The NCAA should keep the experimental rules in the NIT

Let’s talk about some of the rules that college basketball is experimenting with in the NIT this year, because I think it’s cool that the NIT is used as a test ground for possible rule changes in the game.

Here’s what’s being tested in the NIT:

4 10-minute quarters:
Ever since I was a kid, when I loved the NBA and the Jazz, I always thought playing halves was strange. You play quarters in virtually every level of basketball except in college. The half system seems to makethe game drag along, and with all the TV timeouts, that doesn’t help. Now, it will be interesting to see how TV factors in with this, but I think the quarter system is the way to go. I think it adds an interesting element to games too, with the addition of a couple more two for ones at the end of quarters, and interesting end of quarter strategy.

Lane widened to 16 feet:
This should hopefully open up the game a little bit more. The college game grinds to a halt at times, and hopefully with the ability to keep some guys out of the paint a bit more, with the fear of 3 second calls and such, that allows for more penetration and play making. Another big fan of this possible rule change.

3 point line extended by 1’ 8”:
Similar to widening, this should open up the offenses a little bit, with guys spotting up almost 2 feet further away from the rim. I think this is long overdue. The three point shot in college is too easy, and it’s barely deeper than high school. Each level, from high school to college and from college to the NBA, should have a harder three point shot.

Shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after offensive rebounds:
I loved the change of the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30 last season, and this is another good change. The college game grinds to a halt, and coaches like to really slow things down and control the pace, this should hopefully speed up the pace of the game a little bit. Frankly, a rule like this should hopefully give a little bit more control to the players on the floor, and keep things rolling.

Double bonus at 5 fouls each quarter + team fouls reset at the quarter
Here’s another NBA like rule, no longer is there 1-and-1, it’s 1 + a penalty when a team gets to 5 team fouls in a quarter. A rule like this should hopefully promote better defense and less fouls, thus keeping a games flow up. Now, the officials have to play along, but we all know how well that has gone in the Pac-12 of late.

I really like all of these rules that they’re testing in the NIT, and I’m hoping they carry them over to the real deal next season. Unless you’re a fan of a team, college has been hard to watch at times. I think rules like this benefit the Utes too, since Coach K comes from an NBA back ground, and these are NBA rules, so he should be able to gameplan well for these changes through the NIT, and if they actually come to regular games.

What are your thoughts on these rules? Are there others you’d like to see?