selection for Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year. and was selected to serve as a court coach at the 2005 USA Men's World University Games Team Trials. 2005–2006 Although the Aggies lost Antoine Wright to the NBA draft following the 2004–05 season, the team did not suffer the predicted drop-off, and actually broke a streak of twenty-five years without being ranked in the poll. The Aggies finished the regular season with a 21–8 record, including a 10–6 conference record and a fourth-place finish in the Big 12, the best finish and most wins for Texas A&M since the formation of the conference in 1996. For the first time since 1987, Texas A&M received a bid to the NCAA tournament. As a twelfth-seeded team, the Aggies upset the Big East Conference champion Syracuse Orange in the first round of the tournament but then lost in the second round to eventual Final Four participant, the LSU Tigers, by the score of 58–57 on a three-pointer that LSU made in the final seconds of the game. Following the season, Gillispie was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by several major newspapers and was named the Texas College Coach of the Year by the TABC. 2006–2007 The Aggies began the 2006–07 season deemed capable of contending with the Kansas Jayhawks for the Big 12 Conference regular-season crown and were picked to finish second in the Big 12 media and coaches' polls. In their twelfth attempt, on February 3, 2007, Texas A&M became the first Big 12 Conference team in the South Division to beat the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse, moving them into sole possession of first place in the conference standing. Less than forty-eight hours later the Aggies defeated their archrivals, the #25 ranked Texas Longhorns, marking their 21st straight win at home. The 2006–07 Aggies ended the regular season ranked #7 by the Associated Press and #6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. The Aggies set a school record for most consecutive weeks in the top 25, reaching a school high number 6 ranking. On March 4, 2007, Gillispie was awarded his second Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year award for leading the Aggies to a 13–3 conference record and a second-place finish behind the Kansas Jayhawks. The 2006–07 post-season, the Aggies advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tourney. Their post-season hopes ended with a one-point