The NCAA approved several proposed rule changes for the 2015-16 season including a 30 second shot clock, four-foot restricted area and a reduction of the number of timeouts.
The NCAA announced the approvals in a tweet this afternoon. The changes are intended to boost scoring and improve the quality of the college game.
The shot clock was last reduced in 1993-94 when it was moved from 45 seconds to 35 seconds. The previous three-foot restricted area was approved in 2011 and will now be expanded to four feet. Teams will also only be given four timeouts (reduced from five) with only three allowed to carry over to the second half.
The full listing of proposed rule changes can be found at NCAA.org.
John Beilein spoke to MLive about the potential impact that the changes could have on the Wolverines.
At Michigan, Beilein’s intricate read-and-react, ballscreen offense previously had a shot window of 10 to 15 seconds in which as desired shot would be produced. The drop from 35 to 30 seconds will change that.
“Maybe it will be 8 to 15 seconds now because it will come quicker,” Beilein said.
Most focus on the offensive impact of the shot clock change, but the reverberation will reach the other end of the floor. Beilein noted that defenses will likely be more prone to shift from man-to-man to zone defense late in shot clocks.
“I think you’ll see more teams flipping stuff and going zone later on because the ballscreen becomes so prevalent at that time,” he said.
