Former Temple guard Hysier Miller is the subject of a federal investigation into alleged point-shaving and manipulating the outcomes of college basketball games, ESPN reported Thursday.
Authorities are looking into whether Miller bet on his own games while at Temple. Miller transferred to Virginia Tech in the offseason, but on Oct. 23 the program dismissed him “due to circumstances prior to his enrollment at Virginia Tech.”
ESPN reported that the reason for Miller’s dismissal was both a federal investigation and an NCAA inquiry into point-shaving. The NCAA did not comment to ESPN, and the FBI did not confirm or deny that an investigation was taking place.
A regular-season game between Temple and UAB on March 7 was flagged by U.S. Integrity, a gambling watchdog firm, for unusual wagering activity. UAB began the day a 1.5- or 2-point favorite at sportsbooks but the spread ballooned to -8 by mid-afternoon, causing some books to halt betting on the game.
Miller had eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and three turnovers in that game, which UAB ran away with, 100-72. The next day, Temple acknowledged in a statement that it was reviewing the reports of unusual betting.
Per ESPN, the NCAA has been investigating Temple and Miller for “several months,” and bookmakers uncovered that some customers who had bet against Temple on March 7 also had done so throughout the season, often betting on both the game result and the total points scored in the first half.
“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,” Miller’s attorney, Jason P. Bologna, told ESPN.
