Report: UAB-Temple game flagged by gambling watchdog group

Report: UAB-Temple game flagged by gambling watchdog group

Unusual betting line movement set off alarm bells in the gambling community prior to UAB’s 100-72 basketball victory over Temple on Thursday night.

U.S. Integrity, a gambling watchdog group, alerted casinos to “unusual wagering activity” after the line moved from UAB by 1.5 points to UAB by 8, according to a report Friday by Sports Illustrated. It was the second straight curious home loss for the Owls, who lost by five to Tulsa last Saturday in a game they were favored by 5.5.

The American Athletic Conference is one of several sports leagues that employs U.S. Integrity to monitor betting activity for its games. U.S. Integrity is also the company that flagged an Alabama-LSU baseball game last May, which led to the firing of Crimson Tide coach Brad Bohannon for his alleged involvement in wagering on the game.

Thursday’s victory improved UAB to 19-11 overall, 11-6 in the AAC. The Blazers shot 60% from the field in the game and scored their most points since a 104-70 win at Houston in 1998.

Dave Connelly, who writes for the sports betting analysis site SportsGrid.com, noted that Temple was outrebounded 41-19 in the loss to UAB. He also called the late line movement “unheard of” for a game that did not involve last-minute injury or player-availability news.

According to the SI report, U.S. Integrity has been tracking Temple basketball “for a while.” Temple issued the following statement on Friday morning:

“We are aware of the social media posts regarding last night’s men’s basketball game. 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.”