The Buffalo Bulls finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 23-10 straight up, which included a Mid-American Conference record of 11-7, which was good for a four way tie for second place in the MAC East Division. Buffalo finished a solid 18-13 against the spread and ended their season with a second round loss in the NIT tourney. Buffalo Bulls covered 14 of their final 20 games of the season to leave a good taste in the mouths of college basketball gamblers.
Mystery team
Despite the good season, Buffalo remained a mystery team that operated in relative obscurity with the mainstream college basketball gambling public, which meant that their overall board value had the potential for wild fluctuations.
Groggy start Buffalo Bulls
Buffalo Bulls began the season with an 81-76 home win over Canisius as 7-point chalks. That was followed by a 96-61 unlined win over Buffalo State. Next was a 63-92 loss at Boston College as 16.5-point dogs for a groggy start of 0-2 against the spread. A 71-65 neutral court win over Jackson State followed.
Cranking cash
Buffalo pulled themselves together starting with a 66-60 win over Detroit as 2.5-point neutral court chalks. That was followed by an 85-69 home win over Fresno State as 5-point chalks. Buffalo next scored a 68-59 win at Niagara as 2-point dogs before scoring a 66-53 unlined win at Liberty. That was followed by a 62-53 home win over Rutgers as 2-point chalks for a fourth consecutive payoff. The streak was halted with a 68-67 win over Elon University as 14.5-point home overlays. After a 56-51 unlined win at Delaware State, the Bulls resumed cranking cash with a 78-62 home win over Eastern Michigan as 12.5-point chalks. That was followed by an 82-84 overtime loss/cover at Northern Illinois as 4.5-point dogs. Next was a 70-73 loss/cover at Toledo as 4.5-point dogs. Buffalo Bulls earned a fourth straight payoff with a 73-62 home win over Western Michigan as 10.5-point chalks and followed that up with a 75-64 home win over Ball State as 8.5-point chalks. The five game payoff streak ended with a stunning 61-71 upset home loss to Central Michigan as 17-point overlays, which completed a stretch in which Buffalo went a phenomenal 9-1 against the board. The Bulls did come right back with a 76-73 win at Bowling Green as 1-point chalks, which was then followed by a 70-51 home win over Ohio as 1-point dogs. Buffalo had just completed a long stretch in which they went 11-2 against the spread, which was a pace that couldn’t be sustained, particularly since with that success had come increased attention from the college basketball betting public along with the oddsmakers. Just like one of those tech stocks from the late 1990’s Buffalo Bulls was about to bust with a massive sports betting market correction.
Buffalo Bulls Free fall
Buffalo Bulls problems began with a 52-70 blowout loss at Kent State as 7-point dogs. That was followed by a 61-75 loss at Akron as 8.5-point dogs. Next was a 74-81 loss to Miami-Ohio as 2.5-point chalks. The Bulls then dropped a fourth straight game with a 60-67 loss at Ball State a 1.5-point dogs. The bleeding stopped temporarily with a 73-59 win at Central Michigan as 7-point chalks. From there, however, the free fall resumed with three consecutive SU&ATS losses to Kent, at Iona, and at Ohio. The Bulls then won and covered at home over Bowling Green and Akron before losing SU&ATS at Miami-Ohio to end the regular season. In the MAC tournament Buffalo got a win/push over Ball Sate and then lost to Kent State 67-76 as 7-point dogs to end their season with just three payoffs in their final thirteen games.