According to multiple reports, four men’s basketball players for New Orleans (4-25 straight up, 12-17 against the spread) are the subject of an investigation into potential NCAA violations for sports betting.
Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter, James White and Jamond Vincent were suspended in late January for what UNO only described as an unspecified violation of team rules. They haven’t played since a Jan. 27 loss to Incarnate Word.
The Privateers were 6.5-point home underdogs vs. Incarnate Word, but the Cardinals raced out to a 38-20 halftime lead and cruised to an easy spread cover in a 74-58 win.
The non-cover vs. Incarnate Word extended UNO’s ATS slump to 3-10 in its 13 previous contests. After the suspensions, the Privateers went 4-1 ATS in their next five games, but they’ve now dropped three in a row to the number.
White (15 points), Short (13) and Hunter (10) all scored in double figures against the Cardinals, but Hunter was scoreless in 17 minutes of playing time. He missed all four of his field-goal attempts and coughed up a pair of turnovers.
White made 5-of-12 FGAs and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. He dished out six assists but also had five turnovers.
In 20 games for UNO after transferring from UAB, White was averaging 19.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
In 21 games this year, Short was averaging 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 APG. Hunter played in 21 games as well, averaging 8.2 PPG, while Vincent was averaging 7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 SPG.
ESPN’s David Purdum, citing industry sources, reported that a betting ring under federal investigation placed bets on at least two UNO games – Dec. 28 at McNeese and Jan. 11 vs. Southeast Louisiana.
UNO lost 86-61 at McNeese as a 23-point road underdog. Most books opened the Cowboys as 23 or 23.5-point home ‘chalk’ on Dec. 27.
MajorWager looked into the line movement for this game at BetMGM, DraftKings, Bet365, FanDuel and Caesars. The only book that showed a dramatic shift in the number was Caesars.
While the other shops had 23.5 as the closing line (except for 24 at DraftKings), Caesars moved from 23.5 to 24.5 at 6:59 p.m. Eastern (61 minutes before tip), 10 minutes after adjusting to 23.5 from 23. Then at 7:44, the book moved to 25.
Five minutes later, Caesars put a -125 price on bettors wanting to take McNeese at -25. Then at 7:54, the shop went to -25.5 (at a -125 price for the Cowboys).
McNeese led by 23 points at halftime and by as many as 30 points in the second half. White finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Short had six points and four assists compared to two turnovers.
Vincent had two points on just 1-of-7 makes from the field, while Hunter scored only three points on 1-for-4 FGAs.
None of the line movement ahead of UNO vs. SE Louisiana looks unusual. In fact, after most books opened SE Louisiana at -6 or -6.5, most spots closed the Lions as 5.5-point road favorites.
They led 47-27 at halftime en route to a 91-71 win.