The North Texas Mean Green finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 14-14 straight up, including a Sun Belt Conference record of 6-9, which was good for a fourth place finish in the West Division. The Mean Green proved incapable of keeping pace on the board as they got the cash in just eight out of twenty-two games against the spread, with two of those payoffs occurring in the first two lined games of the season.
Low expectations
North Texas entered the 2005-06 season with a mediocre basketball tradition and with low expectations for another bland season. The question on the mind of college basketball gamblers was whether or not the Mean Green would be something of a board value due to those low expectations and their rather anonymous existence.
Stumbled out of the gate
North Texas opened the 2005-06 season with an unlined 85-48 blowout win over Hardin-Simmons. In their lined opener the Mean Green scored a 52-70 loss at NC-Wilmington as 11.5-point dogs and followed that up with a 67-83 loss at Arizona State as 12.5-point road dogs as they stumbled out of the gate with two straight ATS failures.
Brief bounceback
In their first lined home game of the season against Chattanooga, the Mean Green scored an 83-76 home win as 5-point chalks. That was then followed by a 70-72 loss/cover at Texas A&M as 18.5-point dogs for a brief bounceback of two straight covers.
The Mean Green then took a break from the board for a pair of unlined home games, starting with a 98-82 win over Nicholls State. That was then followed by a 111-65 home win over Angelo State.
Back on the board against Houston, the Mean Green scored an 84-92 loss as 5-point home dogs. They then went back off the board for two more home games beginning with a 101-62 win over Texas-Permian Basin, which was followed up with an 81-75 win over Stephen F. Austin.
Brief bounce
North Texas was back on the board and got a payoff with a 67-61 win at Tulsa as 3-point dogs, which was then followed by an 86-79 home win over Louisiana-Lafayette as 2-point chalks for a brief bounce of two consecutive covers.
Unable to sustain momentum
Just when gamblers thought about giving North Texas a chance, however, the Mean Green proved unable to sustain momentum against the board beginning with a 69-72 home loss to New Orleans as 9.5-point overlays. That was then followed by a 90-81 home win over Florida International as 9.5-point chalks. Next came a 72-70 home win over Denver that the Mean Green failed to cover as 2.5-point chalks in a classic “bad beat” and then a 60-69 loss at Arkansas-Little Rock as 3.5-point dogs for a fourth straight loss ATS.
Brief pause
The Mean Green then had a brief pause in their misery starting with an 82-79 win at Arkansas State as 3.5-point dogs. That was then followed by an 84-77 home win over Troy as 3.5-point chalks for a second consecutive payoff.
Red ink resumed its flow
The Mean Green again, however, couldn’t keep the payoffs coming as the red ink resumed its flow with a 67-89 home loss to South Alabama as 1.5-point chalks, which was then followed by a 58-77 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette as 5.5-point dogs. After a loss cover at New Orleans, the Mean Green lost SU&ATS to Middle Tennessee State and at Western Kentucky. After an unlined home win over Texas-Pan Am, the Mean Green went 1-2 SU and 1-1-1 ATS to finish the regular season, which was followed by a SU&ATS loss to Arkansas -Little Rock in the Sun Belt tourney.