More than two-thirds of D1 schools wanted the pro betting ban continued, and NCAA revealed a former Temple basketball star bet multiple times against his own team.
The NCAA made two gambling-related announcements Friday that will likely have major implications on sports betting policy for this year’s college basketball season and beyond.
Following uproar over a proposed policy change that would have allowed student-athletes to wager on professional sports, the NCAA reversed the decision last week. After a procedural 30-day period, two-thirds of Division I member schools voted to rescind the rule change.
In a separate release, the NCAA Committee on Infractions announced betting violations involving three individuals who have been connected with the Temple men’s basketball program, including former guard Hysier Miller. According to the findings, Miller placed 42 impermissible wagers on Temple basketball, including three against his own team.
Miller, Temple’s leading scorer in the 2023-24 college basketball season, has been declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA.
Over a two-year period through 2 March 2024, Miller placed a total of $473 in wagers involving his former team, an NCAA investigation found. Miller interviewed with NCAA enforcement staff and admitted to placing bets on Temple men’s basketball games but did not recall betting against the team, the NCAA wrote in a statement. The window closed several days before a Temple-UAB matchup that drew scrutiny due to the rapid movement of the betting line in the hours leading up to the game.
Attorney: No evidence of point shaving in NCAA probe
Miller, 23, never placed a standalone bet on Temple men’s basketball games, the NCAA’s investigation determined. Rather, Miller’s wagers were all individual components of several larger, multi-leg parlays. On Friday, ESPN reported that the wagers pertained to a 22 November 2023 game against Mississippi, as well as an 8 February 2024 game against Memphis.
A source, who spoke with iGB on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Miller’s wagering patterns on the contests. Miller appeared to bet small amounts on the three wagers, with none exceeding $20.
Before the Ole Miss contest, a 77-76 win by the Rebels, Miller wagered $6 on a 12-leg parlay with a regulated sportsbook. Miller went 7-of-21 from the floor for 21 points, considerably above his 15.9 per game average. Mississippi closed as a 3.5-point favorite but led at halftime by five to cover the first-half line.
The guard also bet against the Owls on a $12, 10-leg parlay that included the Memphis matchup. Finally, he took Memphis on the same night as part of a $5, 7-leg parlay. Miller finished 4-of-15 for 12 points in an 84-77 loss to the Tigers.
Bet structure anathema to point shaving
One view of the patterns is that it may not be indicative of point shaving since the wagers contained numerous games, beyond ones involving the Owls. Because the multi-leg parlays required outcomes outside of Miller’s control, the structure of the wager undercuts the likelihood of a potential payout.
A single wager on a fixed outcome, such as allegations that the NBA’s Terry Rozier prematurely left a game to guarantee a result, usually clinches a financial reward. An instance of alleged match fixing as part of a larger parlay does not.
“The key takeaway here is the NCAA found no evidence that Hysier shaved points,” Miller’s attorney, Jason Bologna, told iGB. “The NCAA conducted a long and thorough investigation before reaching that conclusion.”
Rozier, a former Charlotte Hornets guard, is facing federal charges in connection with alleged match manipulation in 2023.
Calls for a nationwide ban on player props
Over the last two years, NCAA President Charlie Baker has barnstormed the nation in an attempt to convince lawmakers to issue a blanket prohibition on college player props. Earlier this month, Baker applauded the NFL for releasing a memo to all 32 teams, advocating for enhanced restrictions on certain props.
Besides Miller, the committee’s Temple investigation found that Camren Wynter and Jaylen Bond also made impermissible wagers while on the Owls’ staff. Wynter, a former special assistant to head coach Adam Fisher, is accused of making at least 52 impermissible bets for approximately $9,642.
Bond, a former Temple graduate assistant, placed 546 impermissible bets totaling approximately $5,597, according to the committee. The wagers included roughly $200 in bets on college football and basketball. Neither Wynter nor Bond were accused of betting against Temple.
Bologna added that Miller gave the NCAA full access to his cellphone and bank account and answered every question posed to him.
“He admitted to placing parlay bets, but he denied shaving points in any game, and the NCAA’s findings confirm that they accept Hysier was honest and cooperative with their investigation,” Bologna wrote.
Miller has not been charged criminally in the matter. Over the summer, multiple outlets reported that the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania had launched an inquiry into alleged point shaving in college basketball.
When reached by iGB, a spokesperson for the district declined comment. As of Monday, a grand jury in the district has yet to issue any indictments in the matter.