PHILADELPHIA CREAMPHILADELPHIA — Temple University said Friday it would review reports showing at least one game involving its men’s basketball team was flagged for unusual betting activity, while Loyola (Maryland) said it had withdrawn a person in its basketball program after becoming aware of a violation of the playing rules.
The separate investigations emerged within hours of each other and a little more than a week before the NCAA tournaments opened and in the middle of the conference tournaments. This is a stark reminder that the spread of legalized gambling across the country has resulted in a handful of incidents involving college sports programs.
Loyola said in a statement to The Associated Press that it took swift action when its basketball program was compromised.
“Loyola was made aware of an individual’s gaming violation which was promptly reported to the NCAA. The individual was immediately removed from the program and the NCAA accepted the self-assessment and took no further action,” the school said without identifying the person or the timing of the move.
Loyola said gambling watchdog US Integrity analyzed its games and “no anomalies” were found. The announcement came just hours after basketball coach Tavaras Hardy resigned after six seasons; a person with direct knowledge of the situation told the AP on condition of anonymity because details were not released that Hardy was not the person who was removed from the program due to the game violation.
In Philadelphia, the betting line for Thursday night’s game between Temple and UAB has gone from the Blazers opening as a two-point favorite to eight points, according to tracking site Covers.com. UAB covered the spread with a 100-72 victory at Temple.
“We are aware of media reports regarding last night’s men’s basketball game,” Temple said. “We will thoroughly review the reports in accordance with university and NCAA policies. Although we cannot comment 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 US Integrity and declined to comment further. US Integrity said it was in the “very early stages of acquiring information” but declined to comment on an ongoing investigation. A UAB spokesperson declined to comment, adding that “this does not apply to us.”
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it “received the alert and is reviewing the matter to see if there is any impact in Pennsylvania.”
The point spread can change significantly when sportsbooks make money on one side of a game. The line could be suspect if, for example, a huge amount of money came to UAB — which is unusual in an otherwise meaningless college basketball game without major injuries or suspensions of key players.
At Westgate, which has sportsbooks in nine states, the line went from 2 1/2 points to 8 at one point. Jay Kornegay, director of racing and sports at Westgate Las Vegas, said once the line reached 7, the money was even on both sides, which generally indicates a match is level. Sports betting managers often become suspicious when an excessive amount is wagered on one side.
“We looked at him closely to watch for any type of injury late,” Kornegay said of the Temple-UAB game. “But when we looked at the score from the box, everyone played. It’s a big gesture and it’s not normal, but we didn’t see anything suspicious.
Temple is just 11-19 in coach Adam Fisher’s first season and will play in the regular season finale Sunday in San Antonio against UTSA. The Owls open the conference tournament next week in Fort Worth, Texas.
The growth of legal sports betting in the United States, particularly among college-aged people, has prompted concerns about increased stress in athletes and increased the risk of wrongdoing. NCAA President Charlie Baker said earlier this year NCAA attempts to change ‘draconian’ sanctions college athletes face for breaking rules regarding sports betting.
The topic made headlines last year in two landmark cases: About two dozen Iowa State and Iowa athletes were criminally charged after a state investigation into gambling illegal athletes; some charges were dropped after investigators discovered misused tracking software which detected mobile betting apps open at Iowa State athletic facilities.
This occurred shortly after Alabama fired its baseball coach amid an investigation into suspicious betting involving a Crimson Tide game at LSU; Brad Bohannon was accused of provide information to a player who used it to make illegal bets against the Crimson Tide.
US Integrity launched a tip line last May to help athletes, coaches and staff contact anonymously report suspicions regarding gaming activities to regulators and law enforcement.
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AP Sports Writers John Zenor and Mark Anderson contributed.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
