NCAA announces 2017-18 basketball rule changes

As is always the case around this point in the offseason, the NCAA has announced a few rule changes effective for the 2017-18 season.

Unlike a few years back when the shot clock was moved from 35 to 30 seconds, there’s nothing that will fundamentally change the game, but let’s take a look.

The big one the NCAA is focusing on is the extension of the coach’s box from 28 feet to 38 feet. This is intended to help communication when the team is on the opposite end of the court, which is helpful since coaches can’t call timeouts in game and players can’t always hear.

The other significant change was the expansion of replay. Per the NCAA’s release, here’s what’ll be included.

Referees can use the instant replay rule in the last two minutes of the second half or last two minutes of overtime to see if a secondary defender was in or outside the restricted-area arc but only when a call has been made. If the player is in the restricted area, a block will be called on the defender. If the secondary defender is in legal guarding position and outside the restricted area, a player-control foul will be called. The Big Ten and Mid-American conferences experimented with this rule last season.

People like to complain about replay “slowing down the game” in virtually every sport, but it’s better to have it, use it, and get the call right instead of getting the call wrong and saving a few seconds.

The other rule changes can be found in the full release (link above).