Updated: March 8, 1:32 p.m.
Gambling watchdog company U.S. Integrity has sent out an alert to casinos and flagged Temple Men’s Basketball for unusual wagering activity following the Owls’ 100-72 loss to UAB Thursday night, Sports Illustrated first reported.
Most U.S. sportsbooks had Temple as a two-point underdog entering their matchup with the Blazers when markets opened Wednesday. The spread rose to as much as eight points prior to tip off.
The movement caused U.S. Integrity to flag the matchup, and the watchdog group says Temple has been closely monitored “for a while.”
A spread change this drastic is extremely rare in college basketball without an injury or other meaningful news that would impact the outcome of the game.
When point spread shifts, it typically means sportsbooks are seeing an influx of money coming in on one side. UAB would have received an overwhelming amount of bets in order for this type of line change.
“We are aware of the social media posts regarding last night’s men’s basketball game,” a Temple spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “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 had a stretch from Dec. 2 to Jan. 24 where they covered the spread in just two out of 15 games, and Temple was even favored by 5.5 points at home against Tulsa on Saturday. The Golden Hurricane jumped out to a quick 16-2 lead and the Owls never came close to cutting into it.
The American Athletic Conference is one of many conferences that uses U.S. Integrity to monitor spreads and serve as an educational resource for athletes and coaching staffs for how gambling is tracked.
U.S. Integrity was the watchdog group behind the Alabama Baseball betting scandal that resulted in head coach Brad Bohannon being fired.
One staggering stat from Temple’s blowout loss to UAB was the 41-19 rebounding differential. The -22 margain is the worst for Temple in 150 games, dating back to a -26 margin against Cincinnati in January 2019.
Temple has struggled under first-year head coach Adam Fisher. They fell to 4-13 in AAC play following Thursday’s loss and have an overall record of 11-19. They take on UTSA on Sunday in their regular season finale before heading to Fort Worth, Texas, for the AAC tournament, as monitoring of the program and its spreads will likely continue.
Be the first to comment