The Northern Iowa Panthers were coming off a 2004-05 season in which they went 21-11 straight up, including a conference record of 11-7, which was good for a third place tie in the Missouri Valley Conference. Northern Iowa Panthers finished 15-13-1 against the spread but covered just eleven of their final twenty-five games against the spread to end the season. The Panthers did get an at large bid in the NCAA tournament and scored a 52-57 loss to Wisconsin as 6.5-point dogs.
Cranking cash
Northern Iowa Panthers began the 2005-06 season with a 68-46 win over Western Carolina as 20-point neutral court chalks. That was followed by a 69-63 win at Western Michigan as 3-point chalks and then an unlined home win over Upper Iowa 72-47. The Panthers then suffered a 61-68 loss at Iowa State as 1-point dogs.
Northern Iowa then resumed cranking cash with a 72-56 home win over Loyola Chicago as 12.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 67-63 overtime win over Iowa as 2-point chalks.
Northern Iowa Panthers then went back off the board for a pair of games starting with an 87-64 home win over UMKC as 2-point chalks and then a 76-53 home win over Florida A&M.
Back on the board at Louisiana State, the Panthers scored a 54-50 win as 8-point dogs against an eventual Final Four team. Northern Iowa then met up with Hawaii Pacific and scored an 81-47 neutral court win that was off the board. That was followed up by a 74-67 neutral court win over Dayton as 5-point chalks to begin the season with a record of 6-1 against the college basketball betting boards.
Brief dip
Northern Iowa opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 60-68 loss at Bradley in overtime as 1-point dogs. That was followed by a 71-60 home win over Evansville as 17-point overlays for a second straight failure against the board. The brief dip ended with a 60-47 home win over Illinois State as 13.5-point chalks.
Solid stretch
Northern Iowa Panthers got back on track with a 75-61 win at Wichita State as 2-point dogs. That was followed by a 72-62 win at Missouri State as 5-point dogs. After a brief pause in the form of a 52-55 home loss to Creighton, the Panthers got back on track with a 67-52 win and cover at Illinois State.
Northern Iowa next scored a 71-65 overtime home win over Southern Illinois for a push. That was followed by a 91-72 home win over Drake as 11-point chalks and then a 74-61 win at Evansville as 11-point favorites for a solid stretch of 5-1-1 against the board.
Value depletion
Northern Iowa had a solid reputation with gamblers as one of the better teams in the Missouri Valley Conference and that solid stretch against the board only served to increase their appeal with gamblers. With that increase in public attention, however, came a value depletion on the board, starting with a 51-49 win at Drake as 4-point chalks. That was then followed by a 55-63 loss at Creighton as 2-point dogs.
Northern Iowa stopped the bleeding briefly with an 83-56 home win over Indiana State as 15-point chalks followed by a 68-56 home win over Wichita State as 5.5-point chalks.
The Panthers could not sustain momentum, however, starting with a 63-66 home loss to Missouri State as 6-point chalks. That was followed by a 60-61 loss at Indiana State as 8.5-point chalks. Next came a 65-61 overtime home win over Bucknell as 6.5-point chalks and then a 49-71 home win over Bradley as 6-point favorites for a sixth failure in eight games against the board. The Panthers ended the regular season wi9th a 45-46 loss at Southern Illinois, getting the cash as 2.5-point dogs.
In post season, Northern Iowa went 1-2 SU&ATS and lost in the first round of the NCAA to Georgetown.