College Basketball Betting Lines
2005 Stats
| Straight up | 13-14 overall, 4-10 conference, 7th Big West
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| Against the spread | 10-8-1 (3-4-1 home, 6-3 away)
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| Over/Under | 14-5 (8-0 home, 5-4 away)
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| Offensive Rank | 18th
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| Defensive Rank | 320th
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2005 Season Summary
The Idaho State Bengals would provide gamblers with a stark and striking contrast as they featured one of college basketball’s highest scoring offenses and yet also featured one of the worst defenses in the land. The combination was not good for the Bengals on a straight up basis and often made them a frustrating team to handicap. One thing that was easy to handicap was the fact that this was a classic “over” team and the oddsmakers never did find a number that the Bengals couldn’t consistently topple on the over/under boards.
Quiet bargains early
Idaho State couldn’t have had a tougher assignment to start the season as they opened at perennial powerhouse Kansas as whopping-26-point dogs and got the cash in a 66-90 loss.
The Bengals came home for a pair of unlined games, starting with a 106-64 win over Great Falls, which was followed by a 72-56 home win over Utah Valley State. Back on the boards against Boise State as 2.5-point home dogs, the Bengals scored an 88-79 win. That was followed by a 91-87 unlined overtime home win over North Dakota State. The Bengals continued to be quiet bargains early in the season with a 78-71 win at Idaho as 5-point dogs.
Idaho State next played three more unlined games starting with a 75-68 win at UC-Davis. That was followed by a 69-86 loss at North Dakota State and then a 102-76 win at home over Rocky Mountain.
Back on the boards against Binghamton in neutral court action, Idaho State lost 46-59 as 3-point chalks. The Bengals recovered nicely, however, with back-to-back payoffs starting with a 72-73 neutral court loss to Arkansas Little Rock as 5-point dogs. That was followed by a 76-80 loss at Montana as 14-point dogs. Overall Idaho State was 5-1 against the spread to start the season as they entered the heart of conference play.
Conference correction
In their next game at Montana State, the Bengals lost 72-84 as 8-point dogs. They then came home and lost a tough 106-107 decision to Sacramento State as 1-point dogs for a push.
Idaho State resumed in suffering its conference correction with back-to-back losses against the spread starting with an 81-85 defeat to Northern Arizona as 1-point dogs, which was followed by a 64-80 loss at Eastern Washington as 7-point dogs.
The red ink stopped flowing temporarily with a 68-66 win at Portland State as 7.5-point dogs. That was followed by an unlined 89-72 home win over South Dakota State.
Back on the board and in Big Sky Conference action, the Bengals lost at Weber State 61-66 as 2.5-point dogs. That was followed by an 87-98 home loss to Montana State as 1-point chalks to complete a stretch in which the Bengals went 1-5-1 against the spread to complete the market correction against the betting boards.
Back in the black
Idaho State’s struggles helped them retain some value against the basketball betting boards starting with a strong 95-70 win at home over Montana as 5.5-point dogs. The Bengals next got the cash as bargain dogs in an 80-88 loss at Northern Arizona as 8.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 72-71 win at Sacramento State as 8-point dogs for their third straight cover against the spread.
Idaho State next lost at Portland State 73-80 as 5-point chalks. That was followed by a 68-67 unlined win at Utah Valley State.
Back on the board at home against Weber State, the Bengals scored an 81-74 win as 5-5point chalks. They ended the regular season with an 87-94 loss to Eastern Washington as 2-point chalks. Idaho State failed to qualify for the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The Bengals ended the season with three straight overs, and went over the total in seven of their final eight games of the season.