Massive sports gambling investigation tied to multiple college basketball programs

The massive sports ring under federal investigation for its involvement with NBA games has been linked to several college basketball programs as well, according to David Purdum of ESPN.

According to the report, sportsbook accounts linked to the ring bet on games featuring North Carolina A&T, Mississippi Valley State, and Eastern Michigan this season.

Those same accounts placed bets on former Raptors forward Jontay Porter and then-Hornets guard Terry Rozier, in games that were either alleged to have seen point-shaving activity or are currently under investigation.

The activity led to Porter receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA as a result of his actions, while Rozier has not been implicated in any crime or wrongdoing, and was cleared by the NBA in their own investigation.

Integrity monitoring organizations flagged two Eastern Michigan games this season, December 21 against Wright State and January 16 against Central Michigan, while a January 9 game between Delaware and North Carolina A&T also tripped warning alarms as well. All three games saw suspicious betting patterns on them, meaning significantly more money was wagered on them than you'd usually see.

None of the three schools commented on the allegations; however, three players were suspended indefinitely from the team on January 30. Leading scorers Ryan Forrest and Landon Glasper and sophomore guard Julius Reese were suspended for violating team rules.

North Carolina A&T athletic director Earl Hilton told ESPN in an email that the suspensions were due to violation "of well-established team rules" but declined further comment, citing privacy laws.

When asked about the investigations, the NCAA released a statement:

"The NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition," they said, "The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever suspicious reports are received. Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA will not comment on current or potential investigations."

So far, five men have been charged in the ring, for colluding with Porter to alter his performance in games to make money gambling. The bettors would bet the under on his totals for different stats, and Porter would exit those games early, ensuring that he recorded playing time without hitting the line set.

It's not clear at this point if there were similar setups for the college games under investigation.

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