A dramatic change in the point spread for the men’s basketball game between the Temple Owls and UAB Blazers prompted an investigation by gambling company US Integrity Thursday night. According to Sports Illustrated. UAB entered opening day as a -1.5 point favorite against Temple. Hours later, the line moved to UAB -8 with no significant injury news or lineup changes that changed the outlook of the game.
UAB defeated Temple 100-72 in American Athletic Conference play. Temple fell to 11-19 overall. Barring a miraculous performance in the AAC Tournament, the Owls’ season will be over soon.
AAC hired US Integrity to monitor gambling activity around the conference. The company says its mission is to: “We identify suspicious activity by analyzing changes in gambling data against benchmarks of normal gambling activity.” He also contributed to exposing the scandal.
Temple released the following statement:
Temple’s statement: “We are aware of the social media posts regarding last night’s men’s basketball game. We will thoroughly review the coverage in accordance with university and NCAA policies. Although we cannot comment further at this time, We will take the matter seriously.” https://t.co/KFQwuiikUp
— Pat Ford (@ByPatForde) March 8, 2024
Here’s what we know so far:
The Temple-UAB line fluctuated significantly for no particular reason.
It would be very strange to go from a 1.5 point spread to an 8 point spread without a good reason. It doesn’t seem to exist in this example.
This isn’t the first time Temple’s line has moved significantly in the final moments.
College basketball analyst Jim Root said this is the second time one of Temple’s spreads has moved dramatically in the hours before a game.
people are talking about it
There was a lot of talk on social media about what the heck was going on with Temple’s line.
Today’s UAB/Temple spread went from UAB -2.5 to UAB -7.5/8 starting around noon ET. I haven’t seen or heard any news about Temple’s injury, but it’s very strange to see such a big move so late in the season.
The game will be played tonight on ESPN2.
I think a lot of people will be watching tonight.
— Jack Miller (@JackMiller02) March 7, 2024
Unusual and interesting betting activity on tonight’s UAB vs. Temple basketball game. The game started with UAB as a 2-2.5 point favorite against Temple. Then, around 1:30 p.m., betting became frenzied, with lines going up to eight in some books, before tips were paid at 7 p.m. There’s also a sportsbook…
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) March 8, 2024
This is not the typical match-fixing allegation you hear from angry bettors or people on the wrong side of the outcome. That requires movement in the odds before the match. And it seems like someone may have not covered their tracks well enough and made a terrible mistake here.
— Dave Connelly (@DaveConnellySG) March 8, 2024
Gambling companies are now a major component of American sports, with most leagues partnering with industry leaders. The NFL has suspended some players for gambling over the past two seasons, but there has yet to be a full-scale match-fixing scandal in mainstream circles. Are these allegations surrounding the Temple vs. UAB game the start of that?
