A men's basketball game between Temple and UAB raised some red flags in the gambling market.
Gambling watchdog company U.S. Integrity alerted casinos regarding unusual gambling activity ahead of Thursday's game. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde first reported the news.
"We are aware of the media reports regarding last night’s men’s basketball game," Temple said in a statement. "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."
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Forde reported that U.S. Integrity has been monitoring Temple men's basketball games for a while. The company was also involved in the Alabama baseball betting scandal last spring, which led to the firing of head coach Brad Bohannon.
The American Athletic Conference confirmed that it is a client of U.S. Integrity and provided no additional comment. A UAB spokesman declined comment with The Associated Press, saying "this does not apply to us." The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it "received the alert and are reviewing the matter to see if there’s any impact in Pennsylvania,” per the AP.
The betting line for the UAB-Temple contest moved significantly on Thursday. The line at one casino moved from UAB as a 1.5-point favorite in the morning to UAB as an eight-point favorite in the afternoon before settling closer to seven before the game actually started.
NCAAB
UAB went on to beat Temple 100-72 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. It marked Temple's second straight loss following its 72-67 defeat against Tulsa on Saturday, a game in which it entered as 5.5-point favorites.
The Owls are 11-19 overall (4-13 in AAC games) and have their regular season finale on Sunday against the University of Texas San Antonio on Sunday. The AAC tournament will begin on Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas.