Gambling has made ends of games miserable for college basketball benchwarmers

Carson Barrett tore his meniscus earlier this year. The injury required surgery, but this is the last run for the Purdue senior. Though he’s never seen a whole lot of playing time in his career, he wanted to at least have a shot at getting on the court this season. So Barrett delayed the repair work, gladly taking the exchange of some pretty painful nights with a throbbing knee in favor of even a few minutes of hooping.

This season he’s played a grand total of 21 minutes and scored six points. Three of them came in the NCAA Tournament. With 37 seconds left in a game long decided, Barrett drained a baseline 3 against Grambling State, putting himself in the box score of Purdue’s first-round victory. As the ball swished through the net, the bench erupted, Barrett’s teammates knowing full well what he’d sacrificed and endured. His bucket would be the last for the Boilermakers as Purdue cruised to a 78-50 win. Back in the locker room, Barrett picked up his phone and scrolled through the congratulatory texts from friends and started to search through his DMs on social media.

He stumbled on this:

You sure are a son of a b—.
Hope you enjoy selling cars for the rest of your life.

Followed by:

I hope you f-ing die.

And then the kicker:

Kill yourself for taking that 3 you f-ing worthless loser. Slit your f-ing throat you f-ing f– that was completely uncalled for. I hope you f-ing kill yourself.

The Boilermakers were 27-point favorites against Grambling. Barrett’s bucket meant they won by 28. “I had no idea what the line was,” Barrett said. “I’m just out there, making memories with my friends.”

Purdue senior — and former walk-on — Carson Barrett nails a 3 to cap off the Boilermakers’ 78-50 victory over Grambling State!

(Purdue also covered -26.5 with that bucket) ???? #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/mUu62wpRkp

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 23, 2024

NCAA president Charlie Baker last week asked for a ban on prop bets involving college athletes, saying the national body wanted to protect both athletes and the integrity of the game.

But prop (or proposition) bets — which typically are on an individual’s performance, such as how many 3s one player makes — are really only the tip of the iceberg.

As more and more states legalize sports betting (38 plus the District of Columbia), the walls that long separated college athletics from gambling continue to tumble down. The NCAA now hosts events in Las Vegas (the 2028 Final Four will be held there) and just last week housed two teams in casinos in Detroit. Athletes and departmental staff members still cannot bet on any sport in which the NCAA sponsors a championship, but plenty of people are betting on them.

It’s upped the scrutiny on teams — Temple last month was investigated for betting irregularities involving its team — and the vitriol directed at players. That vitriol, of course, can be directly delivered thanks to social media. The NCAA has tried to hit that…