The Gonzaga Bulldogs had emerged from something of a Cinderella darling of the NCAA tournament to a respected college basketball power that was of lesser value as time went on because of their increased notoriety. The Bulldogs finished the 2004-05 season with a stellar straight up record of 26-5, which included a West Coast Conference mark of 12-2, as they finished in first place.
Against the spread, however, it was an entirely different matter altogether Gonzaga Bulldogs finished just 12-18 against the number, clearly demonstrating that they were a habitual overlay and poor value as a “public” team. In fact, it would have been worse for the Zags had they not gotten the cash in six of their final ten games of the year, when their value was enhanced after they had chased off much of the public with their poor performance against the board.
Strong start Gonzaga Bulldogs
Gonzaga Bulldogs emergence as a “public” team had served to take away their “surprise” or “secret” factor and they had actually become one of the more “public” teams on the board. But that had been tempered by all of the red ink that had flowed over the years, which offered the possibility that they might retain some value, at least at the start of 2005-06.
There didn’t seem to be much value offered on opening night, however, as the Zags beat Idaho at home 69-60 as whopping 25.5-point chalks. But from there, the Bulldogs would enjoy a strong start ATS.
Their resurgence began with an 88-76 neutral court win over Maryland as 2.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 109-116 neutral court overtime loss to Michigan State as 1.5-point dogs. Next came a 63-65 neutral court loss to Connecticut, one of the nation’s true elite teams, 63-65 as 5-point neutral court dogs for a third straight payoff. Incredibly enough, after covering against top shelf competition the Zags failed to get the cash in an 89-80 home win over Portland as 25-point overlays.
Gonzaga then got back on track with a 95-99 loss/cover at cross-town rival Washington as 6.5-point dogs and followed that up with a 67-53 home win over Washington State as 12-point chalks for a fifth payoff in six games.
Gonzaga Bulldogs Free fall
Anyone that thought that the Zags would be bringing any value, however, was sadly mistaken as proven in their 64-62 neutral court win over Oklahoma State as 6-point overlays, which began a free fall against the board that re-established the Zags as poor values. In fact, it was the first of six consecutive losses against the board despite the fact that the Bulldogs won five of the games straight up.
Brief Conference Bargains
Gonzaga Bulldogs entered the heart of West Coast Conference play and, after turning off the public with that losing streak, became brief conference bargains as a result starting with a big 68-60 win at St. Mary’s as 4.5-point chalks, and followed that up with SU&ATS wins at Santa Clara and at home over Pepperdine.
Back in the tank
But from there, the Zags couldn’t sustain success against the board and starting with their failure to cover a 92-80 home win over Loyola Marymount as 17.5-point chalks, they went right back in the tank, getting the cash in just one out of their next seven games despite the fact that they won all seven games straight up.
Gonzaga Bulldogs Back in black
The Zags were back in black to end the regular season as they went 5-0 SU and 3-2 ATS to take the league title again.
Post season in red
The Zags went 2-0 SU but 0-2 ATS in the WCC tourney. In the NCAA tourney, they won but didn’t cover against Xavier, won and covered over Indiana, and then in the “Sweet Sixteen” round they were eliminated by UCLA 71-73 as 3.5-point dogs.