Feds Say College Basketball Players Took Cash to Fix Games

Federal prosecutors say some college hoops games were straight-up rigged ... and they just dropped the hammer.

According to a bombshell indictment unsealed Thursday, 20 men have been charged in a jaw-dropping point-shaving and bribery scheme that allegedly corrupted at least 39 Division I players, 17 schools and nearly 30 rigged matchups over the last two seasons.

Prosecutors claim the operation was run by Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley -- two guys already deep in other federal gambling cases -- with help from former LSU and NBA player Antonio Blakeney.

The alleged plan? Pay players $10K-$30K per game to play just bad enough, so their teams wouldn’t cover the betting spread ... while the bettors cashed in.

Feds say it all started in China, where Blakeney allegedly tanked games while playing overseas, helping the group cash massive bets in the U.S.

Prosecutors claim he pocketed about $200,000 at the end of the season for his efforts.

Once the money started flowing, the group allegedly moved stateside -- targeting college programs mostly at smaller, mid-major schools, including DePaul, Tulane, La Salle, Fordham, Saint Louis, Buffalo, Southern Miss and more.

The same ringleaders are also facing separate federal cases tied to NBA gambling -- including one involving Terry Rozier -- and another alleged scam using ex-NBA players as bait.

Hennen and Fairley have pleaded not guilty, but the fallout is already brutal -- the NCAA has permanently banned more than a dozen players tied to gambling and game-fixing.