Eastern Michigan University Basketball Games Under Investigation for Suspicious Betting

Written By Dan Holmes on January 22, 2025
a blurred vision of a basketball arena

Suspicious wagering activity surrounding two college basketball games involving Eastern Michigan University has led to an investigation by multiple betting integrity organizations.

As reported by ESPN, the initial red flag was a single unusually-large wager on the first-half spread for a Jan. 14 game between EMU and Central Michigan University. According to gambling watchdog group Integrity Compliance 360, a bettor attempted to place a wager characterized as “their largest wager to date” by picking CMU to cover the spread in the first half.

Reportedly, two other suspiciously large wagers were attempted on the same first-half spread for the Jan. 14 game. In addition, suspicious gambling activity was reported by Integrity for the Eastern Michigan game against Wright State on Dec. 21, 2024.

Integrity Compliance 360 has notified the NCAA, gaming regulatory agencies, athletic conferences, and sports betting operators of the unusual betting interest in game props on EMU. In both games with suspicious betting behavior, the wagers in question were against Eastern Michigan.

ESPN reported that International Betting Integrity Agency, a gaming watchdog company, also noticed strange betting behavior on the Jan. 14 game between the two Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams.

The first-half spread for the Jan. 14 game between the Chippewas and Eagles was CMU (-3.5) up until game time, when it moved to CMU (-6.5). The Chippewas led 39-33 at half, and failed to cover.

Half-time bets often targeted by match-fixers

Big wagers on a first-half spread can be a red flag, particularly if the betting pattern doesn’t line up with wagers on the full-time score. Typically, the first-half spread for a basketball game should be about half of the overall spread for the game. But in the instance of the Jan. 14 game between Eastern and Central, CMU was the closing line for the half-time spread was -6.5, compared to only -8 for the full-time spread.

There are a few reasons someone fixing a match might choose to target the half-time score rather than the full-time score. The simplest is that the lower score at halftime equates to less variance. That means a higher chance that the actual spread is within one scoring play of the betting line. This creates an opportunity to swing the result. There are also more strategic complexities at play toward the end of a game.

Last year, college basketball games involving Temple University likewise came under scrutiny. Similar strange wagers were placed or attempted to be placed on first-half point spreads. According to ESPN, federal law enforcement is investigating an individual associated with Temple’s team last season in response to the gambling activity.

Since legal sports betting began its steady spread across the map of the United States, observers have warned against the dangers of corruption. However, few incidents have emerged thankfully. Notably, NBA player Jontay Porter was recently banned from the league for life. It became known that he had provided inside information to gamblers in 2024. Porter also limited his own playing time to influence the outcome of wagers.

NCAA president Charlie Baker has called for sportsbooks and state gaming commissions to stop offering player prop odds on college games. Despite that, Michigan continues to offer such markets. So far, one state has taken action to prohibit college player props: Ohio. Any potential gambling scandals could bring NCAA concerns over gambling to the forefront. Studies have shown that limiting betting on college sports only spurs many bettors to seek offshore illegal betting platforms.

Photo by Dnipro Assets/Shutterstock
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Dan Holmes

Dan Holmes is a Michigan resident who writes about sports betting, sports media, casino and sports betting legislative matters. He's the author of three books, and previously reported for Major League Baseball, as well as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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