U.S. Integrity is investigating a pair of men's basketball programs for suspicious gambling activity, Sports Illustrated reports. The gambling watchdog company that works to combat illicit college sports betting and fraud is looking into Thursday night's game between Temple and UAB and the Loyola (Maryland) program for what the group calls "suspicious betting activity".
"Loyola was made aware of an individual's gambling violation that was promptly reported to the NCAA," a Loyola spokesperson told Sports Illustrated. "The individual was immediately removed from the program, and the NCAA accepted the self-report and took no further action. The conference office investigated to ensure the integrity of League contests by reaching out to U.S. Integrity, the conference's monitoring partner. U.S. Integrity analyzed contests and no anomalies were discovered. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency provided contact information on operators licensed in the state, and those operators confirmed all previously known information."
Loyola's season came to an end Thursday night with a 64-48 loss to Maryland. The Greyhounds parted ways with sixth-year coach Tavaras Hardy on Friday after a 7-25 finish to the season.
Thursday night's game between the Blazers and the Owls opened with UAB as a narrow favorite before the line changed dramatically during the day in the lead-up to the game. UAB was at one point favored by eight points in the market before the line closed at UAB -7. Big line movements aren't uncommon with injuries, uncertainty with health or with books taking large action on one side or the other, but there were no known ailments that could explain the large swings.
UAB won 100-72 on the road.
"We are aware of the social media posts regarding last night's men's basketball game," a Temple spokesperson said 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."
Sports Illustrated reported Thursday that in addition to the flag ahead of Thursday's game, U.S. Integrity "has been monitoring" Temple games for a while. Temple (11-19) is 12-15-2 against the spread, according to TeamRankings data. The Owls have lost 12 of their last 15 games.
A game being flagged for unusual betting activity is not itself incriminating, but in recent history, U.S. Integrity stepping in for a game has not portended well for bad actors. The company was also involved in the infamous Alabama baseball betting scandal after suspicious wagering activity was alerted before the game. Alabama coach Brad Bohanon was later fired for his involvement.
Temple is in its first year under head coach Adam Fisher, who replaced Aaron McKie. Fisher's Owls are tied for last place in the American Athletic Conference with one regular season game remaining before postseason play.
