Fresno State and the NCAA are reportedly investigating a potential gambling scandal involving multiple members of the school's men’s basketball team placing prop bets on themselves.
Fresno State guards Jalen Weaver and Zaon Collins were suspended from Saturday's game against Air Force, the Fresno Bee reported. The university and the Mountain West Conference confirmed the eligibility of both players was being reviewed.
ESPN reported on Saturday that the probe involves gambling. Action 30 News reported, citing sources, that players bet the unders on rebound and point totals.
Update: @ABC30 has learned two of the three Fresno State men's basketball student-athletes accused of sports gambling allegedly placed bets on games they actively played in.
— Alec Nolan (@AlecABC30) February 23, 2025
Per source: unders on rebounds, unders on point totals
Former player Mykell Robinson is also part of the investigation, according to reports. He is not on the team and last played a game on Jan. 11. Weaver has also reportedly left the program. Collins’ status remains unclear as he’s being investigated for allegedly wagering on professional sports.
The 5-23 Bulldogs have lost 10 consecutive games. Averaging at least 12 points per game, Weaver and Collins were two of the team’s top-3 scorers. Robinson averaged 10.3 points per game before his departure.
College athletics’ governing body prohibits any type of sports betting activity, including prop bets and non-college games.
Flagging basketball
U.S. sports’ latest gambling scandal appears to be unrelated to other current college basketball investigations at this time.
In January, Integrity Compliance 360 flagged two Eastern Michigan basketball games after a couple of large first-half wagers were placed. Eastern Michigan said it was investigating the matter.
The Temple men’s basketball team was flagged last season for unusual betting activity. Alarms were raised when the spread in a Temple-UAB game on March 7, 2024, suddenly shot up from Blazers -1.5 to 8 points.
Temple’s leading scorer, Hysier Miller, transferred to Virginia Tech after the season, but he was reportedly removed from the team before this season began for his role in the Owls’ betting scandal.
Last March, NCAA president Charlie Baker urged state lawmakers and regulators to ban player-prop betting.
NBA issues
Fresno State’s probe comes just weeks after the NBA discovered that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is involved in a wide-ranging federal investigation. The matter concerns playing time manipulation during a March 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets.
There are ties to that probe and the Jontay Porter case. The former Toronto Raptors center was banned from the NBA in April 2024 after an investigation found that he wagered on games and provided information to known bettors.
Porter pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges after a federal probe found that he conspired with a group of bettors to pull himself out of two games to allow them to win under bets on his player props.
