The Arkansas State Indians finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 16-13 straight up, which included a Sun Belt Conference record of 7-7 placing them in fourth place in the East Division.
The Indians fared a little worse against the board with a mark of 10-11 against the college basketball betting lines in an up and down season with no real pattern to it against the board.
The Indians had no real college basketball success or tradition in recent years and as a Sun Belt Conference team they didn’t attract much attention either for or against. As was the case with most teams in the Sun Belt the Indians would have a rather anonymous existence on the board and would only attract attention with a large streak either way.
Sluggish start
Arkansas State opened the 2005-06 season with an unlined 85-56 home win over Missouri-Rolla. In their lined opener as Mississippi State, the Indians scored a 63-68 loss/cover as 9.5-point dogs.
In their lined home opener against Missouri State, the Indians were embarrassed 80-97 as 1.5-point dogs and followed that up with a 77-80 overtime loss at Tennessee-Martin as 1.5-point chalks for a sluggish start of 1-3 straight up and 1-2 against the spread.
Brief Bounce
In their next game against Richmond as 2-point neutral court dogs, the Indians scored a 56-37 win and cover, which was then followed by a 55-67 loss/cover at Louisville as whopping 19.5-point dogs for a brief bounce of two consecutive payoffs.
The Indians were then off the board for three consecutive games beginning with an 82-69 neutral court win over Prairie View A&M. That was then followed by a 91-77 home win over Freed-Hardeman and then an 81-91 home loss to Lamar.
Struggles resumed
The Indians then returned to the board for a home game against Georgia Southern as they scored a 71-82 loss as 4.5-point chalks. That was then followed by a 78-85 loss/cover at Mississippi as 9.5-point dogs and then a 55-84 loss at Missouri State as whopping and helpless 18-point road dogs. The Indians then took a break from the board with a 69-60 home win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff before their pointspread struggles resumed with a 64-84 loss at Oklahoma State as 18-point dogs for a third loss against the spread in four games.
Back on track
At this point there were few teams with less college basketball gambling appeal than Arkansas State, which helped to briefly enhance their board value starting with a 70-72 loss cover as 5.5-point home dogs to Western Kentucky. That was followed by an 81-71 win at Florida International as 2-point dogs and then a 74-70 win at Arkansas-Little Rock as 4-point dogs as the Indians were back on track with three straight payoffs.
Slippage
Arkansas State was unable to maintain profitability, however, starting with a 68-77 loss at Middle Tennessee State as 6.5-point dogs. The slippage continued with a 63-87 loss at Western Kentucky as 13.5-point dogs. After a 72-61 home win over Denver as 1-point chalks, the Indians went back into the tank with a 79-82 home loss to North Texas as 3.5-point chalks.
Up and down finish
After losing three of their last four against the board, Arkansas State climbed off the canvass beginning with a 78-66 home win over Arkansas-Little Rock as 2-point chalks. That was then followed by a 91-68 home win over Troy as 3-point chalks. Next came a 69-78 loss at South Alabama as 10-point dogs for a third straight payoff. From there, however, the Indians would resume struggling beginning with an 85-84 overtime win over Florida International as 7-point home overlays, which triggered an up and down finish to the season as Arkansas State went 2-4 straight up and 1-5 against the board to end the year.