2006 big east tournament

The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season.

''Irving Raphael, the team's doctor, prescribed an anti-inflammatory for McNamara. "I'd have to lay on the floor to put my socks on,'' McNamara said. ''But McNamara never missed a game and not once did he or Boeheim or anyone connected to the team mention his injury. But after his performances in Syracuse's wins over Cincinnati and Connecticut, Pike couldn't let McNamara go outside.

The stress reaction would turn into a stress fracture with a crack forming in the bone as the groin muscle tore away. He didn't make a single shot.

Syracuse forward Terrence Roberts hugs Gerry McNamara after the Orange beat Pittsburgh to win the Big East Tournament on March 11, 2006, at Madison Square Garden. "He slipped on the floor, right in front of our bench,'' Pike said.

This is pretty excruciating,'" McNamara recalled. McNamara then went into the ice-filled bathtub for 15 minutes. With just a few seconds left, it looked like Syracuse's postseason dream was about to end.

"It was a difficult pain to deal with, right in the pelvic bone region,'' McNamara said. "It was a unique pain,'' McNamara said.

We just worked as much as we could to get him back to that baseline of normalcy for him. Record: 65-36, .644 W-L% (1st of 12) (Schedule and Results) Adjusted Record: 61-36-0. The team was a better team on the court without me. In a rare moment of self-doubt, Boeheim wondered if he should have left McNamara in the game against Texas A&M.

"We bought a machine that year called the HIVA MAT, which is an electro-static machine,'' Pike said.

We did it enough times.

''As Syracuse got ready for its semifinal game against arch-rival Georgetown, McNamara had a problem. ''McNamara scored 17 points and dished out nine assists in SU's 74-73 win over Cincinnati. He played 38 minutes. That was a bad day. We'd work on the HIVA MAT, we'd work on electric stim, we'd work on soft tissue, we'd work on flexibility.

It was a difficult thing to deal with, especially in your senior year when you're trying to make something happen. Then Pike would use electrical stimulation to reduce the pain for another 15 to 20 minutes.Since Syracuse had until 7 p.m. on Friday evening before facing Georgetown in the tournament's semifinals, Pike and McNamara had more time to aid his recovery. ''McNamara couldn't lift his leg up to his waist. ''McNamara spurred the Orange to a second-half comeback.

If you go through our roster right now, I guarantee there are guys that are dealing with dings on a daily basis. "We gave him something to eat and then put him in the cold tub,'' Pike said.

Fans remember Reed, the Knicks' captain, limping out just before the start of the game on his injured knee. Syracuse lost the game 68-61. ''Syracuse lost that game to Seton Hall 68-61 to fall to 13-6 for the year and 3-4 in the Big East.

2006 Big East Conference Year Summary. "When you see that margin at halftime,'' McNamara said, "it spikes your adrenaline level a little bit. The Orange won the game in overtime as McNamara finished with 17 points and a career-high 13 assists.Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara scores between Connecticut defenders Rudy Gay and Marcus Williams during a Big East Tournament quarterfinal game on March 9, 2006, at Madison Square Garden. The field was divided into two brackets, with the winners of each bracket meeting in a single championship game. I wouldn't change it for a second.

"Anytime you cough or sneeze, you have to brace yourself.

He had made 13 out of 27 shots from 3-point range. Brad's as good a trainer that I've worked with at any level.

It began on March 14, 2006, and concluded on April 3 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. ''Syracuse trailed by three points with time running out when McNamara, who had missed seven of his first nine attempts from 3-point range, drained a shot from outside the NBA's 3-point line to tie the game with 5 seconds remaining.

"You have to come around the waist, but you have to get a sequential pressure because you don't want to deactivate the muscle if you make it too tight,'' Pike said. "It was something very benign.

"You just want to try to support the muscle. In the SU training room, it sits on a cart so Pike can wheel it around to the tables where players sit when they come in for treatment.