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An illegal gambling ring tied to a pair of NBA betting cases has now been linked to a handful of college basketball programs. North Carolina A&T was one of three teams mentioned in a recent story from ESPN.
The timing is interesting for the Aggies given the mysterious suspensions of a trio of roster members. It’s still unclear if the situations are connected.
Last week, the program announced the suspensions of sophomore guards Ryan Forrest and Julius Reese, as well as junior guard Landon Glasper. A violation of team rules was cited in the reasoning though administration was vague on the specifics of the wrongdoing.
Forrest is averaging 19.1 points per game this season while Glasper sits just below at 18.5 points a night. Reese, meanwhile, has played sparingly to this point.
The Aggies are just 4-19 on the year, and it appears their struggles could continue. ESPN writes that a North Carolina A&T game against Delaware saw suspicious activity at sportsbooks earlier this year. That instance involved line movement on the first half spread, which started a -2 in favor of the Blue Hens. It closed at -3.5, a number Delaware covered.
Forrest scored 26 points in that game while Glasper added 11. Delaware would also cover the -4.5 game spread in the 98-88 win.
“The NCAA take sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition,” the NCAA said in a statement. The university did not respond to ESPN’s request, though AD Earl Hilton reiterated in an email that the suspensions were for a violation of “well-established team rules.”
This gambling ring has also been linked to the Temple program, which was flagged for suspicious activity last season. The Owls have seen at least one former player dismissed amid the investigation. Other college programs mentioned in the ESPN story include Eastern Michigan and Mississippi Valley State.
Sportsbook accounts tied to the illegal ring reportedly bet against those teams this season, including the Aggies. The operation has also been connected to NBA players Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter.
Rozier was cleared of wrongdoing following an NBA investigation while Porter has been banned from the league. It will be interesting to follow the continued fallout of the probe.
North Carolina A&T’s handling of its three suspended players may give us more answers on potential illegal activity on their part. There is no return date scheduled for Forrest, Reese, or Glasper.