Legalized sports betting has slowed down the involvement of fixed lines and crooked athletes, but it hasn't put a full stop on the nonsense. More of that was found out this week in a college betting scandal that has now gone mainstream.
The Fresno Bee reported Saturday that guards Jalen Weaver, a former Nevada Wolf Pack player, and Zaon Collins were withheld from playing after being implicated in an internal investigation into wagering on games.
What makes the situation even murkier is that Mykell Robinson is also implicated, and he is no longer on the team. Weaver and Collins remain a part of the roster but were held out of the game this week against Air Force to fall to 5-23 on the year.
Per reports circulating, Weaver and Robinson allegedly bet on the team to underperform (at 5-23 that's pretty easy) but where this gets tricky it wasn't to lose the game or the form that we are used to like point shaving. Instead, it was on prop plays, which has long been a worry for sports book and legalization. The two allegedly bet on points and rebounds to be under their posted totals.
Robinson's games are being looked at, but you really don't have to look too far. He last played in a Jan. 11 overtime loss to Nevada in which Robinson scored just three points on three shots in 30 minutes. This raises eyebrows because entered the game averaging 10.8 points per game on 10.8 shot attempts per game. He also had just four rebounds, with his season average of over 6.
Fresno State said in a statement that Weaver and Collins were "being withheld from competition as the University reviews an eligibility matter." Weaver played at Nevada from 2021-22, appearing in 11 games, before transferring to Salt Lake Community College for a season and spending the last two at Fresno State. Since the statement was released, it's been learned that Weaver will not be returning to the program, and Collins has been let go as well.
Fresno State's President Saul Jimenez-Sandoval and Athletic Director Garrett Klassey met this week to discuss the future of Fresno State's basketball coach Vance Walberg. The don't feel like they have a cause for firing him over this.
It is interesting to note that there is no legalized sports betting in California, so the bets were placed illegally or somewhere else.