Basketball is a game of four quarters. In every level of the sport, all across the globe, if you’re watching a basketball game, they’re playing four quarters. Men’s college basketball is the one exception. That may soon be changing.
Ahead of the 2015 college basketball season, the women switched from halves to quarters. The men’s sport is finally inching closer to that logical next step, but it won’t happen next year.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee is convening this week in Indianapolis. “Enhancing the flow of the game” is at the top of the agenda. One of those potential changes is switching to quarters. However, they can’t just make a decision. There needs to be more red tape.
They are recommending the creation of a joint working group to provide feedback on the change. Once they receive the feedback, next year the Rules Committee will consider making the move.
The wheels of change move slowly in the NCAA. This is a small step in the right direction.
Potential Coach’s Challenge in College Basketball
Trips to the monitor plague the sport, particularly in end-of-game situations. If Buzz Williams isn’t calling a timeout, Pat Adams is hovering over a monitor. The Rules Committee believes they’ve found a fix.
“Coach’s challenges were deemed to be the most efficient way to accomplish this goal,” said committee chair Karl Hicks. “Data from the NCAA tournament and membership conferences showed a substantial number of reviews were on out-of-bounds plays. The committee looked at other basketball leagues around the world to see what the best solution would be for the NCAA.”
Each team would receive one coach’s challenge per game. It can only be used if a team still has a timeout. If it’s successful, they get another. If you lose it, sorry. You’re out. The challenge can be used to review out-of-bounds calls, basket interference/goaltending, and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted-area arc.
Adding the coach’s challenge would eliminate an official’s ability to review out-of-bounds plays in the final two minutes of the game. They could still take a trip to the monitor to review goaltending or restricted arc plays, but the out-of-bounds calls are the ones that slow everything down. Putting the onus on the coach is the key to ending needless trips to the monitor.
A New Continuation Rule?
There is one line from the press release that is probably going to be overlooked by some, but could play a big deal.
“Committee members also recommended modifications to the rule on continuous motion on field goal attempts.”
Late in the season, there were a couple of continuation plays that drove Kentucky fans irate. Any time it was borderline, it felt like the call went against Kentucky. In modern college basketball, extending the continuation rule makes sense. Hopefully, the rules committee takes action.
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