Former Temple Owls guard Hysier Miller was supposed to make his debut for head coach Mike Young and the Virginia Tech Hokies earlier this month, but in late October, Miller was dismissed by the Virginia Tech basketball program “due to circumstances prior to his enrollment at Virginia Tech.” It turns out that these “circumstances” are tied to a federal investigation and an NCAA inquiry into Temple basketball games.
Per Pete Thamel and David Purdum of ESPN.com, Miller, who was Temple’s leading scorer last season, is being investigated for his involvement in a point-shaving scandal, which stemmed from a game late in the season last year against UAB in which the line moved six points in a manner of hours.
According to Thamel and Purdum’s report, on the morning of the March 7th UAB vs. Temple basketball game, the Blazers were a 2-point favorite over the Owls. However, by early afternoon, that line had climbed to -8 after a series of large bets came in on UAB. Tom Gable, who is the sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City said that while he initially expected injury or suspension information involving Temple to come to light, he couldn’t find any reason behind the rush of action.
UAB would go on to win the game 100-72, and Miller, who averaged 16 points per game throughout the 2023-24 season, scored only eight points on 3-for-9 shooting.
Upon further investigation, Thamel and Purdum noted that bookmakers came to find that customers who bet against Temple in their March 7th matchup with UAB had also wagered on numerous other Owls games throughout the season.
The day after the game, Temple University released a statement saying it was reviewing reports of suspicious betting patterns, and school spokesperson Steve Orbanek has since told ESPN that the school is, “aware of the deeply concerning allegations of sports wagering last season,” and “have been fully responsive and cooperative with the NCAA.”
For now, the situation remains unresolved, but it does feel somewhat similar to the Jontay Porter/Toronto Raptors saga from earlier this year. Porter ended up receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA after it was found that he placed bets and advised others on his own individual player props.
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