PHILADELPHIA – Temple University will review reports that show at least one game involving its men’s basketball team has been flagged by gambling watchdog company U.S. Integrity for unusual betting activity.
The betting line for Thursday night’s game between Temple and UAB surged from the Blazers opening as a two-point favorite to reaching as high as eight points, per tracking website Covers.com. UAB covered the spread with a 100-72 win at Temple.
“We are aware of the media reports regarding last night’s men’s basketball game,” Temple said Friday 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.”
The Owls are members of the American Athletic Conference, which confirmed it is a client of U.S. Integrity and had no additional comment. U.S. Integrity did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A UAB spokesman declined comment, adding “this does not apply to us.”
U.S Integrity last May launched a tip line to help athletes, coaches and staff to anonymously report suspicions about gambling activity to regulators and law enforcement.
The company played a role into the investigation of possible wrongdoing involving a University of Alabama baseball game. Alabama fired its baseball coach last year amid an investigation into suspicious bets involving a Crimson Tide game at LSU; Brad Bohannon was accused of providing information to a gambler who used it to make illegal wagers against the Crimson Tide.
Temple is just 11-19 in coach Adam Fisher’s first season and plays the regular-season finale Sunday in San Antonio against UTSA. The Owls open the conference tournament next week in Fort Worth, Texas.
The point spread can dramatically shift when sportsbooks are taking in money on one side. The line could be suspicious because it would mean an overwhelming amount of money could come in on UAB — unusual in an otherwise meaningless college basketball game without major injuries or suspensions to key players.
The Owls were outrebound by UAB 41-19, the worst margin since it was outrebounded by 26 against Cincinnati in January 2019.
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AP Sports Writer John Zenor contributed.
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