As surprising as it may be to younger gamblers, there was a time when the San Francisco Dons were a national basketball powerhouse. Those days of the 1950’s had long since passed and the Dons had degenerated into one of the most invisible and anonymous programs on the court and on the board.
In 2004-05, however, there was a brief bit of resurgence in the San Francisco basketball program as the Dons went 17-14 straight up, including a West Coast Conference mark of 6-8, which was good for a fourth place tie in the league.
San Francisco was unable to keep pace on the board, however, as they finished just 13-17 against the college basketball gambling lines. In fact, the Dons faded poorly down the stretch in the regular season as they got the cash in just two of their final seven games. They fared little better in the post season as they got the money in just one out of four games, as they lost in the second round of the NIT to Cal State Fullerton 69-85 as 4-point chalks.
While this was not your grandfather’s San Francisco Dons, a winning record and a NIT berth was a nice boost for this long suffering program. How that would all be translated on the board, however, remained to be seen as the possibility existed that the relative success of the Dons would potentially deplete their board value.
Groggy start
The Dons opened the 2005-06 season with a 59-82 loss at Santa Barbara as 5-point dogs. That was followed by an unlined home win over Monmouth-New Jersey. Next came a 56-71 loss at Stanford as 15-point dogs, followed by a 78-85 loss to Sacramento State as 8.5-point chalks. The groggy start continued for San Francisco with a 71-75 overtime home loss to Pacific as 1-point dogs. The red ink briefly stopped its flow as the Dons upset Texas Tech 90-72 as 7.5-point dogs. That was then followed by a 67-75 home loss to Wichita State as 3-point dogs, as San Francisco opened the season with just one payoff in their first seven lined games.
Problems continued
After another brief respite from their misery in the form of a 74-64 home win over New Mexico State as 8.5-point chalks, the Dons got back on track with a 93-91 overtime home win over Cal State Fullerton as 2.5-point overlays, in a gambler’s worst nightmare of a “bad beat” half-point loss to the board. That was followed by a 48-61 loss at Marquette as 11.5-point dogs and then a 66-70 neutral court loss to Northern Arizona as 1.5-point chalks as the Dons’ problems continued. They next took a break from the board with an unlined 58-69 neutral court loss to Boise State.
Unwanted bargains
Few teams had less appeal on the board at this point than San Francisco, which served to transform them into unwanted bargains with enhanced board value.
San Francisco’s emergence began with a 60-65 loss at Fresno State as 8-point bargain basement dogs. That was followed by a 71-63 win at Pepperdine as 4.5-point dogs. After a tough 75-84 overtime loss at Loyola Marymount as 4-point dogs, the Dons got back on track with a 53-52 home win over St. Mary’s as 1-point dogs. That was then followed by a 62-50 home win over Portland as 4.5-point favorites for a fourth payoff in five games.
Back in the tank
San Francisco was unable to sustain success, however, as they went right back in the tank with a mark of 2-3 straight up and 1-4 against the spread in their next five games, as their value proved depleted.
Back in black
To their credit, the Dons didn’t fold their tents and give up on the season, as they were back in black starting with a 68-71 win at San Diego as 8.5-point dogs, which launched them on a string in which they went 2-3 straight up but 4-1 against the board. San Francisco was then eliminated in the first round of the WCC tourney in an ATS loss to San Diego.