Feds investigate former Temple player for alleged spot shaving

Federal authorities are investigating whether former Temple men's basketball player Hysier Miller bet on his own games and manipulated the outcome of Owls games in which he played, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Miller, Temple's leading scorer last season, transferred to Virginia Tech during the offseason but was fired by the Hokies on Oct. 23 due to the federal investigation and an NCAA investigation into Temple's games, the teams said. sources. A Temple regular-season game drew attention for unusual betting activity in March.

Miller never played a game for the Hokies. The school said at the time that his dismissal was due “to circumstances prior to his enrollment at Virginia Tech.”

When asked for comment on the allegations, Miller's attorney, Jason P. Bologna of the law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, gave ESPN a statement: “Hysier Miller has overcome more adversity in his 22 years than the most people face in their life. It will make you face and overcome any obstacle that comes your way.”

Temple spokesman Steve Orbanek told ESPN that the school is “aware of deeply troubling allegations about sports betting last season.” He said the university had not “received any requests for information” from state or federal authorities, but “will cooperate fully if we are contacted.”

The NCAA declined to comment.

In a statement, the FBI said it would neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation.

Sportsbooks had alerted US Integrity, a Las Vegas firm that monitors the betting market, about unusual line movements and suspicious betting patterns in a March 7 regular-season game between Temple and UAB. The point spread moved noticeably during the morning of the game, growing from UAB -2 to -8 by early afternoon, before several sportsbooks suspended betting on the contest. A six-point line move in a college basketball game is rare, especially late in the season, unless there are injuries or suspensions, sportsbooks and oddsmakers said.

Thomas Gable, director of sports betting at The Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, told ESPN in March that he started moving the line in the morning after a series of limit bets were placed at UAB. Gable said he was waiting for information about injuries or suspensions involving Temple, but he couldn't find any reason behind the flurry of action. The action continued to come to UAB even after the line moved, Gable said, leading The Borgata to stop betting on the game.

UAB won 100-72. Miller scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and committed three turnovers.

Temple issued a statement on March 8 saying it was reviewing reports of suspicious betting patterns.

The NCAA has contacted people in the gaming industry in recent weeks to ask about the Temple case, gaming industry sources told ESPN. He has been investigating Miller and Temple games for several months, sources said.

“We have been fully responsive and cooperative with the NCAA from the moment we learned of the investigation,” Orbanek, Temple's spokesman, told ESPN this week.

Bookmakers noticed that the same customers who bet against Temple in the UAB game had been betting on other games involving the Owls, often placing bets on the outcome and total points scored in the first half, according to gaming industry sources.

Temple finished the 2023-24 regular season 12-19, but had a run in the American Athletic Conference tournament before losing to UAB in the championship game. Miller averaged 27.8 points during that streak.

Miller was one of Virginia Tech's biggest offseason acquisitions from the transfer portal, and his unexpected departure left the team with a void at the point guard position.

The Miller case is the latest high-profile betting investigation involving an athlete. In April, the NBA banned former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter for revealing confidential information to bettors. Porter later pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge and admitted that he agreed to withdraw early from the games so that co-conspirators could win bets on his statistical performance. Two of his accomplices also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.