A federal investigation into alleged point shaving and game fixing in college basketball is nearing its end, Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Michael Rosenberg reported. The inquiry is focused on “Southern Schools,” according to SI.
Investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania conducted interviews with players suspected of influencing their performances as gamblers wagered on games. SI cited a source who said, “There are going to be charges.” The same source said multiple players and programs will be involved as part of a “national scope.”
The investigation centered on a ring that was involved with Jontay Porter, the former NBA player who was banned for life for gambling in 2024, according to SI. Additionally, the office is looking into unusual wagering activity on Malik Beasley’s games during the 2023-24 season. Beasley has not been charged with any crime.
SI reported the ring charged in Porter’s case was connected to at least college basketball games over the last two seasons. Five teams had wagers flagged on their games, and the NCAA is investigating programs such as New Orleans, Eastern Michigan, Mississippi Valley State and Temple.
ESPN’s David Purdum previously reported Eastern Michigan, Mississippi Valley State and North Carolina A&T were all part of the reported betting ring. Purdum reported in the case of Eastern Michigan and North Carolina A&T, both were flagged for suspicious activity by “betting integrity monitors” for wagers regarding first-half spreads.
Eastern Michigan’s games against Wright State and Central Michigan last season came into question. In both cases, the Eagles went into the locker room behind. They came back to beat Wright State, but came up short against CMU.
Just one game was mentioned by Purdum for North Carolina A&T – Jan. 9 against Delaware. In the first-half, the line moved up to Delaware -3.5 from -2 ahead of tip while the full-game line remained at -4. The Blue Hens would go on to cover that spread, leading by six at the half.
Additionally, in 2023-24, Temple and Loyola Maryland came under review for suspicious wagering activity. Loyola Maryland played its final game of the season against Navy – a 64-48 loss in the Patriot League Tournament.
That meant the Greyhounds’ season ended with a 7-26 overall record and a 5-13 mark in conference play. One day later, head coach Tavaras Hardy announced he was stepping down, although that decision was not related to the gambling situation.
News of the Loyola Maryland situation came less than 24 hours after another emerged involving Temple. The Owls took on UAB in their penultimate regular season game. After the Blazers opened as 1.5-point favorites, though, the spread ballooned to eight or 8.5, depending on the book.
UAB went on to win the game 100-72 at Temple, and watchdog U.S. Integrity sent an alert to casinos about suspicious activity involving the game.
