Associated Press, ESPN
PHILADELPHIA — Temple University will review reports that show at least one game involving its men’s basketball team has been flagged by gambling watchdog company U.S. Integrity for unusual betting activity.
The betting line for Thursday night’s game between Temple and UAB surged from the Blazers opening as a 2-point favorite to the spread reaching as high as 8 points, per tracking website Covers.com. UAB covered the spread with a 100-72 win at Temple.
“We are aware of the media reports regarding last night’s men’s basketball game,” Temple said Friday in a statement. “We will review the reports thoroughly in accordance with university and NCAA policies. While we can’t comment any further at this time, we take this matter very seriously.”
The Owls are members of the American Athletic Conference, which confirmed it is a client of U.S. Integrity and had no additional comment. U.S. Integrity did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A UAB spokesperson declined comment, adding, “This does not apply to us.”
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it “received the alert and are reviewing the matter to see if there’s any impact in Pennsylvania.”
The point spread can dramatically shift when sportsbooks are taking in money on one side of a game. The line could be suspicious if, for example, an overwhelming amount of money came in on UAB — unusual in an otherwise meaningless college basketball game without major injuries or suspensions to key players.
Multiple sportsbooks in the U.S. and offshore told ESPN’s David Purdum they detected suspicious betting activity on UAB. Caesars Sportsbook and FanDuel were among sportsbooks that halted betting on the game. Both companies are cooperating with the U.S. Integrity investigation. A FanDuel spokesperson told ESPN that bets on UAB deemed suspicious were denied.
Sources familiar with the offshore sportsbook market said they also saw an influx of betting interest on UAB, beginning Thursday morning and eventually resulting in the game being taken off the board.
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