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Georgia basketball to be one of the first to test men’s basketball rule changes

By Kyle Funderburk

Mar 10, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox during the second half of game seven of the SEC Conference Tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky won 71-60. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox during the second half of game seven of the SEC Conference Tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky won 71-60. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the 2017 National Invitational Tournament, the NCAA is trying out potential rule changes. Georgia basketball is a no. 2 seed and they’ll host Belmont this Wednesday.

Related Story: A recap of the last week of Georgia athletics

The prize Georgia basketball gets for missing out on the NCAA Tournament is to be used as guinea pigs by the NCAA along with the rest of the 32-team field.

The experimental rules include:

Team fouls resetting every 10 minutes

teams will enter the bonus after four fouls and will shoot two free throws instead of a 1-and-1.

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Halves broken up into segments instead of quarters. Meaning, the first segment will start at 20:00 and end at 10:00. Then the second segment will start at 9:59 and end at 0:00.

When the ball is inbounded in the front court, the shot clock will start at 20 seconds instead of 30.

  • When play is interrupted, the shot clock will either remain the same or go to 20 seconds, whichever amount is greater.

There will be a total of 31 games played in the NIT so the NCAA will have a good sample size to see if the experimental rules have the desired effect.

The NCAA also wants to keep 20-minute halves because it’s unique to men’s collegiate basketball. But the NCAA is aware of discussions in the college basketball community about switching to quarters. So this is the NCAA’s way to compromise in the discussion.

For Georgia basketball, they get to help introduce these new rules to college basketball fans. Being a no. 2 seed, fans expect the Bulldogs to make a run in the tournament so if they can win the NIT with the experimental rules, they’ll be much more than just a footnote in college basketball history. Especially if these rules are adopted by the NCAA in the off-season.

Next: Georgia basketball: dealing with the pain

Georgia hosts no. 7 seed Belmont this Wednesday night at 7 pm. If the Bulldogs win, they’ll play the winner of no. 3 Indiana and no. 6 Georgia Tech.

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