The Utah State Aggies competed in the Big West Conference for the final time in the 2004-05 campaign and finished strong with a record of 24-8 straight up, including a league record of 13-5, which was good for a second place finish. The Aggies also did well against the college basketball gambling board as they went 18-12 against the spread. The Aggies did fade a bit down the stretch however, as they went 3-6 against the board in their final nine games, including a first round loss in the NCAA tournament to Arizona 53-66 as 5.5-point dogs.
New league and new challenges
Utah State would enter the Western Athletic Conference for 2005-06 as it would be a year of a new league and new challenges, such as maintaining their pace against the college basketball gambling board.
Mixed results at the start
Utah State opened the 2005-06 season with an unlined 72-67 overtime win at Oral Roberts. In their lined opener at Middle Tennessee State the Aggies scored a 59-60 loss as 3.5-point overlays. That was then followed by an unlined win over Lewis and Clark.
Back on the board at intra-state rival Utah, the Aggies scored a 66-67 loss/cover as 2-point dogs. That was followed by a 79-61 home win over Middle Tennessee State as 14.5-point chalks for a nice revenge win and cover. The Aggies then failed to cover a 69-60 win at Weber State as 12.5-point overlays and then lost at Hawaii 59-69 as 3-point dogs for mixed results at the start of 4-3 straight up and 2-3 against the college basketball betting board.
Back in black
After an unlined 65-64 home win over Oral Roberts, the Aggies were back on the board and scored a sweet 91-80 home win over hated Brigham Young as 9.5-point chalks. That was then followed by a 76-44 home win over Arkansas-Little Rock as 16-point chalks. Next came an 81-47 home win over Binghamton as 20-point chalks followed by a 67-56 win and cover at San Jose State as 8-point chalks for a fourth consecutive payoff.
Unable to sustain success
Utah State was unable to sustain success, however, starting with a 96-99 overtime loss at Fresno State as 4.5-point overlays. That was followed by a 75-69 home win over Boise State that they failed to cover as 15-point overlays. After an 83-58 home win over Idaho as 24-point chalks the Aggies then scored a 64-55 home win over Louisiana Tech as 10-point overlays for a third loss in four games against the board.
Difficult read
Utah State next took a break from the board and scored a 72-51 unlined home win over South Dakota State. Back on the board at home against Hawaii the Aggies scored a 63-52 win/push as 11-point chalks. That was then followed by an 86-93 loss at New Mexico State as 6-point overlays. The Aggies proved to be a difficult read for gamblers as they then won at Louisiana Tech 86-93 as 1.5-point dogs. After a 77-83 home loss to New Mexico State as 13.5-point chalks the Aggies won and covered at Idaho 80-42 as 13-point chalks.
Free Fall
From there, however, the Aggies would suffer a free fall against the board, beginning with a 66-63 home win over Northwestern State as 11-point chalk, which was followed by a 64-62 win at Boise State that they failed to cover as 4.5-point overlays. Next came a 57-75 blowout loss at Nevada as 3.5-point chalks, which was then followed by an 87-77 home win over Fresno State as 11-point chalks. The regular season ended with a 61-58 home win over San Jose State as 16.5-point overlays as the Aggies were clearly over-valued, losing five straight ATS.
In the post season, Utah State offered little value as well. They went 2-1 SU but 1-2 ATS in the conference tournament and then lost 61-75 to Washington in the NCAA tournament as 6-point dogs to finish a 1-8 stretch ATS.