The Marist Red Foxes were hoping for an improvement in 2005-06 and perhaps even a post season bid but much was unknown about them as the season began, which had the positive potential to keep them as bargain values on the board.
Marist Red Foxes finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 11-17 straight up and 14-9 against the spread but expected to have a bump up, though few gamblers could see that. But the fact that they were able to cover fourteen of twenty-three games despite a poor straight up record was an indicator that this team was undervalued. Marist was not undiscovered by gamblers towards the end of the season, which caused their value to plummet as they covered just three of their final eleven games in massive value depletion against the college basketball lines.
Promising start
Marist opened the 2005-06 season with a 72-75 loss at Seton Hall as value-added 12-point dogs. That was followed by a 64-48 home win over Delaware as 3.5-point chalks for a promising start of 2-0 both straight up and against the spread. Marist then took a game off from the boards and scored a 92-84 win at Lafayette.
Reality check Marist Red Foxes
Marist looked improved so far but in their next game at home against Ohio, they suffered a 63-69 loss as 3.5-point dogs, which was the beginning of a reality check for the Red Foxes.
In their next game at Manhattan, Marist lost 79-90 as an 8-point dog and followed that up with a 76-79 home loss to Iona as a 2-point dog for their third consecutive loss both SU&ATS.
Up and down
Marist was able to pull themselves together with a 56-53 win at St. John’s as a 9.5-point dog and that was followed up with a 69-51 win over St. Bonaventure as a 6-point chalk. The Marist Red Foxes then had a short respite from the betting boards as they won at Florida Atlantic by a score of 84-75
Back on the board at home against Canisius, Marist lost 67-76 as a 7.5-point chalk. That was followed by a 75-78 loss at Loyola-Maryland as a 1.5-point dog, as the completed an up and down stretch of 2-2 against the college basketball betting boards.
Marist then took another break from the pointspreads and scored an 83-69 unlined win at Liberty.
A nice run Marist Red Foxes
As Metro Atlantic play heated up, so did the Red Foxes starting with an 85-77 win at Siena as 2-point dogs. That was followed by an 89-66 win at Rider as 2-point chalks. Next was a 77-68 home win over Manhattan as 1-point chalks.
Marist got a fourth consecutive payoff with a 91-72 home win over Fairfield as 10.5-point chalks and then scored a 71-63 win at St. Peter’s as a 2-point chalk to complete a nice run of five consecutive payoffs.
Value depleted
Marist’s improved play did not go unnoticed by the oddsmakers or the college basketball gambling public, and their value depleted as a result starting with an 82-75 home win over Siena as 9-point overlays. Next was an 86-78 home win over Loyola-Maryland as 10-point overlays as the Marist Red Foxes were clearly proven to be over-valued. It only got worse as this time the Red Foxes failed to even get the straight up win in a 74-75 loss to St. Peter’s as 8.5-point home chalks.
Marist stopped the bleeding with consecutive SU & ATS wins at Iona and then at home against Rider. But problems against the board resumed as they lost SU&ATS at Niagara, then won at Canisius but didn’t cover, and then lost at Old Dominion SU & ATS before finishing the regular season with SU & ATS wins over Niagara and at Fairfield. In the conference tourney Marist Red Foxes went 1-1 straight up but 0-2 against the spread and failed to make the NIT or NCAA.