The George Washington Colonials were coming off a successful 2004-05 season in which they went 22-8 straight up and 15-12 against the spread, capping off the season with an Atlantic 10 tournament title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Colonials finished in the money in four of their final five games and entered the 2005-06 season full of optimism and dreams of the next step.
Started off in the black
After four consecutive straight up wins in unlined games George Washington scored a 78-70 win and cover over Maryland as 2.5-point dogs to open the pointspread portion of their schedule with a payoff. This was followed by a 70-45 win over Florida International as 20.5-point chalks. After two more wins against unlined competition, George Washington was trounced 58-79 by North Carolina State as 6.5-point road dogs. They recovered with a 72-60 win at Temple as 2-point dogs to begin conference play as they started off in the black at 3-1 against the spread.
Brief dip George Washington Colonials
George Washington was one of the better-known and respected programs in the Atlantic 10 and this sometimes could cause a loss of value against the basketball betting boards for them. The Colonials did, in fact, suffer a brief dip as they lost two games in a row to the oddsmakers, though winning both straight up. First was a 79-73 win at Marshall as 11-point chalks and that was followed by a 69-64 win over Saint Louis as 11.5-point home favorites.
On a roll
George Washington Colonials next hosted Saint Joseph’s as a 6-point chalk and took an 82-70 decision as relatively small 6-point home favorites. This was followed with yet another unlined straight up win. Next at Charlotte in a pick’em affair, the Colonials scored an 83-69 statement making win. A brief setback against the basketball betting boards followed with a 94-78 win at Duquesne as 18-point road chalks.
George Washington got back on track with an 81-62 win over Rhode Island as 13-point chalks as they were about to go on a roll that would see them cover four straight games, which ended up making 6 payoffs out of 7 tries. The Colonials next won at Xavier 89-85 as 3.5-point dogs for their most impressive triumph of the season to date. That was followed by back-to-back home wins and covers over Richmond, (80-55), and Dayton, (81-67).
Another brief George Washington Colonials correction
George Washington had caught the attention of increasing numbers of the mainstream gambling public which meant that another brief correction was due as the oddsmakers adjusted their lines with higher prices for Colonial games to meet the increasing public demand. First, at Saint Joseph’s, George Washington Colonials scored a 64-62 squeaker win as 3.5-point chalks. This was followed up with a 69-66 win over Massachusetts as 13.5-point home chalks.
Back in the black
George Washington’s two losses against the oddsmakers cooled some of the heels of the public and brought back some value. They next went to Richmond and scored a nice 64-51 win and cover as 9.5-point chalks. This was followed by a 77-65 win over LaSalle as 11.5-point home chalks. Next was a 78-67 win at Fordham as 6.5-point favorites to complete a three game stroll back in the black for the Colonials.
George Washington Colonials Value depleted
George Washington entered the home stretch of the 2005-06 season having covered 12 out of 18 games against the spread and with just one straight up loss, which meant that they were attracting too much attention from the public to retain any meaningful betting value.
They were a 13-point overlay at St. Bonaventure in an 89-78 win over the Bonnies. This was followed by an 86-85 home win over Charlotte as 8-point overlays. In the conference tournament they lost straight up to Temple 53-68 as 3.5-point chalks. Despite the loss they still made the NCAA Tournament and scored an 88-85 overtime win over North Carolina Wilmington as 3-point chalks. They were next bounced by Duke 61-74 as 8.5-point dogs to complete the season with their value depleted.