Hoop Rule Changes On Display Nov. 13

"The Rules, they are a changing!"

A classic Bob Dylan tune? Not quite, but certainly a proper introduction to the 2015-16 college basketball season for Syracuse fans that gets underway on Friday, November 13, when the Orange host Lehigh in the Carrier Dome.

According to information provide by the NCAA, the Assocition's Basketball Rules Committee made more than 25 rules changes since last season. The intent of the changes were primarily to incrtease the pace of play, reduce the number of time stoppages and provide better balance between offense and defense.

Perhaps the most noticable difference to spectators will be a shot clock that now runs 30 seconds rather than 35. The move brings the college game closer to the NBA, which utilizes a 24-second clock.

By an individual game's end, fans may notice these changes to timeout formats:

30-second timeouts reduced from four to three and only two carry over to the second half.
A timeout called within 30 seconds of a scheduled media timeout will become the media timeout.
Coaches can only call timeouts during a dead ball situation.

The 10-second backcourt count will now reset on all stoppages of play except in the following circumstances:

A defender caused the ball to go out of bounds;
The offense retains possession on a held ball; or
A technical foul is called on the offensive team

Here's an alteration to pre-game and halftime protocals -- the prohibition against dunking the ball while the ball is "dead" (pregame and halftime warmups) has been removed.

There are some differences in instant replay usage this winter:

Officials will use 0.00 on the shot clock to determine shot-clock violations;
Officials will be able to look at the release of the ball on potential shot-clock violations at any point during the game for made baskets only, but only until the ball next becomes live;
During all instant replay reviews in the last two minutes of the second half and the last two minutes of overtime (s), substitutions or timeouts will not be permitted until the results of the instant replay review have been reported to both coaches.

The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee issued a directive to the "officiating community" to reduce physicality in order to create freedom of movement in the following areas:

Hand checking/body bumping the ball handler;
Physical post play and rebounding;
Freedome of movement for players without the ball (ex-cutters);
Screening (stationary screens required);
Offense initiated contact with legal defenders.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee both supported the directive.

Details from this story were provided by the NCAA.

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos