Few teams could have had a worse regular season than the 2004-05 Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds, who finished with a record of 6-22 straight up, including a 5-13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record which was good for next to last in the league.
Yet with that horrific record, Loyola Maryland did manage, incredibly enough, to get the cash in thirteen of twenty three games against the college basketball gambling lines in a classic lesson about board value and on how the absolute worst and most unappealing teams can often bring superb gambling value.
In fact, when Loyola-Maryland stood at 3-17 straight up, when they could not have possibly had any less appeal on the board, they went on to cover five straight games and six of their final eight overall. So the next time you hear about a terrible team to “step out” against, remember those 3-17 Greyhounds that went on to get the cash!
Quietly good start
Teams such as Loyola-Maryland can be a tricky handicap early in the season as they were coming off a horrible straight up record in the year prior, but played in a league in which rapid improvement was possible.
The Greyhounds opened 2005-06 with an 80-67 win at Towson as 3.5-point dogs. They then went on hiatus from the college basketball betting boards for three games starting with a 71-64 home win over MD Baltimore City. That was followed by a 68-60 home win over American University and then a 76-71 win at Mount St. Mary’s.
Back on the board at Fairfield, the Greyhounds scored a 90-85 overtime win as 6-point dogs for a quietly good start of 5-0 straight up and 2-0 against the spread.
Brief dip
Loyola-Maryland next suffered a brief dip starting with a 73-85 home loss to Manhattan as 3-point dogs. That was followed by a 59-98 loss at Virginia as 15-point dogs and then an unlined 87-79 win at VMI.
Cash cows
The Greyhounds quickly got back on track, however, starting with a 99-86 win at Delaware as 7.5-point dogs. That was followed by an 81-94 loss at Providence as 14-point dogs and then an 82-70 home win over Niagara as 3-point chalks for a third straight payoff.
Loyola-Maryland kept performing as cash cows with a 78-75 home win over Marist as 1.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 95-80 win at Canisius as 5.5-point dogs and then a 72-75 win at Niagara as 4-point dogs to complete a stretch of six consecutive payoffs.
Depleted value
After covering eight of their first ten games against the college basketball gambling lines, the Greyhounds were no longer operating in anonymity with the college basketball gambling community, which caused them to suffer from depleted value starting with a 68-86 loss at Iona as 10.5-point dogs. That was followed by a 78-76 home win over Rider as 7-point chalks and then a 72-80 home loss to Fairfield as 6-point chalks.
Loyola-Maryland briefly stopped the bleeding with a pair of loss/covers at St. Peter’s and at Marist but then went o to lose their next three games both SU&ATS starting at home against Siena, then at Manhattan, and then at home against Iona for their sixth loss against the college basketball betting boards in eight games.
Unable to sustain success
The Greyhounds stopped the bleeding with an 89-69 loss to St. Peter’s as 1.5-point chalks but then lost at Siena 69-85 as 6-point dogs. That was followed by a 77-71 home win against High Point as 7-point overlays. After a 69-66 win at Rider as 4-point dogs, the Greyhounds lost to Canisius 59-54 as 6-point chalks and then lost SU&ATS to Canisius in the tourney.