Federal authorities have zeroed in on the Temple men’s basketball player they believe was at the center of the suspicious betting activity involving the team’s game against UAB on March 7.
Former Owls guard Hysier Miller is being investigated for potentially betting on his own games and manipulating the outcome of games he played for the Owls, ESPN reports.
Here’s everything we know about the investigation:
Wait, Temple was under investigation?
Yeah, I’ll be honest, this is news to me too. Either I missed it or completely forgot about it, but apparently the team’s first of two meetings against UAB last season was flagged by U.S. Integrity for suspicious betting activity, as confirmed by Sports Illustrated.
At one casino, the line for that game had moved from UAB as a 1.5-point favorite at the beginning of the day to UAB as an eight-point favorite by mid-afternoon, which is a huge leap without any kind of injury to cause it. Many sportsbooks stopped taking bets on the game. Temple didn’t come close to covering in a 100-72 loss.
U.S. Integrity had been monitoring Temple games even before that, SI reported at the time.
So, what was Miller’s alleged involvement?
The latest report from ESPN says Hysier Miller is under federal investigation for point-shaving. Feds are looking into whether he bet on his own games and manipulated the outcome.
Miller was Temple’s leading scorer and playmaker last season at 15.9 points per game and 4.0 assists. He averaged a team-high 36.4 minutes per game over 36 games played. He had eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in the March 7 loss to UAB.
In a statement to ESPN, Miller’s attorney, Jason P. Bologna of the law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney said “Hysier Miller has overcome more adversity in his 22 years than most people face in their lifetime. He will meet and overcome whatever obstacles lay ahead.”
The NCAA declined to comment, and the FBI would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
Is Miller still playing?
No. Miller, a senior, transferred to Virginia Tech in the offseason but was dismissed by the team on Oct. 23 because of the federal investigation and NCAA inquiry, ESPN reports.
He never played a game for the Hokies, who said his dismissal was “due to circumstances prior to his enrollment at Virginia Tech.”
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