Old Dominion has been one of the better known teams from the Colonial Athletic Association over the years, which has sometimes prevented them from bringing in as good of board value as the more surprise teams such as Hofstra and George Mason in 2005-06.
Quick Start
The Monarchs began the season with a nice 74-55 neutral court win over Georgia as 8.5-point chalks and followed that up with a second straight neutral court win and cover with a 65-52 decision over Fordham as 9-point chalks.
The quick start seemed to catch the eye of the college basketball gambling public as Old Dominion next lost to Wisconsin 81-84 as a 1-point neutral court chalk, in an obvious overlay.
After a pair of unlined wins over Mount St. Mary’s and at VMI, the Monarchs scored a 79-53 win over East Carolina as whopping 15.5-point home chalks to complete their 3-1 start against the board.
Gushing red ink
After that solid and profitable start, Old Dominion entered a stage in which they would offer gamblers little value, gushing red ink along the way.
The problems began with a 54-53 home win over George Mason as 5.5-point home overlays. That was followed by a 42-61 blowout loss at Drexel as 3-point chalks in an obvious letdown setup. Old Dominion got off the canvas to blow out DePaul 87-43 as 7.5-point chalks but then went right back into the tank with four consecutive losses against the board.
The string began with a 58-61 overtime loss at Richmond as 7.5-point chalks. That was followed by an ugly 57-85 blowout loss at Alabama Birmingham as 1.5-point dogs. Next was a 58-55 win over Virginia Tech as 6-point home overlays and then a 64-59 win over NC Wilmington as 7.5-point home overlays.
Problems continued
Old Dominion briefly stopped the bleeding with three consecutive wins straight up, covering two of those games against the spread. It started with an 85-71 win at Towson as 11.5-point chalks, followed by an 85-79 win over Northeastern as 10.5-point home overlays and then a 77-62 win at Georgia State as 9-point chalks. But from there the Monarchs problems continued as they dropped four of their next five games against the spread.
The streak began with a 78-75 win over Virginia Commonwealth as 7-point home overlays and was followed by a 68-76 loss to Hofstra as 8.5-point home chalks. The bleeding stopped briefly with a 65-56 win at William & Mary as 8.5-point chalks. This was followed by a 74-67 home win over Drexel as 8-point overlays and a 47-66 blowout loss at George Mason as 6-point dogs.
Split
Old Dominion went on to split their next four games both straight up and against the spread starting with a 63-65 loss at Hofstra that they covered as 3-point dogs. That was followed by an 87-69 win over James Madison as 24-point home overlays. Next was an 81-60 win over William & Mary as 13-point home chalks and then a 74-80 loss at Virginia Commonwealth as 1.5-point dogs.
Ended on a roll
Old Dominion had very little public appeal as they headed into the stretch run of the regular season as an inconsistent team on the board that was often a poor value and frequent overlay. This lack of appeal enhanced their board value at the end of the regular season, as the Monarchs ended on a roll with four consecutive wins and covers.
Back to form
In post season play, however, Old Dominion was back to form as a poor value. They were bounced in the opening round of the CAA tourney and then went 3-1 straight up and 2-2 ATS in the NIT.