point shaving

American  

noun

Sports.

1. (especially in basketball) the illegal practice, by one or more bribed players, of deliberately limiting the number of points scored to conform to the desires of corrupt gamblers.

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Example Sentences

The most common combination: The BARbados-BERmuda match was a close shave, won by a whisker, a hairy competition, lots of clipping calls, point shaving, etc. etc. etc.

From Washington Post • Feb. 15, 2018

Going in that direction could easily lead to point shaving or the outright throwing of games.

From Washington Times • Jul. 6, 2016

Every time a late-game fumble, missed tackle or blown coverage causes a gambling line swing, we would hear whispers about point shaving.

From The Guardian • May 24, 2016

That city’s love affair with that City College team ended abruptly when, less than a year later, it found itself at the center of a scandal involving point shaving.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2012

They railed that it was an insult to the integrity of sports--as bad, some argued, as point shaving.

From Time Magazine Archive