On Friday, the NCAA men’s basketball rules committee proposed a number of changes after at its annual meeting in Indianapolis.
“The committee has taken significant steps to reverse the trends in the sport that are concerning to the men’s college basketball world,” Belmont head coach and chair of the rules committee Rick Byrd said in a statement. “We have spent the past year collecting data, opinions and considering proposals that will help our game. Our anticipation is that dedicated officiating enforcement, along with this package of changes, will help balance the offense and defense in our game.”
The most noticeable suggested rule change was reducing the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds. This was one of the major criticisms of college basketball this past season with teams milking the shot clock and low-scoring games. While it will add possessions and increase the pace of play, it doesn’t necessarily mean points per game will go up.
However, the 30-second shot clock was a necessary move, considering the NBA, international and even high school levels use shorter shot clocks. The 35-second shot clock has been used in Division I basketball since 1993 when it was dropped from 45 seconds.
Another important change was in regards to timeouts:#MBBRules Committee proposes changes related to timeouts. pic.twitter.com/qrGYSL8tk7
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) May 15, 2015
The rules committee also suggested eliminating the coach’s ability to call a live-ball timeout and the use of a timeout to reset at 10-second count in the back court.
The committee also addressed the physicality of play, with a focus on perimeter and post defense. The restricted area under the basket will expand to four feet under the proposed rules, which will help solve the block/charge issue that plagued last season. The postseason NIT used the four foot restricted area and saw the number of block/charge plays per game dip considerably.
The proposed rule changes need to be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel on June 8.