College Basketball Betting Lines
2005 Stats
| Straight up | 10-18 overall, 6-12 conference, 4th MAC West
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| Against the spread | 9-14-2 (5-6-1 home, 3-9-1 away)
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| Over/Under | 12-13 (3-9 home, 9-4 away)
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| Offensive Rank | 286th
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| Defensive Rank | 84th
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2005 Season Summary
The Ball State Cardinals finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 15-13 straight up, including 10-8 in Mid-American Conference play which was good for a second place tie in the MAC West Division.
Ball State finished 12-13-1 against the college basketball betting lines for the season.
Profitable start
Ball State opened the 2005-06 season with an unlined 78-72 home win over Oakland City. That was followed by their lined opener, a 71-50 win at Wright State as 3.5-point dogs.
The Cardinals next hosted Butler in their first lined home game and dropped a 53-64 decision as 2.5-point chalks. That was followed by an unlined road win at Indiana-Purdue and then a 56-57 loss at Indiana State as 6-point dogs.
Ball State went off the board again with a 75-47 home win over Anderson (IN) and then returned to the college basketball gambling lines with a 51-56 loss/cover at Drexel as 8.5-point dogs for a profitable start of 3-1 against the number.
Free fall
Ball State was unable to sustain success, however, as they next were blown out at home by Indiana 56-80 as 8.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 62-66 home loss to Akron as 1.5-point dogs. The bleeding stopped, at least somewhat, as the Cardinals lost at Ohio 60-71 as 11-point dogs for a push but from there, they went into a free fall.
Ball State next lost at Kent State 71-84 as 9-point dogs for their fourth consecutive failure against the board. That was followed by a 55-59 home loss to Miami-Ohio as 1.5-point dogs. Next was a 64-75 loss at Buffalo as 8.5-point dogs and then a 62-61 home win over Bowling Green as 6.5-point overlays to complete a stretch of games in which Ball State got the cash in just one of out nine tries.
Bargain values
It doesn’t take much for the public to turn on a mid-major MAC level team that is in the tank and that was the case with Ball State, as that horrific stretch made them one of the top teams for the college basketball gambling public to oppose. This helped to transform them into unwanted bargain values that would get better odds on the board that what was actually merited.
The upswing began with a 68-41 blowout win over Central Michigan as 11-point chalks. That was followed by a 59-68 loss at Western Michigan as 4-point dogs.
Ball State got back on track, however, with a 69-56 home win over Toledo as 1.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 67-73 win at Northern Illinois as 6.5-point dogs. The streak was then briefly halted with a 43-56 loss to Eastern Michigan as 12.5-point chalks.
Again, however, the Cardinals rebounded nicely starting with a 67-60 home win over Buffalo as 1.5-point chalks. Next was a 63-67 overtime loss at Miami-Ohio as 10-point dogs to complete a nice stretch in which Ball State went 5-2 against the board.
Gushing red ink…AGAIN!
But starting with a 63-60 win at Central Michigan as 5-point overlays, Ball State began gushing red ink…AGAIN!
Next game a 69-70 home loss to Tennessee State as 8-point chalks. That was followed by a 56-62 home win over Western Michigan as 5.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 54-81 blowout loss at Toledo as 8.5-point dogs. The streak mercifully ended with a 73-78 loss to Northern Illinois in the home finale as 1.5-point dogs for a fifth consecutive failure to get the cash.
In the MAC tournament the Cardinals lost at Buffalo 72-80 as 8-point dogs for a push.