2005 Season Summary
The Santa Barbara Gauchos have had an up and down existence like many teams from the Big West Conference and entered the 2005-06 season with the same expectations as normal, which was to expect the unexpected.
Stumbled out of the gate
The Gauchos season began in promising fashion with an 82-59 win over San Francisco as 5-point chalks. But from there things began to sour quickly both on the court and at the sportsbooks.
In their next game Santa Barbara Gauchos beat San Diego 67-65 as 9.5-point chalks, failing to cover as an overlay. That was followed by a 66-83 loss at defending national champion North Carolina as 13.5-point puppies. Next was a 57-73 loss at Arizona State as 5.5-point dogs and then the losing streak ended with a 60-77 loss at Loyola Marymount as 1.5-point dogs as Santa Barbara Gauchos stumbled out of the gate with 4 consecutive losses against the spread.
Bargain Values
The good news was that teams like Santa Barbara Gauchos, who are not center stage and the focus of the college basketball gambling public’s attention in the first place can quickly gain value, particularly when losing, as they become so unappealing that they actually often get enhanced odds.
Santa Barbara stopped the bleeding with a 65-56 win at home over Pepperdine as an 8-point home chalk. That was followed by a brief setback at San Diego State in a 54-66 loss as 7-point dogs.
After an unlined home win over Sonoma State the Gauchos got back on track as bargain values with a 76-79 loss/cover at Fresno State as 5.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 76-53 home win over Portland as 6-point chalks.
Gushing red ink Santa Barbara Gauchos
The brief Santa Barbara Gauchos prosperity was not to last, however, as they suffered a catastrophic slump against the board starting with a 78-81 loss at UC Riverside as 9-point chalks. That was followed by a 59-73 loss at Cal State Fullerton as 3.5-point dogs.
The losing continued at home as the Gauchos failed to cover a 77-74 win over Long Beach State as 8-point chalks and then lost to UC Irvine 66-70 as 5-point favorites.
After an unlined win at UC Davis the Santa Barbara Gauchos continued gushing red ink with a 62-74 loss at Cal Polo SLO as 5.5-point chalks. Next was a 46-59 loss to Northridge as 6-point chalks. The red ink flowed some more with a 53-65 win over Pacific as 2-point home dogs for a seventh consecutive failure against the board.
Brief bargain run
The Gauchos had become one of the most unappealing teams in college basketball and this served to enhance their overall board value for a brief bargain run.
It started with a 60-59 win at UC Irvine as 8.5-point dogs and was then followed by an 81-78 win at Long Beach State as 4.5-point dogs. Next was a 64-37 win over Cal Poly SLO as 9.5-point chalks and that was followed by a 76-72 win at San Jose State as 1-point dogs for a fourth consecutive payoff against the board.
Santa Barbara Gauchos Back in the red
The Gauchos quickly went back to losing, however, with a 76-80 defeat at the hands of Cal State Fullerton as 5-point chalks. That was followed by an 81-71 win over UC Riverside as 15-point chalks. The Gauchos remained back in the red with a 36-64 loss at Pacific as 10.5-point dogs for a third straight failure. Santa Barbara then scored an 82-76 win over Northridge to stop the bleeding as 2-point dogs to end the regular season.
The Gauchos split their two games in the Big West Conference tourney both SU & ATS.