Hawaii Allegations Lack Substance
The University of Hawaii football program has been in the news the past few days, over allegations of shaving points. The allegations were brought to the university's attention in an anonymous letter the school received on Nov. 3 claiming members of the team were shaving points. The letter was turned over to the Honolulu Police Department.The university issed a statement on Tuesday which read:
Statement to Media
Dr. MRC Greenwood, University of Hawaii President
November 22, 2011
On November 3, 2011, the UH Manoa Office of Admissions received an anonymous letter alleging "point shaving" by unnamed football players of UH football games.
Recognizing the seriousness of these allegations, UH leadership acted promptly and responsibly by immediately alerting the Honolulu Police Department and providing the letter to them.
Board of Regents Chair Eric Martinson and President MRC Greenwood met personally with Chief Louis Kealoha to offer UH's full cooperation with HPD's inquiry.
UH has alerted the NCAA about the anonymous letter and its contents and, in discussions with them, has been informed that it is "doing exactly what you need to be doing" in this situation.
Out of respect for the police investigation, UH will not comment further at this point.
But the police investigation mentioned in the press release is not taking place according to the Honolulu Police Department, which said there was not enough information for a criminal investigation.
Naturally, the NCAA has said it will look into the matter, releasing yet another statement, which simply said: "We take any allegation of point shaving very seriously as it is a crime that threatens two core NCAA principles - the well-being of student-athletes and the very integrity of intercollegiate sport."
Hawaii Football
Before we get into the details of the games alleged to be shady, it's important to take a look at Hawaii football from a betting perspective. The Warrios' home games have become legendary among sports bettors as the ultimate bailout game. Since Hawaii is two hours behind Pacific Standard Time, each home game is the very last game on the schedule, giving bettors one more opportunity to try and get even for the day. Because of this, Hawaii games receive a great deal of wagering action - much more than you would normally see in a game involving equal quality teams.This year Hawaii is either 3-7-1 or 4-7 ATS depending on the line you have in the Nevada game, where the Wolfpack won 42-28 as either 14 or 15 point favorites.
The Games
Several games are frequently mentioned as ones that appeared shady. We'll take a look at several of these games.Hawaii at UNLV: This game is the one most often mentioned, as UNLV won the game outright 40-20 as 18-point underdogs. Hawaii was outgained 365 to 290 yards and lost four fumbles in the game.
The money line did drop on this game, which gives a bit of fuel to the claim that Hawaii threw the game, which is a much more serious allegation than shaving points, as now you're not merely talking about winning by a smaller margin than the spread, you're talking about losing outright.
Between 2006 and 2010 away favorites of 15 or more points were 201-14 straight up and two of those losses were by more than 20 points. Simply put, there's no quicker way to draw attention yourself than losing by 20 as 18-point favorites.
Hawaii at Washington: The Huskies opened as 3.5-point favorites on Monday, at which point they were used as a selection by Right Angle Sports, which pushed the line upwards to 6, before it came down slightly and closed between 4.5 and 5.5. The money line opened at Washington -220 and closed at -190, so there was a bit of Hawaii action to win the game outright.
The Huskies had a 38-26 lead with under two minutes to go, when Bryant Moniz threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to make it 38-32. An extra point would make it 38-33, so anybody with Washington -5.5 or more would lose. Instead the Huskies block the kick and return it for 2-points and win 40-32, making everybody who bet on Washington a winner.
Moniz has become the favorite whipping boy of those claiming Hawaii games were fixed, which makes sense. As quarterback he has the biggest impact on the game. But does it make sense for Moniz to lead the team to that final touchdown and count on a blocked extra-point being returned for 2 points? Of course not. Remember, Washington blocked an extra-point earlier in the game and the ball still made it into the end zone, which could have happened again. If I'm Moniz and I'm trying to make sure the Huskies cover the spread, there is no way I lead my time on a 73-yard scoring drive in the final minutes of the game.
Hawaii at Idaho: Hawaii wins 16-14 as 7-point favorites in a game that saw little line movement and once again, Moniz is at the top of the suspect list, as his third-quarter fumble was returned for a touchdown to give Idaho a 14-13 lead.
Now this time, we're expected to believe Moniz wanted to win the game, but not cover the spread. After driving Hawaii down to the Idaho 16, Moniz threw two incompletions and was tackled for a 2-yard loss, which set up the winning field goal with 36 seconds left.
Again, there is a much easier way to get the win and not rely on a field goal, as the Warriors haven't been great in that department, and also require Idaho to score a touchdown to win instead of a field goal, which the Vandals missed on the final play of the game. That's simply to score a touchdown and take a 19-14 lead and throw the 2-point conversion pass away. Hawaii wins, Idaho gets the cover and everybody is happy.
Hawaii's losses to San Jose State, Utah State and Fresno State have also been mentioned as games being fixed, despite the lack of line movement you would expect if people were wagering on a "sure thing." Basically, if Hawaii didn't cover, the "fix was in."
If you look closely at all the games in question, there would be easier ways that didn't invlove blocked extra-points beging returned for scores, missed field goals and that would have resulted in an additional win or two for the team.
There have been rumors involving Hawaii games for a number of years, dating back to the college basketball officials known as the "James Brothers" as in Frank and Jesse, because you knew you were going to be robbed.
There are rumors of the Moniz brothers being big bookies and other tales of games being shady. There wasn't enough evidence for the Honolulu Police Department to investigate, which according to some is because they are all on the take and involved with the gambling, as well.
Who knows what the NCAA will decide, but right now it's hard to give the accusations much weight. Hawaii is simply an over-valued team that is not very good this season and has some injuries. They have been a solid wager in the past (37-25-1 the past five years) but this is a new season and a new team, one that doesn't stack up to previous editions.
