30 biggest college basketball scandals of all time

30. Arizona State point shaving in 1994

Get used to the concept of point shaving, which will be a recurring theme of this list. To those who are unfamiliar with the concept, point shaving involves having gamblers pay athletes (either collegiate or professional) money to ensure that their teams won’t cover the point spread.

College athletes, who aren’t paid for all of the work they do on the court, are particularly susceptible to point-shaving schemes. This was the case for Arizona State back in 1994 when two of their players were enticed to participate in one by local gamblers.

Guard Stevin L. Smith and one of his teammates on the Sun Devils, Isaac Burton, were recruited by gamblers to shave points on four of the team’s games back in 1994. The bookies paid Smith $20,000 to affect the outcome of five games, allowing Smith to pay off some serious debts, but the plot was quickly uncovered.

Since it was clear that coaches weren’t involved in the fix, Arizona State was spared from any serious long term consequences as a result of the point shaving. Smith and Burton didn’t get as lucky, pleading guilty to their role in the scheme after getting arrested.

Smith ended up serving a year in prison while Burton spent two months in jail and had a significant probation period after his sentence was up. The scandal ended up wrecking what was a promising career for Smith, who had been considered a first round prospect prior to the fix and ended up going unselected in the draft. Smith ended up with a few 10 day contracts in the NBA, but he became toxic afterward due to his ties to the scandal.