Fresno State Basketball Players Probed for Betting on Team to Underperform

Posted on: February 24, 2025, 04:14h. 

Last updated on: February 24, 2025, 04:14h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
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  • Fresno State and NCAA investigating men’s basketball players for betting
  • Two players are under suspicion for wagering on their own team to underperform

Fresno State has suspended two players from its men’s basketball team and removed another in the latest sports betting scandal to hit college athletics.

Fresno state basketball, Bulldogs, Jalen Weaver, Zaon Collins, Mykell Robinson
Fresno State’s men’s basketball team, above, is the latest college outfit to be rocked by a gambling scandal. Reports suggest that head coach Vance Wahlberg reported players after learning of untoward behavior. (Image: Fresno State)

The university and the NCAA are understood to be examining an allegation that two players, Jalen Weaver and Zaon Collins, bet on their own team to underperform, while a third, Mykell Robinson, bet on professional games in violation of NCAA rules, according to KFSN Action News.

Guards Weaver and Collins missed the game against the Air Force Falcons on Saturday, while junior forward Robinson, who last played on January 11, has been removed from the team’s roster.

Betting the Under

The allegation is that Robinson and Weaver placed bets that the Bulldogs would underperform on points and rebounds, according to Action News sources.

The channel reports that the alleged gambling was uncovered by head coach Vance Wahlberg who immediately reported it to the Fresno State administration

The university has declined to comment on the matter, but it released a statement to The Fresno Bee on Saturday explaining that Weaver and Collins were being withheld from competition while it reviewed “an eligibility matter.”

The Falcons won 72-69 on Saturday. It’s the Bulldog’s tenth loss on the bounce.

Weaver and Collins are among the team’s top scorers, averaging 12.2 and 12 points per game this season, respectively. Robinson was averaging 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

Serious Consequences

Under NCAA rules, anyone involved in college athletics — including athletes, coaches, and staff — are prohibited from engaging in betting activities.

Violating these rules results in athletes becoming ineligible for NCAA competitions. An athlete who bets on teams other than their own faces a one-year ban. Betting on their own team, whether for or against, will result a permanent ban from the NCAA.

However, bets involving an athlete’s own team could be breaching more than just the NCAA’s rules because it raises questions about match-fixing, which could come with criminal charges.

In July last year, Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. That’s after he was found to have deliberately underperformed in two games for the benefit of a New York-based betting syndicate he had run up gambling debts with.

Porter, who was kicked out of the NBA for life, is scheduled to be sentenced in May.