Eastern Michigan basketball flagged for betting scandal
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The January 14 men's college basketball game between Eastern Michigan Eagles and Central Michigan Chippewas is under investigation following unusual betting activity that raised red flags with sportsbooks and regulators.
The game, which saw Central Michigan favored by 3.5 points for the first half, experienced an unusual shift in the betting line, drawing the attention of betting monitoring firm Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), according to a report from ESPN.
The line on the first-half spread jumped significantly, moving from -3.5 to -6.5 just before tipoff. This was extremely abnormal for a regular-season game in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), where games tend to attract much lower betting volumes.
Such a drastic shift in the line—an increase of 3 points—indicates that large amounts of money were being wagered in a way that didn't align with normal betting patterns.
This marks the second time this season that an Eastern Michigan game has been flagged for irregular betting patterns. The previous instance occurred in December 2024 during a game between Eastern Michigan and Wright State, where large wagers were placed against Eastern Michigan's first-half spread.
Both games have raised concerns about potential manipulation of betting lines, with the focus primarily on high-stakes bets placed against Eastern Michigan in the first half of these games.
IC360, which monitors betting markets for unusual activity, discovered that one bettor attempted to place their “largest wager to date” on Central Michigan to cover the spread in the first half. In addition, two other high-stakes wagers were placed from accounts outside the typical region (Connecticut and Tennessee), both betting on Central Michigan's first-half spread.
Eastern Michigan isn’t an isolated incident
These betting irregularities are not isolated to just the Eastern Michigan-Central Michigan game. Last season, similar suspicious betting activity was flagged on college basketball games, including one between Temple and UAB, which federal authorities are now investigating.
The rise in legal sports gambling across the U.S. has heightened concerns about potential manipulation of outcomes, as bookmakers and regulators have become increasingly vigilant about the possibility of point-shaving or other forms of game-fixing.
Legal sports betting has also trickled into pro sports, as former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA for gambling, placing 13 bets within his league for a total payout of $76,059.
As for Eastern Michigan, the university has stated that it is aware of the investigation and is working with the Mid-American Conference to review the incident. However, EMU has not disclosed any further details regarding the source of the suspicious activity. The Michigan Gaming Control Board and the International Betting Integrity Association are currently monitoring the situation.
The post Eastern Michigan basketball flagged for betting scandal appeared first on ClutchPoints.
