College Basketball's 11 Most Earth-Shattering Stories of 2011

2011 has been an exciting year in the world of college basketball full of upsets, scandals and great storylines.

In April, Kemba Walker and the UConn Huskies made a championship run and took down the Butler Bulldogs in the final game of the 2010-2011 season.

And to start the 2011-2012 season, No. 1 North Carolina traveled to San Diego to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a nationally televised Veteran's Day game aboard an aircraft carrier in a game the Tar Heels won.

But do they make the list of the 11 most earth-shattering stories of 2011? Keep reading to find out.

Caltech Finally Wins

On February 23, 2011, the Caltech Beavers did the unthinkable.

Although not known on a nationwide scale, Caltech had gone 26 seasons without a conference win. 

0-310.

But on February 23, Caltech took down Occidental 46-45. Forward Ryan Elmquist, who later got to be on "CBS Evening News" with Katie Couric, hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to get Caltech their first win since before all of their players were born.

The rights to a remake have been bought by Disney and could become a Ben Stiller comedy in the near future. Sadly, the Beavers haven't won a conference game since.

Harvard Finds Success

2011 has been a banner year for Harvard basketball.

First, to finish the 2010-2011 season, Harvard barely missed making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament after losing 63-62 to Princeton in a play-in game. 

Despite losing the play-in, the Crimson still had a great season with a 23-6 record.

Now, in 2011-2012, Harvard has cracked the Top 25 for the first time ever.

The No. 25 Harvard Crimson sit at a 9-1 record, with their only loss coming to then No. 9 UConn. No Ivy League school had been in the Top 25 since Princeton in the 1997-1998 season. 

If Harvard can keep this pace up, 2012 could bring some even better memories for a long-suffering program.

Steve Fisher's SDSU Redemption

In 1992 and 1993, Steve Fisher coached the Michigan Wolverines' "Fab Five" to two consecutive National Title games. They changed the culture of basketball with their baggy shorts and black socks.

But after the fact, it came out that those Michigan players had received money from a local booster.

Fisher went down with the program and was fired in 1997.

In 1999, he was named the head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs. He first saw success in the 2001-2002 season, when he led the Aztecs to the NCAA tournament. But despite two more appearances since then, San Diego State had never won a tournament game.

But then came the 2010-2011 season.

With the great play of Kawhi Leonard, the Aztecs rose to become a Top 10 team and finished with a record of 34-2. The team made it all the way to the Sweet 16.

While Fisher's past will never leave him, he proved in 2011 that he can lead a team the right way.

USD's Point Shaving

In April, former University of San Diego standout Brandon Johnson was charged with point shaving along with another former USD player and a former assistant coach.  

The three were involved in illegal gambling and bribery during a game in February 2010 and quite possibly many more. 

The investigation stemmed from one involving the sale of marijuana.

It just goes to show that not just big schools like Michigan are subject to scandal if a school with under 8,000 students can have a scandal as well.

Kyrie Irving's Injury

Kyrie Irving was widely regarded as the top incoming freshman in the nation for the 2010-2011 college basketball season. The point guard had committed to Duke in 2009, and there were plenty of big expectations for him.

He started out very hot, averaging 17.4 points per game, but in his eighth game of the season, he suffered a ligament injury in the big toe of his right foot. 

The biggest question surrounding Duke for the rest of the season was whether or not Irving could come back to play again for the Blue Devils that season. It looked like his freshman year would be lost, but the day before the team's first round matchup against Hampton in the NCAA Tournament, it was announced that he would play.

In the Sweet Sixteen against the Arizona Wildcats, Irving showed just how great he was by scoring 28 points. But it was not enough to win and advance.

In just as big a surprise as his return to the lineup, Irving later announced he would be leaving Duke for the NBA. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers despite only playing 11 collegiate games. 

Butler 2.0

In the 2010 season, the Butler Bulldogs did the impossible and made it all the way to the championship game of the Final Four before losing on a missed buzzer-beater to the Duke Blue Devils.

In 2011, lightning struck twice.

The Brad Stevens-led team finished in a three-way tie in the Horizon League and clawed their way back to the title game. They won by two in the opening round against Old Dominon and then by one in the next round versus Pittsburgh. Then in the Elite Eight, they took down Florida in overtime.

Forward Matt Howard and guard Shelvin Mack were the heart and soul of the team, and every time the Bulldogs went down, they brought them back up.

In the Final Four, Butler beat fellow Cinderella story VCU to face UConn in the championship game, where they eventually lost to the Kemba Walker-led Huskies.

But nonetheless, Butler did the impossible—again. 

UCLA's Terrible Start

Who knew that the Sports Illustrated cover jinx could hit so fast? 

UCLA started the 2011-2012 season ranked No. 15 in the nation with a cover spot on the November 14th "West" edition of the Sports Illustrated "College Basketball Preview" edition. The cover featured junior forward Reeves Nelson (pictured).

The Bruins started the season with two embarrassing losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee before finally defeating Chaminade. UCLA then suffered two more losses—this time to ranked Kansas and Michigan.

UCLA stood at 1-4 and a far ways away from their preseason ranking within the Top 25.

An underlying story throughout the rough start was the inconsistency of Reeves Nelson, the SI cover-boy. 

The returning scoring leader and rebounder got suspended twice by head coach Ben Howland due to his lack of focus and the constant conflict of personalities between the two.

Then, on December 9th, Nelson was dismissed from the team. Less than a month after gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated, Nelson was packing his bags for Lithuania to get ready for the 2012 NBA Draft.

Back in Los Angeles, the rest of the Bruins seem to have turned things around and now sit at 6-5.

Jimmer Time!

In 2011, Jimmer Fredette took the nation by storm.

The BYU senior point guard had thought of forgoing his senior season to play in the NBA after having a solid junior year. But thankfully for the BYU and the rest of the nation (except San Diego State), he stayed for one more year.

Fredette had multiple signature games, including his 47-point performance against Utah and his 43-point showing against No. 4 San Diego State to give the Aztecs their first loss of the year. It was that nationally televised victory over the Aztecs that put Fredette in the spotlight of the nation.

He led the Cougars to a 32-5 record and a Top 10 finish after losing to Florida in the Sweet Sixteen in overtime. On top of that, he was named the Naismith Player of the Year and was selected with the 10th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Sacramento Kings.

VCU Rams

Each NCAA Tournament, there is always at least one Cinderella story. 

In 2011, it was the VCU Rams.

Coached by Shaka Smart (pictured, left), the Rams built off of their championship the year prior in the College Basketball Invitational. They finished in third place in their conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, and lost in the title game of their conference tournament.

The Rams then received an invitation to the first ever First Four—two play-in games to be included in the round of 64. They defeated USC and entered the tournament as an 11-seed, where they immediately dismantled sixth-seeded Georgetown and third-seeded Purdue. 

Behind the great play of Joey Rodriguez (pictured, right), the team took down Florida State 72-71 in an overtime thriller before they beat the number one overall seed, Kansas, by 10 in the Elite Eight.

Their run finally came to an end when they were defeated by fellow Cinderella story team Butler in the Final Four.

Nonetheless, VCU finished sixth in the polls to end the season and they successfully signed Smart to an eight-year extension.

Diaper Dandies No More

In 2010-2011, there were many great players throughout the nation who were diaper dandies, as Dick Vitale would say it.

Freshman like Harrison Barnes (pictured), Brandon Knight, Jared Sullinger, Tristan Thompson, Perry Jones III, Terrance Jones, Josh Selby and Kyrie Irving dominated the headlines.

But when the NBA Draft came around, only Knight, Thompson, Selby and Irving left to play pro ball.

Now, in the second half of 2011, those freshman who stayed are dominating the competition by grooming their games another year and staying with their colleges.

This holdover has created one of the most competitive college basketball seasons in recent memory and will make one of the deepest NBA draft classes ever. 

Syracuse Scandal

After the announcement of the Penn State sexual abuse scandal, two former Syracuse ball boys came out and told ESPN's Outside the Lines that they had been sexually abused by assistant head coach Bernie Fine decades earlier.

After a third victim went public, Fine was fired on November 27th, 2011 by Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

While many people are quick to liken this case to that at Penn State, they are very different. At Penn State, many people in positions of power at the school were aware of actions that had taken place. Meanwhile, at Syracuse, the news that is becoming public is the first time anyone at the university not immediately involved is hearing it.

To make matters more complex, ESPN had tapes of one of the accusers on the phone with Bernie FIne's wife, talking about the situation—since 2003. More and more news involving the case is coming out every day.

Just as Penn State shocked the college football world, No. 1 Syracuse is rocking the college basketball world, both on and off the court.