Gambling watchdog U.S. Integrity this week sent out an alert to casinos regarding what it says was unusual wagering activity leading up to the UAB Blazers-Temple Owls men's basketball game.
The American Athletic Conference confirmed the notice to SI.com. “We are aware they flagged it,” AAC men’s basketball director of communications Tom Fenstermaker says.
The betting line moved significantly during the day Thursday leading up to the game. According to SI.com, at one casino, the line moved from UAB as a 1.5-point favorite over Temple at the beginning of the day to UAB as an eight-point favorite by mid-afternoon, then settling at seven closer to tip-off. The Blazers routed the Owls, 100–72, in Temple’s home gym, the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
A source told SI.com that U.S. Integrity has been monitoring Temple games for some time.
The AAC is one of many NCAA conferences that use U.S. Integrity to monitor gambling activity surrounding its member schools and to serve as an educational arm for teaching athletes and staff about how wagering is tracked.
U.S. Integrity was involved in detecting the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball betting scandal last spring that led to the firing of coach Brad Bohannon.
