Indiana Hoosiers

College Basketball Betting Lines

2005 Stats

2005 Season Summary

The Indiana Hoosiers were an interesting dichotomy in 2004-05 as they went just 15-14 straight up but 16-10-1 against the spread with 14 covers in their final 20 decisions against the basketball betting line.  The program seemed to be slipping under head coach Mike Davis, who inherited a near impossible situation when he took over for the legendary Bob Knight.  Although the program had slipped a notch under Knight, he was still an icon with the fans due to past accomplishments and Davis had no such record to fall back on.  Hoosier Nation appeared to be split right down the middle on Davis and his job was acknowledged by nearly everyone to be on the line for 2005-06.

Touted talent

Part of Davis’ problem was that his recruiting classes were generally highly rated and the mainstream media kept waiting for the Hoosiers to take off with this touted talent that Davis had acquired. The problem, however, was that Davis was not developing the materiel quick enough to meet the insatiable appetite of Hoosier fans, who believe that annual Final Four berths are a birthright, present climate be damned.

Under fire right away

Indiana began the 2005-06 regular season with unlined home wins over Nicholls State and Florida A&M. This was followed by another unlined win at Western Illinois.  In their first lined game of the season, Indiana lost at home to Duke 67-75 as 4.5-point dogs.  This was followed by a 79-63 win at Eastern Michigan as 23.5-point overlays.  Disaster occurred in Indiana’s next game in a 67-72 loss at Indiana State as 6.5-point chalks for their third consecutive loss against the spread as Davis found himself under fire right away.

Putting out the flames

To their credit, Indiana wasted no time putting out the flames as they won and covered their next four games beginning with a strong 79-53 triumph over Kentucky as 1-point neutral court dogs.  This was followed by wins at Charlotte, over Butler on a neutral court, and at Ball State.

Big Ten blues

Indiana began Big Ten play with a 70-63 home win over Michigan as 9-point overlays.  They were home overlays again in their very next game in an 81-79 win over Ohio State as 5.5-point chalks.  Indiana was next clobbered at Michigan State 73-87 as 4.5-point dogs as their Big Ten blues against the oddsmakers continued.  The bleeding stopped temporarily with a 62-60 win over Illinois as 1.5-point home chalks.

Gushing red ink

Although they were not covering the spread consistently, Indiana started off 3-1 straight up in conference play and bagged another Big Ten win over Purdue 62-49 as 17-point home overlays.   This win would prove to be the eye of a hurricane, however, as the Hoosiers were to enter a tumultuous period that would cost Davis his job as they gushed red ink along the way.

Indiana entered the heart of Big Ten play by going into a stretch in which they went 1-7 straight up and 0-8 against the spread as they lost at Iowa and at Minnesota.  They then beat Northwestern at home but failed to cover as overlays.  They then lost at home to Connecticut, at Wisconsin, at home to Iowa, at Penn State, and at Illinois.  When they finally beat Penn State at home they still failed to get the cash as they dropped their tenth straight game against the spread.

Davis resignation sparked a late run

Davis announced during the losing streak that he would resign at the end of the season.  The Davis resignation sparked a late run as the Hoosiers won and covered their final three games of the regular season to increase the possibility of making the “Big Dance.”

Too little, too late

Indiana beat Wisconsin in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Ohio State but they covered both games and got an NCAA tourney bid.  They won and covered against San Diego State before being eliminated by Gonzaga 80-90 as 3.5-point dogs as they finished 6-2 both straight up and against the spread but it was too little, too late.