Sources – NBA Gambling Ring also tied to College Basketball Game

A game ring currently under federal investigation for its role in two NBA betting cases was also involved in unusual investment in at least three men’s college -basketball programs this season, sources of ESPN told Monday.

Sports book accounts associated with the game ring, bet against North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State and Eastern Michigan in games this season, sources said.

Some of the same accounts also placed major efforts on prop-betting involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in two matches during the 2023-24 NBA season and veteran Guard Terry Rozier in 2023 when he was with Charlotte Hornets , says the sources. Porter has admitted to manipulate its performance during the matches for gaming purposes; Rozier has refused to comment on a reported study of unusual betting on his performance in a selected game.

Sports book accounts associated with the game ring also focused on a temple game marked for suspicious bets last March. Sources familiar with the ongoing studies said the ring targeted additional college -basketball programs in the last two seasons.

Officials of North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State did not respond to requests for comment on the betting case. North Carolina A&T Athletic Director Earl Hilton told ESPN in an email that the recent suspension of three basketball players was for a violation “of well-established holding rules” but rejected further comments with reference to privacy.

Eastern Michigan officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is obliged to protect student-athlete well-being and the integrity of the competition,” NCAA said in a statement to ESPN and other media. “The association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to carry out appropriate due diligence when suspicious reports are received. Due to confidentiality rules introduced by NCAA Member schools, NCAA will not comment on current or potential investigations.”

Betting Integrity Monitors has marked two matches this season involving Eastern Michigan (December 21 against Wright State and January 16 against Central Michigan). In both cases, sports books noticed suspicious betting activity against eastern Michigan the first half, according to warnings sent by Integrity Compliance 360 ​​(IC360), a company that monitors the bet market for irregularities.

Veteran bookmakers and professional bettors have tracked unusual betting on college basketball games dating from last season, Gambling Industry told ESPN.

Sports book sources in the US and offshore pointed to suspicious bets on the first half of a 9th January game involving North Carolina A&T and Delaware. The point spread in the first half moved from Delaware -2 to -3.5. The point spread on the full game closed at -4.5. The first half lines are typically equal to or about 50% of the full game point spread.

Five Men – Ammar Awawdeh, Long Phi Pham, Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah and Shane Hennen – have been indicted for conspiracy with Porter, a fringe NBA player with a game debt, to manipulate his performance so that the group could take advantage of prop – Betting on his statistics in two games in the 2023-2024 season. Porter removed from both games after only playing for a few minutes.

Porter, Pham, McCormack and Mollah have invoked the case. Awawdeh and Hennen are in plea for negotiations with the US law office in the eastern district of New York, according to court documents.

The federal authorities are also reportedly to investigate a 2023 game involving the hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, which drew unusual bets on Rozier. He played only nine minutes before removing himself from the game, quoting a foot injury and did not play the rest of the season.

The NBA said it investigated the case and cleared Rozier, which has not been accused of wrongdoing or criminally accused. NBA is cooperating with investigators from the eastern district of New York, according to a statement from the league.