The Pacific Tigers were coming off one of their most successful seasons ever in 2004-05 as they finished 27-4 straight up and 17-11-1 against the spread while scoring an upset win at Kansas and making the second round of the NCAA tournament in the process. Pacific finished the regular season with incredible strength and profit by going 10-1 against the spread before fading down the stretch with a 1-3 mark in post season.
Entering the 2005-06 season Pacific would lose the one element that made them so valuable in 2004-05 which was the element of surprise. Gamblers and on court opponents would now respect them, have an eye on them, and be ready for them. All of this would therefore serve to deplete Pacific of much of the value that they had in 2004-05, and the first signs of that value depletion were evident in their post season slow down.
Solid start
Pacific Tigers began the 2005-06 season with three consecutive unlined games starting with a 74-55 home win over Sonoma State. That was followed by a pair of neutral court games starting with an 89-60 win over Bowie State followed by an 82-37 win over Savannah State.
In their first game on the board at Oregon, the Pacific Tigers fell 62-84 as 8-point dogs. They recovered however, with three payoffs in their next four games starting with a 60-63 loss at Santa Clara as 3.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 75-71 win at San Francisco as 1-point chalks and then a 70-77 loss to Nevada as 4-point dogs.
Pacific got right back on track with an 81-63 win over San Jose State as 10.5-point chalks and then scored a 91-75 win at Western Kentucky as 9-point dogs. Next was a 99-63 win and cover over Fresno State as 6.5-point chalks as they covered five of their first seven games against the spread for a solid start.
Consistent profits
After a 66-72 loss at Texas El Paso as 4-point dogs, the Tigers won an unlined game at UC Davis 84-51. That was followed by a 63-56 home win over Texas A&M as 4-point chalks.
After a 71-83 loss to UC Riverside as 22-point chalks, Pacific roared back with an 83-74 win over Cal State Fullerton as 8.5-point chalks and then a 78-72 win at Long Beach State as 4.5-point chalks as they continued to turn solid profits.
Brief Dip
Pacific Tigers suffered a brief dip against the spread starting with a 61-70 loss at UC Irvine as 3-point chalks followed by an unlined win over UC Davis 67-56. that was followed by another pointspread failure in a 64-62 loss at Cal Poly SLO as 9-point chalks.
Back on track
Pacific was not held down for long by the oddsmakers however, as they got back on track in a hurry starting with a 65-53 win at Santa Barbara as 2-point chalks. That was followed by a 64-52 home win over UC Irvine as 7-point chalks.After an 87-78 home loss to Long Beach State as 9.5-point chalks, the Tigers scored back to back wins and covers. First was a 67-62 win at Cal State Fullerton as 2-point chalks followed by a 95-58 win at UC Riverside as 13-point chalks.
Another dip
Pacific had been incredibly consistent all season so any turbulence was brief. The Tigers did suffer another dip against the spread with two losses in their next three games starting with a 69-79 loss to New Mexico State as 11-point chalks, and then two straight up wins over Northridge in a row in which they covered at home and failed ATS away.
Profitable finish
Pacific rebounded with three covers in their final five games and lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney both SU & ATS to Boston College.