The Citadel Bulldogs completed the 2004-05 season with a record of 12-16 straight up, including a Southern Conference record of 4-12, which was good for a last place finish in the South Division. The Citadel Bulldogs performed better on the board than on the hardwood as they finished 9-9-1 against the spread, but they got the cash in just three of their final nine games of the campaign. Entering the 2005-06 season, expectations were low as usual for the Bulldogs, who had very little of a basketball tradition. The only question would be whether this lack of respect amongst the college basketball gambling public would transform the Bulldogs into bargain values on the board.
Gushing red ink Citadel Bulldogs
The Citadel Bulldogs opened the 2005-06 season with a 57-77 neutral court blowout loss to Delaware as 6.5-point dogs. The Bulldogs then got a great indicator of just how low on the totem pole they were when they were walloped 59-91 at North Carolina State as 30.5-point dogs. From there, the Citadel Bulldogs took a long break from the board with a series of unlined games starting with a 73-60 neutral court win over Stetson. That was followed by a 75-48 home win over Asbury. Next came a 70-68 overtime win at Army. The Bulldogs then got a fourth consecutive straight up win in the form of a 126-43 blowout over Florida Christian. The Citadel had their winning streak snapped with a 57-74 home loss to Charleston Southern. That was followed by a 126-61 blowout home win over Atlanta Christian College. The string of unlined games ended with a 73-56 home win over Webber.
Back on the board at Western Carolina, however, the Citadel Bulldogs began really gushing red ink with a 57-83 loss as 8-point road dogs. That was followed by a 61-90 loss at Duquesne as 6.5-point dogs. The Bulldogs then took another break from the board and scored a 70-84 loss at Navy. Back on the board at home against Pennsylvania, the Citadel scored a 49-84 blowout loss as 12-point dogs as the picture continued to look bleaker. Things got little better as Southern Conference play began in earnest as the Bulldogs lost at home to Georgia Southern 65-83 as 9-point dogs. That was then followed by a 49-85 blowout loss at Davidson as 23-point dogs as the Bulldogs lost their seventh consecutive game against the board. The Citadel earned their first payoff of the season with a 65-77 loss/cover at Charleston but then went right back into the tank with a 52-67 home loss to Wofford as 4.5-point dogs. The red ink continued to flow with a 57-81 blowout loss at Furman as 17-point dogs and then a 46-65 loss at NC-Greensboro as 12.5-point dogs as the Citadel Bulldogs now stood at 1-10 against the board.
Back from the dead
You simply cannot have any less appeal than the Citadel had at this point in the season as a Southern Conference team that couldn’t get the cash. In fact, whatever appeal the Citadel Bulldogs did have was that as a “go against” team with the college basketball gambling public. This helped to transform them into something of a bargain the rest of the way as just at the point when the entire gambling world was ready to jump all over them, they would retain their highest board value.
The Bulldogs stopped the bleeding with a 65-66 home loss to Appalachian State as 7.5-point dogs. That was then followed by a 64-74 overtime home loss to Chattanooga as 7-point dogs. Next came a 62-73 loss/cover at Elon University as 14-point dogs. That was followed by an 80-73 unlined home win over Savannah State.
Back on the board at Georgia Southern, the Bulldogs scored a 68-96 loss as 18-point dogs. They rebounded with a 77-81 loss/cover vs. Davidson as 15-point home dogs. After back-to-back SU&ATS losses at home to Furman and Charleston, the Bulldogs rebounded with their lone conference win, 84-80 in overtime over Wofford as 15-point dogs. They then went 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS in the conference tourney.