Outrage flooded the NBA when the “Hack-a-Shaq” took effect. During the last few years, the same outrage has followed in the NBA playoffs when teams would foul poor free throw shooters to gain possessions.
In the first few games of the new college basketball season, we’re seeing something different. What’s happening on the hardwood is not due to any loopholes that teams have been found in the rules. Rather, free throw totals are skyrocketing because of the new emphasis on freedom of movement.
The main goal of the rule makers in college basketball this season was to make the game more aesthetically pleasing for fans. In doing this, the first thing they realized is that fans want to see a fluid, balletic style of play, rather than physical defensive slugfests with endless bumping of cutters and bodies crashing into each other with impunity.
In outlawing disruptive physical play, the NCAA has created an environment in which free throws reign supreme. This is the downside of policing contact: The emphasis takes the flow of the game in a different direction, creating so many stoppages of the clock with so many trips to the line. Reducing rough play is a goal which won’t be achieved right away; teams are clearly adjusting to the new points of emphasis. In the meantime, whistles have become the soundtrack for games. That’s an inconvenience the sport will have to live with, trusting that defenses and coaches will adjust in the course of time.
Ultimately, the decision makers were probably right. The physical play was getting out of hand and it was eroding the quality of play. Many times, ACC basketball games were as physical as ACC football games. The new points of emphasis, combined with the 30-second shot clock, have point totals shooting through the roof. Utah and San Diego State, two strong defensive teams last season, played an 81-76 game Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Teams are now getting in the bonus earlier, with some midway through a half. Over the first weekend of play, only eight teams attempted fewer than 10 free throws in their first game, according to NCAA.com. On the other hand, 200 had shot at least 20 in their first games.
Results have followed. According to KemPom.com, both points and offensive efficiency are up drastically this season.
The main rule changes that have taken effect for the season, which are just an emphasis of changes reflected in the 2013 rules, emerge in four areas. It is now a point of emphasis to call fouls when a defender places and keeps a hand or forearm on an opponent; puts two hands on an opponent; continually jabs by placing a hand or forearm on the opponent; and uses an arm bar to impede the dribbler. The NCAA is also attempting to cut down on physical play in the post, and has again placed an emphasis on calling moving screens at will.
The main issue is how teams are able to adjust. For Virginia, which fell to George Washington Monday night, the new rules are certainly going to be a burden. The Colonials scored 31.5 percent of their points from the stripe, or 23 of 73 points. The Cavaliers committed 24 fouls.
Virginia will be one of the teams hit the hardest by the new rules. That adjustment will dictate where the season goes for the Cavaliers. However, they are not alone. Other teams, like Louisville, which gets into the grills of offensive players, will have to adjust to the rules if they want to avoid surrendering cheap points.
There is also the question of how the officials adjust. New rules to start the season are like the flavor of the week. Many times, the enforcement of these rules declines over the course of a season, particularly with veteran officials. This enforcement could also dictate how the season plays out.
Either way, points are up. The only issues are having the men in stripes dictating the results of the game with another judgment call. That can be a dangerous territory and an adjustment for all.
College basketball hopes the adjustment is worth it.
