2005 Season Summary
The Tennessee State Tigers finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 14-17 straight up, including an Ohio Valley Conference record of 9-7, which was good for a three-way tie for fifth place in the league.
Against the college basketball gambling lines, the Tigers finished basically break even with a mark of 14-13 against the board. Tennessee State suffered from a value depletion down the stretch, however, as they got the cash in just two of their final seven games as they were also bounced in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament by Eastern Kentucky 68-74 as 6.5-point dogs.
Profitable start
Tennessee State opened the 2005-06 season with an unlined 72-63 win over Fisk. That was then followed by their lined opener at Southeast Missouri State in which the Tigers lost 69-70 as 1-point chalks. But from there, Tennessee State would enjoy a profitable start to the season.
The Tigers got their first payoff in their very next game, a 72-82 loss/cover at Georgia Tech as 13.5-point dogs. That was then followed by an 84-68 win at Eastern Illinois as 1.5-point chalks.
After a 74-84 loss at Southern Mississippi as 4-point overlays, the Tigers scored a 65-74 loss at Ohio State as 20-point dogs, which was then followed by a 51-59 loss at Iowa State as 17-point dogs for a fourth payoff in five games against the board.
The Tigers next lost at home to Middle Tennessee State 57-67 in a pick’em affair, but got back on track with a 76-49 home win over Morehead State as 17.5-point chalks. That was then followed by a 67-75 loss at Murray State as 14.5-point dogs to complete a profitable start against the college basketball spread of 6-3.
Flipped
As is so often the case in sports gambling, just when a team starts to look either good or bad, they switch gears and alter their value. The Tigers flipped on gamblers beginning with an 85-82 home win over Tennessee-Martin as 8.5-point overlays. That was then followed by a 48-68 loss at Samford as 8.5-point dogs. Next came a 75-77 loss at Jacksonville State as 1.5-point dogs, which was then followed by a 68-63 home win over Southeast Missouri State as 7.5-point overlays for a fourth straight loss against the spread.
Tennessee State got a temporary stop to the bleeding with a 73-57 home win over Eastern Illinois as 10.5-point chalks, which was then followed by a 74-79 home loss to Eastern Kentucky as 5-point chalks. The Tigers then got a 72-63 win/payoff at Tennessee Tech as 7-point dogs, but from there it was back into the tank.
First came an 83-80 home win over Jacksonville State that the Tigers failed to cover as 7.5-point overlays. That was then followed by a 54-64 home loss to Samford as 1-point dogs and then a 63-70 loss at Austin Peay as 5-point dogs for a third consecutive loss ATS and eighth failure against the board in ten games.
Bargain values
Tennessee State’s rather anonymous status in the college basketball gambling world coupled with their poor run against the board made them one of the least desired teams on the board but served to transform them into bargain values beginning with a 68-71 loss/cover at Tennessee-Martin as 3.5-point dogs. That was then followed by a 70-65 home win over Tennessee Tech as 2-point chalks. Next came an 80-58 home win over Austin Peay as 2.5-point chalks. There was a brief halt to the profits in the form of a 52-77 blowout loss to Murray State as 4.5-point dogs.
From there, however, the Tigers got back on track with a 70-69 win at Ball State as 8-point dogs, followed by an 83-75 win at Morehead State as 6.5-point overlays and then a 74-64 win at Eastern Kentucky as 3-point dogs. In the OVC tourney, the Tigers lost at Samford 67-78 as 7.5-point dogs to end the year with six payoffs in eight games.