College Basketball May Move to Quarters

Indiana and Tom Crean may get to experiment playing games with quarters instead of the traditional halves.

Why does Indiana get to experiment this before Kentucky and many others?

The NCAA has announced that in this years NIT they will be experimenting with quarters. They will be 10 minute quarters. The women's game already has this in place for many years, and the men’s side has flirted with the idea of following suit.

Along with the announcement of the quarters, the NCAA will also try a 20-second shot clock when the ball is inbounded in the front court. The NCAA is doing this, hoping to increase possessions/scoring.

Here is how the media time outs will look like with this new format:

• Quarter 1 time out at 5:00
• End of Quarter 1
• Quarter 2 time out at 5:00
• End of Quarter 2/Halftime
• Quarter 3 time out at 5:00
• End of Quarter 3
• Quarter 4 time out at 5:00

The NCAA would only lose one TV time out compared to the rules as they stand now. With how horrible the officiating has been you’re probably wondering how it will affect team fouls each quarter.

This is what the NCAA said:

In the experimental rule regarding resetting the team fouls, the one-and-one free throw bonus will not occur. Instead, teams will shoot two free throws in the following examples:

• Each team is limited to a team total of four personal and technical fouls (excluding administrative technical fouls) during each 10-minute segment of each half.

• The first 10-minute segment of each half will begin when the ball becomes live to begin the half and will end when the game clock reads 10:00. The second segment will begin when the game clock reads 9:59 and ends when the half ends.

• When a team has reached the four-foul limitation, all subsequent personal and technical fouls (excluding administrative technical fouls) will be penalized by two free throw attempts.

• Each team’s foul total will reset to zero when any 10-minute segment has ended.

• The rules regarding penalties for fouls in the act of shooting, flagrant fouls or technical fouls will not be affected by this experimental rule and will always result in two free throws unless the rules specifically say otherwise.

• In any overtime period, when a team has reached a total of three personal and technical fouls (excluding administrative technical fouls), all subsequent personal and technical fouls will be penalized by two free throw attempts.

So there you have it. Be sure to ask all of your Indiana fans how it ended up working out for them at the end of the season.

@bleedkyblue