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Earlier this month we reported on how the Temple Owls were under heavy scrutiny - apparently throughout the season - for what observers claim to have been "suspicious betting activity".
U.S. Integrity is charged with monitoring suspicious behavior in the betting arena. They were the company that detected the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball betting scandal last spring that led to the firing of coach Brad Bohannon.
Interestingly enough the Owls mounting concerns came to a head on March 7 when UAB beat the team 100-72. The rematch on Sunday had the Owls getting beat badly again 69-85.
“We are aware they flagged it,” AAC men’s basketball director of communications Tom Fenstermaker said of the March 7 game.
The betting line moved significantly during the day leading up to the March 7 game. At one casino, the line moved from UAB as a 1.5-point favorite over Temple at the beginning of the day to UAB as an eight-point favorite by mid-afternoon, then settling at seven closer to tip-off. The Blazers routed the Owls, 100-72, in Temple’s home gym, the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
Dave Mason of BetOnline broke down Temple's performance since that first loss to UAB.
"Since getting pummeled 100-72 by UAB on March 7th, Temple basketball is a money-making 5-0 both straight-up & ATS. In each of those 5 games they were dogs.
"Good things happen when you try," he joked.
This was the action coming into Sunday's ACC title game:
64% of the money was on Temple +7, 69% of the moneyline action on UAB -300 and 76% was on the Over 142.
So far, the investigation has yielded nothing.... at least publicly.
Following the scrutiny, Temple issued this statement:
"We are aware of the social media posts regarding last night's men's basketball game. 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."
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
