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David Purdum
Six former men’s college basketball players at three schools – New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State And Arizona State – participated in gambling schemes that included manipulating games or sharing information with known bettors, the NCAA announced Friday.
Dae Dae Hunter, Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent, who played for New Orleans last season, manipulated their performance for betting purposes in seven games, according to the NCAA’s findings. During the seven games, Hunter, Short and Vincent allegedly lost or attempted to lose by more points than the spread on sports betting as part of a conspiracy with outside bettors, the NCAA said.
Two Mississippi Valley State players, Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic, were offered money to host a Jan. 6, 2025, game against Alabama A&Maccording to the NCAA. Sanders was also heard discussing “getting the game going” ahead of the December 21, 2024 game against Tulsadiscovered the NCAA.
Former Arizona State forward BJ Freeman was discovered to have shared information with a former teammate who was betting on Freeman’s performance on a daily fantasy site.
Vincent and Stredic denied engaging in gambling when contacted by ESPN on Friday. Attempts to reach Short, Hunter, Sanders and Freeman were unsuccessful.
The NCAA permanently revoked the eligibility of all six players. None of them are enrolled in their previous school.
In the New Orleans case, the NCAA found that Hunter, Short and Vincent were overheard discussing the alleged scheme before and during a Dec. 28, 2024, game against McNeese State. An unidentified athlete told the NCAA that during a timeout near the end of the competition, Short asked the player not to score any more points, according to the findings. New Orleans was underdogs by about 23 points and lost by 25.
A second unidentified athlete told the NCAA that Short told him a bettor contacted him on social media about hosting the game against McNeese State, according to the report. The athlete said that after the game, Short and Hunter met someone about 45 minutes away in New Orleans to pick up money, according to the NCAA.
Vincent’s texts included screenshots from FanDuel and DraftKings with specific amounts to bet on the McNeese State game, according to the NCAA.
The NCAA also found text messages on Short’s phone in which he and Hunter discussed receiving $5,000 and spoke with a known bettor on Jan. 20, 2025, the day of a game against Northwest State.
In total, the NCAA found that the athletes participated in the scheme against McNeese State, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Southeast Louisiana, East Texas A&MNorthwestern State and Word incarnate. New Orleans lost and failed to cover the spread in six of seven games. The Privateers defeated East Texas A&M 82-73 on January 18.
New Orleans suspended Short, Hunter and Vincent at the end of January.
At Mississippi Valley State, an unidentified men’s basketball player said he heard teammate Sanders talking on the phone about “throwing the game” against Tulsa, according to the NCAA report. Sanders then asked the player to join the call with the bettor, who wanted to know if other players would participate in the alleged scheme. Sanders then asked the player to delete his texts, according to the NCAA.
Sportsbooks flagged Mississippi Valley State’s game against Tulsa after a series of large bets were made on the Golden Hurricane to cover the 26-point spread, documents show. obtained by ESPN in an open records request. Mississippi Valley State lost by 45.
The NCAA found that Sanders and Stredic provided information to bettors about a second game, against Alabama A&M on January 6. Sanders told NCAA investigators that he and Stredic were offered money to throw that game by another bettor, who told them to play poorly in the first half.
Stredic denied the NCAA’s allegation that he knowingly provided information to individuals that Mississippi Valley State would lose more points than the margin against Alabama A&M.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Stredic told ESPN on Friday. “I gave my phone to the NCAA, and that was it, and then I finished the season.”
Stredic added that he had spoken with an FBI agent in recent weeks to discuss the matter.
In its report, the NCAA said the amount wagered for the A&M game between Mississippi Valley State and Alabama was 3.6 times the average amount wagered on SWAC games.
In total, the NCAA found that Sanders provided inside information to bettors in two games, while Stredic did so in one.
The NCAA found that former Arizona State guard Freeman gave the former Fresno State Player Mykell Robinson provided information before at least four games so Robinson could bet on his stats, according to his report. Freeman also gave information to his then-girlfriend before two games so she could bet on his stats.
Robinson and Freeman were teammates at Dodge City Community College in Kansas in 2021-22.
Robinson was one of three athletes banned by the NCAA at Fresno State and San Jose State. The NCAA announced in September that Robinson manipulated his performance for gambling purposes and conspired with two players to bet on his statistics.
ESPN previously reported that an NBA gambling network placed suspicious bets on men’s college basketball games, including those involving Mississippi Valley State. Some of these same accounts also placed large bets on side bets involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
Rozier was indicted last month in a federal indictment by manipulating its performance and providing inside information to punters. Through an attorney, Rozier denied the allegations.
Porter admitted to manipulating his performance during an NBA game to benefit the players. He pleaded guilty on federal charges last year and is awaiting sentencing.
The NCAA said in October that it had opened an investigation into possible betting violations by about 30 current or former men’s basketball players.
