The Samford Bulldogs finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 15-13 straight up, including an Ohio Valley Conference record of 11-5, which was good for second place in the league.
Against the college basketball gambling lines the Bulldogs were break even going 11-10 against the board. The Bulldogs limped home down the stretch, however, with just three payoffs in their final eleven games against the spread, which included a first round knockout in the OVC tourney by Austin Peay.
Profitable start
Samford Bulldogs opened the 2005-06 season with a 52-49 neutral court win over Sacramento State as 2-point chalks for an opening night payoff. That was then followed up, however, with a 33-77 reality check loss at Texas as 24-point dogs. In their next game at Oklahoma, however, Samford scored a 41-68 loss/cover as 29-point dogs. They then took a game off from the board and scored a 96-45 blowout home win over Bryan.
Back on the board at Southern Mississippi, the Bulldogs got a 52-33 win/cover as 5.5-point dogs. That was then followed up with a 52-55 loss at South Alabama as 6.5-point dogs and then a 61-62 home loss to Jacksonville State as 8-point overlays as the Bulldogs were off to a profitable start of 4-2 against the spread.
Money Machine
Samford Bulldogs picked up the pace after that failure against Jacksonville State starting with a 68-53 home win over Southeast Missouri State as 8.5-point chalks, which was then followed by a 61-50 home win over Murray State as 7.5-point dogs. They then took a game off from the board and scored a 91-56 win over Campbellsville.
Back on the board at Tennessee Tech, the Bulldogs resumed their role as a money machine with a 68-43 win as 12-point chalks. That was then followed by a 79-65 win at Tennessee-Martin as 2-point chalks. Next came a 90-69 win at Jacksonville State as 2-point chalks and then a 68-48 home win over Tennessee State as 8.5-point favorites for a sixth consecutive payoff against the board and tenth payoff in twelve games overall to start the season.
Slowing down the pace
A 10-2 mark against the college basketball gambling lines simply cannot be sustained for any length of time and Samford was to begin slowing down the pace against the board, beginning with an 85-88 overtime home loss to Tennessee Tech as 8.5-point overlays. That was then followed by a 65-64 win at Morehead State as 13.5-point chalks. After an 85-66 win at Eastern Kentucky, the Bulldogs fell again to the spread in a 67-60 home win over Tennessee-Martin as 13-point overlays for a third loss in four games against the board.
Last bit of profit
Samford Bulldogs next hosted Austin Peay and scored an 84-68 win as 9-point chalks, which was next followed by a 38-59 loss at Murray State as 6.5-point dogs and then a 64-54 win at Tennessee State as 1-point chalks for a second payoff in three games and the last bit of profit for the season.
Red ink flowed
Samford proved to be over-valued down the stretch beginning with a 58-55 home win over Eastern Illinois as 15-point overlays. That was then followed by a 68-74 overtime loss at Austin Peay as 1-point chalks and then a 70-75 loss at Eastern Kentucky as 10.5-point overlays for a third straight failure against the board.
After a 76-52 home win over Morehead State as 17-point chalks, the red ink flowed some more in the form of a 52-64 loss at Ohio as 6.5-point dogs. That was then followed by a 52-63 loss at Southeast Missouri State as 8-point chalks for a fifth loss in six games against the board. The regular season ended with a 52-41 win at Eastern Illinois in which the Bulldogs were a 6-point chalk.
Samford Bulldogs went 2-1 both SU&ATS in the OVC tourney, as they were eliminated by Murray State 57-74 as 5-point dogs.