Trouble on the court and possibly off it. A recent Temple Men's Basketball game against UAB has been flagged by gambling watchdog U.S. Integrity for "unusual wagering activity." The alert was issued to several casinos yesterday when the betting line for the Temple-University of Alabama at Birmingham matchup shifted dramatically just hours before tipoff, according to reports by FOX29.
The point spread gave an initial 1.5-edge to UAB over the Owls, but then it quickly ballooned to an eight-point advantage by the afternoon. Bleacher Report states that U.S. Integrity, which provides services to monitor gambling activities around college sports, took notice of the considerable line movement. The line ultimately settled at a seven-point benefit before the game started, but this didn't stop UAB to firmly trounce Temple with a final score of 100-72.
The anomaly comes as Temple's men's basketball team struggles with an 11-19 season record, including losing 13 out of their last 17 games in the American Athletic Conference. NBC Philadelphia highlighted that this marks their first losing record since the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season.
U.S. Integrity, the company to rapidly flag the betting anomalies, is no stranger to gambling scandals. They were instrumental in unearthing a betting scandal in May 2023 involving Alabama baseball which led to the firing of head coach Brad Bohannon. As noted by Bleacher Report, U.S. Integrity works with several college conferences across the nation to closely monitor gambling around member schools and also educates players and coaches on the ins and outs of wagering practices. Temple's next matchup is their regular season finale this Sunday against the University of Texas San Antonio, leading up to the AAC tournament beginning on Wednesday.
