The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 18-11 straight up, including an Ohio Valley Conference record of 12-4, which was good for the top spot in the league standings as the Golden Eagles beat out both Murray State and Eastern Kentucky by one game for the crown.
Against the spread Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles finished 13-9-3 and played particularly well down the stretch as they went 12-4-2 against the spread in their final eighteen games of the regular season.
The Golden Eagles’ season was ruined in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, however, as they were bounced in the second round by Austin Peay 61-67 as 2.5-point chalks. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles did not even rate as much as a NIT berth as a result.
Profitable start
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles opened the 205-06 season with a 60-81 loss at Dayton as 10.5-point dogs. That was then followed by a 90-62 home win and cover over Oregon State as 2-point dogs. Tennessee Tech then took a game off the board and scored a 117-85 home win over Bluefield College.
Back on the board against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Golden Eagles scored a 72-67 win and cover as 4-point home dogs and followed that up with a 78-61 home win over Austin Peay as 10.5-point chalks to get of to a profitable start of 3-1 against the spread.
Unable to maintain the pace
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles next scored an 83-80 overtime win at Eastern Illinois as 7.5-point overlays, however, as they proved unable to maintain the pace against the board. After a 79-65 win at Southeast Missouri State as 4-point chalks, the Golden Eagles lost at Cincinnati in a 62-105 blowout as 14-point dogs for a second loss in three games ATS.
The Golden Eagles then took a couple of games off the board and posted a home win over Brevard (85-41) and a neutral court win over Florida A&M (66-65).
Back on the board at Michigan State, the Golden Eagles got the cash in a 63-80 loss as 18-point dogs in a clear sign of their being a value-added team against a “name brand” opponent.
But from there the Golden Eagles struggled beginning with a 43-68 home loss to Samford as 12-point dogs which was then followed by a 75-93 loss at Eastern Kentucky as 2-point dogs. Next came a 61-52 home win over Morehead State as 21.5-point overlays for a third consecutive failure against the spread.
Cranking cash
Tennessee Tech had just completed a 2-5 stretch against the board, which served to enhance their overall board value, beginning wit a 79-67 win over Jacksonville State as 1-point dogs. That was then followed by an 88-85 overtime win over Samford as 8.5-point dogs. Next came a 79-75 win at Austin Peay as the Golden Eagles were 4-point dogs.
Tennessee Tech kept cranking cash with a 75-60 win over Eastern Illinois as 12-point chalks. They followed that up with an 87-76 home win over Southeast Missouri State as 10.5-point favorites and then earned a sixth straight payoff with a 51-55 loss at Murray State as 11-point dogs to end their best run of the season.
Loss of value
The six game payoff streak served to attract the attention of many bargain hunting gamblers, causing Tennessee Tech to suffer a loss of value on the board in the process starting with a 63-72 home loss to Tennessee State as 7-point chalks. That was then followed by a 69-66 win at Morehead State as 10-point overlays and then a 78-88 loss at Tennessee-Martin as 2-point chalks for a third consecutive loss ATS. The Golden Eagles went 3-3 SU and 2-3-1 ATS to finish the regular season.
Tech went 1-1 SU and 0-2 ATS in the OVC tourney.