Temple-UAB basketball game under review after point-spread swings
- Sportsbooks saw six-point swing in hours before the game
- At least one book stopped taking bets
- UAB easily beat Temple 100-72
(NewsNation) — Temple University says it’s taking a closer look at Thursday’s men’s basketball loss to the University of Alabama-Birmingham after the betting point spread took a wild swing before the game. And the school is not alone.
“You hate to say anything nefarious is happening, but when you see wagers come in that don’t make a lot of sense, that’s when you have to report these,” said Borgata Casino Race & Sports Book Director Thomas Gable.
He tells the Vegas Sports & Information Network he noticed the “steam,” a surge in betting on the game, early Thursday afternoon, and adjusted the point spread. But within minutes, as more big bets came in, Gable halted betting on the game.
He says the point spread on a late-season game doesn’t move that radically unless someone is injured or not playing for some other reason.
“I started looking into what we could find on Temple and UAB, and there was nothing out there,” he said.
In Las Vegas, Westgate Race & Sports Book Director Jay Kornegay noticed the movement but tells ESPN.com he kept the game on the board: “We looked at the box score, everyone played. It’s a big move and that’s not normal, but we didn’t see anything suspicious.”
On Friday, Temple University issued a statement acknowledging media reports of the betting issue, saying, “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.”
A UAB spokesperson declined to comment, adding, “This does not apply to us.” The American Athletic Conference also declined comment.
Gable was among those who flagged the betting swing to U.S. Integrity, a sports watchdog organization employed by teams, leagues and sports betting companies. It cited “unusual wagering activity” on the game.
After shifting from two points to as many as eight points, most sportsbooks pegged UAB as a seven-point favorite by tipoff. UAB easily won the game 100–72.
Sports Illustrated first reported the story, citing a source that also said U.S. Integrity has been monitoring Temple games “for a while.”
