Unusual betting activity has sparked an investigation into a college basketball team.
A men’s Eastern Michigan game was flagged last week by sports betting watchdog Integrity Compliance 360 for the second time this season, according to an ESPN report.
The second suspicious wagering act occurred on Jan. 14, according to the IC 360 alert that was obtained by ESPN.
A bettor made their largest wagers to date across multiple sportsbooks in both Connecticut and Tennessee on opponent Central Michigan covering a first-half spread. The bets were labeled as “high stakes wagers” by IC 360.
The first-half line opened with Central Michigan at -3.5, but it moved to -6.5 shortly before tip-off, ESPN reported. The full-game spread was -8. The Chippewas hit a late 3-pointer to take a 6-point lead into the locker room before beating EMU by 19 points.
IC 360 alerted gaming regulators, NCAA conferences, and sportsbooks on Jan. 15 of a recurring pattern.
"At this time, there is belief of a potential tie between these bettors, and bettors who placed suspicious wagers on First Half markets in flagged games last season," according to IC 360’s alert.
Not the first time
Eastern Michigan confirmed that it became aware of the alert on Jan. 15 and was reviewing the matter.
“At this time we do not know anything further about what may have precipitated the suspicious activity,” an Eastern Michigan spokesperson told ESPN in a statement. “We are working with the Mid-American Conference and will provide further details as we learn additional information.”
The first incident involving EMU was also a first-half wager.
The monitoring firm flagged an Eastern Michigan game on Dec. 21 when bets were placed on Wright State to cover as a 2.5-point first-half favorite. Wright State led by 11 at the break before EMU rallied to win the game 86-82 as a 5-point underdog.
Watching the market
Not all sportsbooks offer first-half wagers on every college basketball game as that market has come under scrutiny in the industry in recent years.
While IC 360 doesn’t comment on which games from last season it was referring to, there was an incident with Temple basketball. U.S. Integrity, the firm that combined with Odds On Compliance to rebrand as IC 360, flagged an Owls game last season against UAB for unusual betting activity and looked into several more contests involving Temple.
The spread in that game opened at UAB -1.5 but soared to -8. The Blazers easily covered the spread in a 100-72 rout of the Owls.
Hysier Miller, Temple’s leading scorer last season, transferred to Virginia Tech in the offseason but was removed from the team before this season “due to circumstances prior to his enrollment.”
Miller became part of a federal investigation in November.
Keep an eye out
IC 360 provides several NCAA conferences, state gaming regulators, and sports betting operators with discrepancies and abnormalities, along with potential insider information misuse and match-fixing, through its monitoring technology.
The same watchdog firm flagged the Alabama-LSU baseball game in 2023 that led to the firing and NCAA punishment of former Crimson Tide head coach Brad Bohannon.
IC 360 also has partnerships with professional sports leagues, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA Tour, and UFC.
