The Bowling Green Falcons finished 18-11 straight up in 2004-05 and 10-8 in the MAC West Division good for a third place finish. The Falcons finished 13-13 against the college basketball betting lines in a most bizarre board performance in which they got payoffs in their first nine consecutive games against the spread. When a team covers nine consecutive games to start the season, no matter who they are, it grabs the attention of the gambling public and then, of course, the oddsmakers, who will jack up the prices on such a team to meet consumer demand, which helps put the skids to such streaks as the teams lose overall board value. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened to Bowling Green as they finished just 4-13 against the spread the rest of the way, as their value was depleted after the hot start.
New season in a new division
The Mid-American Conference went through a slight re-alignment in 2005-06 as Bowling Green moved from the West to the East to start the new season in a new division.
Lethargic Start Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green opened the 2005-06 season with a 50-56 neutral court loss to Western Carolina as 5.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 72-71 upset/stunner win at Virginia Tech as 17-point dogs. From there, however, the Falcons suffered a lethargic start beginning with a 63-81 unlined neutral court loss to Radford. That was followed by an 85-50 home win over Urbana and then a 66-76 home loss to Oakland. Back on the board at Bradley, the Falcons were blown off the court with a 64-93 loss as 14.5-point dogs.
Deja Vu all over again
Bowling Green picked up the pace, however, starting with their next game a 60-68 loss at Arkansas Little Rock as 8.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 60-71 neutral court loss/cover against Florida State as 17.5-point dogs and then a 60-52 loss at Troy as 6.5-point dogs for a third straight payoff. After an unlined 81-50 home win over Notre Dame College, the Falcons were back on the board for the MAC opener, which was a 66-44 blowout win over Central Michigan as 8-point chalks for a fourth consecutive payoff. The payoff streak was halted with a 62-84 loss at Western Michigan as 6-point dogs. Bowling Green wasted no time getting back on track, however, starting with a 74-75 loss/cover to Northern Illinois as 3-point dogs. That was followed by a 59-52 home win over Toledo as 4.5-point dogs as it seemed to be deja vu all over again with the Falcons putting together a similar payoff streak to the opening of their previous season. The Falcons next won at Eastern Michigan 79-72 as 2.5-point dogs and then scored a 61-62 loss/cover at Ball State as 6.5-point dogs for an eighth payoff in nine games.
Repeat pattern Bowling Green Falcons
After the Falcons got a SU&ATS home loss against Buffalo and a SU&ATS win at Kent State, they fell into a repeat pattern from the previous season as they collapsed down the stretch, gushing red ink. The slump began with a 72-77 overtime home loss to Akron as 4.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 60-77 loss at Miami-Ohio as 11-point dogs. Next game a 90-93 overtime home loss to Ohio as 2.5-point dogs and then a 73-71 home win over Eastern Michigan as 8.5-point chalks. The bleeding temporarily stopped with a 64-72 loss/cover at Toledo as 9.5-point dogs. But from there, the Falcons would nose dive as they suffered SU&ATS losses at Akron, at home against Wright State and Kent State, at Buffalo, at home against Miami-Ohio, and at Ohio to close the regular season with six straight ATS losses before losing SU&ATS in the MAC tourney’s 1st rd.