A college basketball game was flagged by U.S. Integrity on Thursday for unusual wagering activity, according to a report from SI.com.
The contest between UAB and Temple saw primarily one-sided line movement throughout the day, leading the sports betting monitoring company to alert the American Athletic Conference and U.S. sportsbooks.
The AAC confirmed that the game was flagged, and another source told SI that U.S. Integrity has been monitoring Temple games this season.
UAB opened as a 1.5-point favorite, but the sportsbooks couldn’t seem to set a line high enough to keep bettors from backing the Blazers, for whatever reason. By mid-afternoon, the line had soared to eight points before settling a half-point under that number at tip-off.
Temple lost 100-72 at home on Thursday, never bringing the line into play.
Temple issued a statement on the incident Friday, according to SI's Pat Forde.
Statement from Temple: "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… https://t.co/KFQwuiikUp
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 8, 2024
History of failing to cover
The Owls were a 5.5-point favorite last weekend against Tulsa, which won in Philadelphia 72-67 as an underdog.
Temple is 11-19 straight-up and 12-15-2 against the spread this season. The Owls had a stretch in January and February in which they lost 10 consecutive games. They won their next three games, including twice on the road, before coming up short in the last two contests.
Lengthy client list
U.S. Integrity works with professional leagues, NCAA conferences, U.S. sportsbooks, and state gambling regulators to identify suspicious wagering behavior by using data and technology. Primarily, the consulting company looks for discrepancies and abnormalities to find the potential for insider information misuse and game fixing.
U.S. Integrity’s client list also includes the NFL, MLB, NBA, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, UFC, and NHL. The company also works with sportsbooks like BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars, among others.
Last summer, U.S. Integrity flagged a college baseball game that led to the firing of former Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon, who was caught sharing pitcher injury information with a bettor at the sportsbook located across from the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio.
