Hawaii Point Shaving Rumors
November 30th 2011 02:46
Last week, the University of Hawaii was hit with rumors of point shaving amongst the players due to an anonymous call into the Hawaii Police Department. Coach Greg McMackin has not been allowed to comment on anything regarding the matter. From what I have read, these kinds of things happen often when unfounded claims are made against a team for not covering the pointspread.
The allegations came on November third and amidst the Warriors being 3-7-1 against the pointspread through 11 games. The Warriors won 10 games last season but stand at 6-6 this season and 4-8 against the Vegas line. Hawaii suffered numerous injuries to their defensive line, wide receiver corps, and quarterback Bryant Moniz fractured his leg in Week 11 to put him out for the rest of the season. Through 12 games, the Warriors have been favored nine games and underdogs three times.
I've read rumors where Hawaii traveled to UNLV and practiced at a high school during the day and partied it up at night. Players had friends run bets into sportsbook casinos for them and Bryant Moniz's brother is also reported to be a bookie on the mainland. I do not know how much of this is true or any of it is true, but the fact McMackin would not have any clue what was going leads me back to the days of Dan Henning and Boston College in the early 1990s. The coach stepped down but actively sought out what needed to be done to highlight the corruption of the players involved in the program.
The other thing that I am wondering is about the totals, where scores of both teams are combined to exceed or stay under the Vegas line. The main reason for the spread being the focus is Hawaii blowing some big leads as favorites to San Jose State and Utah State. But I also think if players want to affect something, the total number of points could also be in question. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but then you start talking about scoring late touchdowns or missing field goals to purposely go over or under the total. If teams cover, I'm sure a lot of phone calls from upset gamblers come in regarding the failure of teams to cover. Evidence has shown nothing except a team being ravished by injuries and missing their starting QB. Time will tell if any of the claims are legitimate, but it's nothing that should be taken lightly. College athletes are targets because they can still be bought, especially the ones who are not guaranteed to go pro.
The allegations came on November third and amidst the Warriors being 3-7-1 against the pointspread through 11 games. The Warriors won 10 games last season but stand at 6-6 this season and 4-8 against the Vegas line. Hawaii suffered numerous injuries to their defensive line, wide receiver corps, and quarterback Bryant Moniz fractured his leg in Week 11 to put him out for the rest of the season. Through 12 games, the Warriors have been favored nine games and underdogs three times.
I've read rumors where Hawaii traveled to UNLV and practiced at a high school during the day and partied it up at night. Players had friends run bets into sportsbook casinos for them and Bryant Moniz's brother is also reported to be a bookie on the mainland. I do not know how much of this is true or any of it is true, but the fact McMackin would not have any clue what was going leads me back to the days of Dan Henning and Boston College in the early 1990s. The coach stepped down but actively sought out what needed to be done to highlight the corruption of the players involved in the program.
The other thing that I am wondering is about the totals, where scores of both teams are combined to exceed or stay under the Vegas line. The main reason for the spread being the focus is Hawaii blowing some big leads as favorites to San Jose State and Utah State. But I also think if players want to affect something, the total number of points could also be in question. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but then you start talking about scoring late touchdowns or missing field goals to purposely go over or under the total. If teams cover, I'm sure a lot of phone calls from upset gamblers come in regarding the failure of teams to cover. Evidence has shown nothing except a team being ravished by injuries and missing their starting QB. Time will tell if any of the claims are legitimate, but it's nothing that should be taken lightly. College athletes are targets because they can still be bought, especially the ones who are not guaranteed to go pro.
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