The Portland Pirates finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 15-15 straight up, including a West Coast Conference record of 4-10, which was good for seventh place in the league.
The Portland Pirates clearly outperformed their on court performance on the board as they finished 16-11 against the college basketball gambling lines, proving to be one of those anonymous values that often crop up in mid-major conferences.
In fact, towards the end of the season the “word” was out on the Portland Pirates in the college basketball gambling community as they suffered from depleted board value with the increased public demand, failing to get the cash in their final five games after grabbing the money in sixteen of their first twenty-two games.
Profitable Start
Portland opened the 2005-06 season with a 75-89 neutral court loss to Georgia Southern as 6-point overlays. But from there, however, the Portland Pirates enjoyed a profitable start.
After an unlined 53-82 blowout neutral court loss to San Jose State, Portland scored a 92-74 home win over UC-Riverside as 14.5-point chalks. They then went back off the board for a pair of games starting with an 85-88 home loss to Seattle followed by a 46-77 loss at Winthrop.
Back on the board at Charlotte, the Portland Pirates scored a 46-59 loss as 14-point dogs. There was a brief pause in the profits when the Pirates lost at home to Long Beach State 99-95 as 6.5-point overlays but they quickly got back on track with a 70-52 home win over Portland State as 6-point chalks, followed by a 76-62 home win over Oregon State as 1-point favorites for a fourth payoff in six games.
After a 46-61 loss at Washington State as 11-point dogs, the Portland Pirates again got the cash starting with a 68-70 loss at Montana State as 4-point dogs, followed by an 80-72 home win over Oregon as 6-point dogs as the Pirates opened the season with a profitable start of 6-3 against the college basketball gambling lines.
Depleted value
Portland Pirates excellent start, coupled with their fine record on the board in 2004-05 finally caused them to be a depleted value as they attracted more action from gamblers.
Portland’s problems began with a 53-76 loss at Santa Barbara as 6-point road dogs. That was then followed by a 66-61 win at Col Poly SLO as 6.5-point overlays for a bad beat. Next came a 77-87 loss at Santa Clara as 5.5-point dogs for a third straight ATS defeat.
After a 74-72 overtime loss/cover at St. Mary’s as 9-point dogs, the Pirates’ problems on the board resumed starting with a 68-84 home loss to Loyola Marymount as 5.5-point chalks. That was then followed by an 84-82 overtime win over Pepperdine as 4-point chalks and then a 50-62 loss at San Francisco for a sixth loss in seven games ATS.
Break even finish
It doesn’t take long for the college basketball gambling public to turn on a mid-major team such as Portland and this was the case in 2006 after that red ink run. As a result, the Portland Pirates would see some of their board value return the rest of the way beginning with a 68-78 loss at San Diego as 11.5-point dogs. That was then followed by a 64-81 loss/cover at Gonzaga as 19-point dogs.
The payoffs paused, however, as Portland lost three straight games SU&ATS at home to St. Mary’s, at home against Santa Clara, and at home to Gonzaga.
But in their final four regular season games the Pirates went 3-1 both SU&ATS, before losing to Santa Clara 68-72 as 3-point dogs in the WCC tourney for a break even finish.