The NCAA basketball sports betting investigation continues to grow. The latest release confirmed that six players have now been banned from competing, affecting the Arizona State, New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State basketball programs.
The release concluded three separate investigations that were not directly related to one another. The official NCAA statement confirmed that the athletes either participated in “game manipulation” or “provided information to known bettors” before refusing to cooperate in the investigation.
“The NCAA Committee on Infractions released three separate infractions decisions after NCAA enforcement investigations uncovered violations by six student-athletes who competed in men's basketball at New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State and Arizona State,” the statement read.
“While the cases at each school are not directly related, the violations for each case involved betting-related game manipulation and/or student-athletes providing information to known bettors. Additionally, all three cases involved a lack of cooperation by student-athletes, who knowingly provided false or misleading information to investigators. As a result of the sports betting violations, the student-athletes all violated ethical conduct rules, triggering permanent ineligibility.”
Former Arizona State guard BJ Freeman headlines the names of guilty athletes. Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavion Short and Jamond Vincent were former players at New Orleans, with Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic named in the investigation from Mississippi Valley State.
After starting 22 games in 2024-2025 and averaging 13.7 points while hitting 35.6 percent of his three-point attempts, Freeman was expected to lead the Sun Devils in 2025-2026. Instead, his basketball career is all but over.
The news release broke down every violation each player committed. However, it did not mention any potential punishment for the three schools involved.
NCAA basketball gambling investigation continues expanding
Arizona State, New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State are the three latest schools to be involved in the NCAA's sports betting investigation. The widespread search has already affected Fresno State, Eastern Michigan, Temple, North Carolina A&T and others.
The latest release came one month after ESPN reportedly obtained records suggesting that a “syndicate” had involved multiple schools in illegal gambling activity. The report named New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State as potential universities involved, as well as Temple, Eastern Michigan, North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook.
The recent gambling scandals further stir up controversy in sports betting. College basketball has been particularly thrust under a microscope due to the vast landscape of teams available to place wagers on.
