For the first time in a long time DePaul basketball was beginning to truly matter again as the Blue Demons were coming off an impressive season in 2004-05 by going 20-11 straight up and 14-16 against the spread while reaching the second round of the NIT.
DePaul was a college basketball powerhouse and “name brand” team under legendary coach Ray Meyer but had spent the better part of the time since his retirement twenty years ago as an anonymous losing program. As time faded, so did the memories of DePaul’s dominance and they were now often a “go against” team with gamblers, at least until the 2004-05 season when the program’s potential promise was revealed.
A new league
DePaul would try and carry the momentum of the previous season into the 2005-06 campaign in which they would be competing in a new league, the Big East, after bolting from Conference USA along with Marquette, Cincinnati, and Louisville, the top teams of CUSA. A repeat of the success of 2004-05 would be difficult to say the least in this newer, bigger, and tougher conference.
Undervalued
DePaul opened the 2005-06 season with a 60-75 home loss to Bradley as 5-point chalks. That was followed by a 59-49 home win over Northwestern as 2.5-point chalks. The Blue Demons then lost at Northern Illinois 68-77 as 1-point dogs. The poor 1-2 start helped enhance their value on the betting boards, however, as they became undervalued.
DePaul got back on track with a 72-57 home win over Creighton as 4.5-point dogs. They then suffered an unlined home loss to Bucknell before beating Alabama-Birmingham 70-66 as 1-point home pups. They then scored back-to-back wins and covers at Dayton and Wake Forest to extend their winning streak against the sportsbooks to four games.
Value eroded
DePaul next was clobbered at Old Dominion 43-87 as 7.5-point dogs. After a neutral court win/cover over California, the Blue Demons beat Florida International 72-60 as 15.5-point home overlays and then lost their Big East opener at Cincinnati 60-82 as 13-point dogs as their value eroded.
Up and down
DePaul next won and covered at home against Notre Dame before getting a loss/cover at Pittsburgh. They then came home and lost to Rutgers 68-78 as 3.5-point chalks and to Marquette 47-62 as 2-point home favorites.
After a 75-76 loss at Providence as 4-point dogs the Blue Demons won at Marquette 79-82 as 6-point dogs. The up and down pattern continued as DePaul dropped their fourth game out of five against the oddsmakers with a bad 44-64 loss at Georgetown as 5-point dogs.
Still bleeding red ink
DePaul briefly stopped hemorrhaging with an 80-66 win at South Florida as 1-point dogs but then went right back in the tank with back-to-back home losses, first against Providence 60-61 as 4.5-point chalks and then to Villanova 51-61 as 8.5-point dogs as they were still bleeding red ink with nine losses in their last 14 games against the spread.
Forgotten and unwanted bargains
DePaul headed down the homestretch with very little appeal for gamblers as they not only had their obvious problems against the sportsbooks but were also just 1-8 straight up in their last 9 games, which is a great way to scare off the mainstream gambling public. All of this helped transform DePaul into forgotten and unwanted bargains as they mostly played out the string against better-known teams with something to play for.
The bargains began with a 52-48 win at St. John’s as 4-point dogs. After a 53-65 loss at Louisville as 8.5-point dogs the Blue Demons went on to win and cover back-to-back home games against Seton Hall and Syracuse before closing the season out with a 61-66 loss at Notre Dame as 7.5-point dogs. DePaul closed the year out with four payoffs in their last five games.