The 2005–06 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 27th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools.
Connecticut and Villanova were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . Syracuse won the Big East tournament championship, although this later was vacated.
Rankings.
Connecticut was ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 5 all season, reaching No. 1 in several weeks and finishing at No. 2. Villanova spent the entire season in the Top 10 and all but one week in the Top 5, reaching No. 2 and finishing at No. 3. Georgetown, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia spent time in the Top 25, and all but Louisville finished the season as ranked teams. Cincinnati also made an appearance in the Top 25.
Postseason.
Big East tournament.
Seeding.
Teams were seeded in the Big East tournament based on conference record and tiebreakers. The No. 5 through No. 12 seeds played in the first round, and the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds received byes into the quarterfinal round. Teams which finished below 12th place in the conference after the application as necessary of tiebreakers did not qualify for the tournament
Seeding was and By finishing below 12th place, DePaul, Providence, St. John's, and South Florida did not qualify for the tournament.
The NCAA later vacated all of Syracuse's wins during the season, including its four Big East Tournament victories, because of the use of an ineligible player.
NCAA tournament.
Eight Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Connecticut seeded No. 1 in the Washington, D.C., Region and Villanova No. 1 in the Minneapolis Region. Marquette, Seton Hall, and Syracuse lost in the first round and Pittsburgh in the second round. Georgetown and West Virginia were defeated in the regional semifinals and Connecticut and Villanova in the regional finals.
National Invitation Tournament.
Four Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, with Cincinnati seeded No. 1 in the Cincinnati Bracket and Louisville No. 1 in the Louisville Bracket. Rutgers lost in the first round, Notre Dame in the second round, Cincinnati in the quarterfinals, and Louisville in the semifinals.
Awards and honors.
Big East Conference.
Player of the Year:
Defensive Player of the Year:
Rookie of the Year:
Most Improved Player:
Coach of the Year:
All-Big East First Team
All-Big East Second Team:
Big East All-Rookie Team:
All-Americans.
The following players were selected to the 2006 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America First Team:
Consensus All-America Second Team:
First Team All-America:
Second Team All-America:
Third Team All-America:
AP Honorable Mention