2005 Season Summary
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks exploded on to the national scene in 2003-04 and were featured high near the top of the national rankings for most of that season before they flamed out on the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks did attract the attention of many mainstream gamblers who previously knew next to nothing about them. Despite the added attention from both their opponents on the court and gamblers, the Hawks finished a respectable 24-12 straight up and 19-13-2 against the spread in 2004-05 and made the fourth round of the NIT. Saint Joseph’s entered 2005-06 as a respected program.
Solid start
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks opened 2005-06 with a non-lined win and then won at Fairfield 72-41 as 4.5-point chalks. This was followed by a 94-100 overtime loss at Davidson as 1.5-point favorites. The Hawks rebounded, however, by winning at Drexel 69-59 as 2.5-point chalks and then scored a nice 70-67 win over Kansas as 2-point dogs on a neutral court to stand at 4-1 straight up and 3-1 against the spread for a solid start to the campaign.
After a 74-81 home loss to Ohio State in a pick’em affair, Saint Joseph’s Hawks got back on track with another unlined win. They then traveled to the west coast for a pair of games against fellow Catholic schools St. Mary’s and Gonzaga. The Hawks beat St. Mary’s 70-66 as 1-point chalks and then lost to Gonzaga 94-102 as 10.5-point dogs to get the cover, improving to 6-2 against the spread.
Stumbled out of the gate in league play
Saint Joseph’s Hawks’s did not fair so well when action started in Atlantic 10 Conference play as they dropped a 58-62 home game to Xavier as 1-point chalks. This was followed by a 59-57 win over Temple as 2.5-point home dogs for an excruciating loss for gamblers. They next lost at Massachusetts 58-68 in a pick’em before losing at George Washington 70-82 as 6-point dogs. Saint Joseph’s lost their fifth consecutive game against the oddsmakers with a 50-57 loss to Charlotte as 4.5-point chalks as they stumbled out of the gate in league play going 1-4 straight up.
Saint Joseph’s Hawks Brief run as bargains
As so often is the case in college basketball betting, when a team goes on a losing streak against the oddsmakers they become just like a stock and end up transforming into a bargain/value just at the point where nobody wants to touch them. St Joseph’s reached just that point as they beat La Salle 66-54 as 6-point home chalks. This was followed by a 54-39 win at Saint Louis as 1-point dogs. Next was a 47-44 win at Pennsylvania as 3-point dogs for their third consecutive win both straight up and against the spread as their brief run as bargains concluded.
Back in the red zone
Although Saint Joseph’s retained some value they quickly lost much of what little they had as they still had a national reputation, though not a team to match their billing. A 69-77 loss at Dayton as 1-point dogs started the Hawks back in the red zone. They next won and covered at home over St. Bonaventure 82-51 as 15.5-point chalks. This was followed by a 58-71 loss to Villanova as 7-point neutral court dogs. They next squeaked out a cover at home in a 62-64 loss to George Washington as 3.5-point dogs.
Unfortunately the Hawks could not maintain momentum as they lost at Temple 44-57 as 5-point dogs. This was followed by a 57-55 win at Rhode Island as 2.5-point chalks as Saint Joseph’s backers suffered a gut wrenching loss to the oddsmakers. Saint Joseph’s scored another win/loss in their next game with a 64-58 straight up victory over Fordham as 10-point chalks.
Saint Joseph’s Hawks On a roll
Operating the vast majority of the season in the red, Saint Joseph’s had little appeal for gamblers as February was drawing to a close. This made them a live bargain yet again. They won and covered all three of their final regular season games vs. Richmond and at Xavier and Duquesne. The were on a roll in the conference tournament scoring three consecutive wins and covers and making it all the way to the title game against Xavier, with the winner getting a bid to the NCAAA tournament. Saint Joseph’s ran out of gas with a 61-62 loss as 1-point chalks. They made the NIT where they won and covered over Rutgers before losing to Hofstra.