The Northeastern Huskies got off to an excellent start straight up but did not do as well in the early going against the spread. The Huskies began their season with a 67-53 win over Brown as 8-point neutral court chalks before winning back to back unlined games against Central Connecticut State and Lasell College. They hit the road for three games starting with a 102-81 win and cover over Northridge as 2-point dogs. That was followed by a 76-83 loss at California as 6.5-point dogs in their first real test of the season. The final road game was an 86-83 win at James Madison as 5.5-point overlay chalks. After an 89-67 win over Towson as 17.5-point home chalks, the Huskies would have a rough go of it as they peaked at 6-1 straight up and 3-2 against the spread.
Northeastern Huskies opponents meant worse
It was revealing that in Northeastern’s first test early in the season against California that they fared poorly and as the schedule included teams of better caliber these tougher opponents meant worse results.
First was a 70-92 blowout loss at Providence as 2.5-point dogs in a game that Northeastern was clearly overvalued in. Next was a 65-72 loss at Wright State in a pick’em for their second consecutive straight up loss and fourth in five games against the spread. After an unlined win at home over Holy Cross the Huskies began 2006 with a 68-71 loss at home to George Mason as 3-point dogs for a push for a fourth consecutive straight up loss.
Little appeal in conference play
Northeastern provided a valuable college basketball betting lesson about the perils of being too impressed with teams that build up their pre-conference records against weak opponents only to falter once they face league competition. Many teams such as Northeastern will try and pad their win totals early in the year and are often caught off guard later once they play better teams in more intense environments.
Northeastern Huskies Bargain values
Northeastern’s poor performance against the sportsbooks served to enhance their value on the board as the gambling masses now wanted little to down with them except on a “go against” basis. The Huskies were to become bargain values just as their appeal reached its lowest state.
The first signs of a turnaround occurred with an 89-63 win over Georgia State as 11.5-point home chalks. That was followed up by a 79-85 win at Old Dominion as 10.5-point dogs for a second straight cover.
Then, just when it looked like Northeastern might have been getting their act together they faltered against the spread again starting with a 73-71 win over Delaware as 12-point home overlays. That was followed by a 63-60 home win over Drexel for a push and then a 63-74 loss at George Mason as 10-point dogs. Once again, the Huskies had little appeal but they were to prove to be never more valuable for the season
On a run
Northeastern snapped out of their pointspread funk with an 89-73 home win over Hofstra as 2.5-point chalks. That was followed by a 68-54 win at Georgia State as 5-point chalks. The Huskies got their third consecutive cover at NC Wilmington with a 44-46 loss as 9-point dogs. That was followed by an 84-69 win over William & Mary as 11.5-point chalks, which was followed by a fifth straight cover in a 79-74 win over Virginia Commonwealth as 4.5-point chalks as Northeastern was on a run.
Northeastern Huskies Brief dip
The strong momentum against the sportsbooks caught the attention of gamblers but back-to-back road games at Drexel and Hofstra brought things back to earth as the Huskies lost both SU&ATS for a brief dip.
Rebound
Northeastern enjoyed a rebound, however, as they won and covered their final four regular season games and first two games of the CAA tournament before losing to NC Wilmington 54-69 as 5-point dogs, which snapped a six game wining streak against the sportsbooks as the Huskies covered eleven of their final 14 games.