The Red Hawks finished 14-14 against the spread and were eliminated in the first round of the post season NIT by TCU.
Solid Start
Miami-Ohio opened the 2005-06 season with a 58-64 loss/cover at Alabama as 13.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 58-42 home win over Dayton as 2-point chalks. After a 54-46 win over Wright State as 11.5-point chalks, the Red Hawks scored a 75-62 win at Central Michigan as 10.5-point chalks for a solid start of 3-1 against the spread.
Down up down
After an unlined 78-66 win at Oakland, the Red Hawks lost at home to Xavier 65-75 as 3-point home dogs before embarking on a four game road trip.
The first road game was a 46-55 loss at Wichita State as 8.5-point dogs. That was followed by an 80-87 loss/cover at Michigan as 10.5-point dogs. Next was a 65-75 loss/cover at Cincinnati as 14-point dogs and then a 58-56 win at Northern Illinois as 2-point dogs.
The Red Hawks next proved to be overlays, however, as Mid-American Conference play heated up. First was a 64-59 overtime home win over Eastern Michigan as 15.5-point chalks and then a 66-49 home win over Central Michigan as 18-point overlays to complete a down up down pattern in which they went 3-4 against the spread
Profitable Stretch
Miami-Ohio got back on track with a 59-55 win at Ball State as 1.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 58-49 home win over Toledo as 6.5-point chalks.
The Red Hawks took a brief dip, however, starting with a 50-59 loss at Western Michigan as 4-point chalks. That was followed by a 46-63 home loss to Kent State as 3-point chalks. The bleeding stopped with a 45-52 loss/push at Akron as 7-point dogs.
Miami-Ohio then picked up the pace, (and cash), starting with a 73-59 win at Ohio as 6.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 77-60 home win over Bowling Green as 11-point chalks. The Red Hawks then won at Buffalo 81-74 as 2.5-point dogs to complete a profitable stretch in which they went 5-2-1 against the spread.
Depleted value
As the Mid-American Conference schedule headed into the stretch run, Miami-Ohio suffered from depleted value. The Red Hawks were consistently one of the better teams in the MAC East Division and had better name recognition with the college basketball gambling public than many of their rivals, which meant that they would often get more attention from the masses, particularly when they were playing well, which would cause their overall board value to lessen as a result.
Miami-Ohio’s problems began with a 67-63 overtime home win over Ball State as 10-point overlays. That was followed by a 65-54 home win over Ohio as 5-point chalks. Next was a 51-49 home win over Illinois State as 10-point overlays and then a 63-60 win/push over Akron as 3-point home chalks. That was then followed by a 63-70 loss at Kent State as 6.5-point dogs to complete a string of games in which the Red Hawks went 1-3-1 against the spread.
Finished in black
Miami-Ohio next went to Bowling Green where they scored a 73-59 win as 6-point chalks. That was followed by a 74-65 home win over Buffalo as 8-point chalks to finish the regular season with two payoffs.
Miami-Ohio was bounced by Ohio in their only MAC tourney game and then finished in black with a NIT loss/cover at Butler.