NCAA approves challenges by hoops coaches

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) — College basketball coaches will be able to challenge officials' calls next season for the first time, and the NCAA also said there is "positive momentum" toward switching the men's game from halves to quarters. The NCAA announced several minor rule changes this week that affect both men's and women's basketball. Men's coaches will be able to challenge out-of-bounds calls, basket interference or goaltending, and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted area. Coaches will get at least one challenge per game, but must have a timeout to use one. A successful challenge means a coach gets another one. I the challenge is unsuccessful, the coach may not challenge another call. On the women's side, coaches will be able to challenge out-of-bounds calls, backcourt violations, whether the correct player was called for a foul and whether a change in possession occurred before the ruling of a foul that leads to free throws. Women's coaches won't need a timeout to challenge a call, but an unsuccessful challenge would lead to a technical foul for the excessive timeout. The women's game already is played in quarters instead of halves, while the men's game with its 20-minute halves remains an outlier in basketball. A NCAA rules committee "recommended NCAA Division I conferences create a joint working group to provide feedback on the potential change from halves to quarters." On the men's side, the NCAA also implemented several points of emphasis for officials that it said would "improve the flow of the game." Those include telling officials "to address delay-of-game tactics, limit time spent at the monitor, improve game administration efficiency and reduce physicality." Officials also will have the option to call a Flagrant 1 foul for contact to the groin area. Previously, such contact could only be called a common foul or a Flagrant 2 foul, which triggers an ejection of the offending player.