During the 2005–06 season, West Virginia won its first eight Big East conference games and entered the top ten in the 2005–06 national rankings in February. It was the first time West Virginia had ranked in the top ten in the Coaches' Poll, which had been created in 1993. They were the final unbeaten team in conference play. After the strong start, the team lost four of its next five games to fall to 9–4 in conference play. They won their next two games to clinch a first-round bye in the 2006 Big East Tournament. With seemingly little to play for, they lost their regular season finale to finish with a 20–9 (11–5 Big East) regular season record. West Virginia lost its quarterfinal round game in the conference tournament to Pitt, and earned a number six seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. West Virginia won its opening weekend games against number eleven seed and the number fourteen seed by 64–46 and 67–54 margins, respectively. West Virginia then lost in the Sweet Sixteen round to the number two seed Texas Longhorns in a wild finish that saw West Virginia erase a five-point deficit in the final fourteen seconds only to lose the game on a buzzer-beater. The two wins helped Beilein raise his NCAA tournament record to 6–4.