Boston College Second Round	L 56–69[2]	24–7	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region.

^[5]

References

1. "Montana overcomes Fazekas, Nevada in first-round upset". ESPN. March 16, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}
2. "BC outmuscles Montana to advance to regional semis". ESPN. March 18, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2022.^{[dead link‍]}
3. "2005–06 Montana Grizzlies Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
4. "2005-06 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Montana Athletics. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
5. "Montana Men's Basketball History & Records" (PDF). University of Montana Athletics. Retrieved December 26, 2022.