New NCAA Hoops Rules for 2013-14

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel met earlier this week and a few changes that will be in effect for the 2013-14 season following up on the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee recommendations made in May.

Changes to the rules will address foul-calling consistency, elbow rules, and monitor reviews, but the biggest, and probably most noted change will be a change defining the Block/Charge call.

According to the NCAA:

Under the revised block/charge call in men’s basketball, a defensive player is not permitted to move into the path of an offensive player once he has started his upward motion with the ball to attempt a field goal or pass. If the defensive player is not in legal guarding position by this time, it is a blocking foul.

Previously, a defender had to be in legal guarding position when the offensive player lifted off the floor.

The men's basketball rules committee believe the new block/charge rule will allow for more offensive freedom, provide clarity for officials making the call, and enhance the balance between offense & defense.

Additionally the Oversight Panel is looking for consistency in the way fouls are called. In the upcoming season, look for special attention to personal fould being called in the following situations:

• "in the last two minutes of regulation and overtime so officials can look to see if a shot clock violation occurred and to determine who caused the ball to go out of bounds on a deflection involving two or more players."
• "When officials have a question as to whether a shot was a two-point or a three-point field goal, they will be allowed to signal to the scorer’s table that the play will be reviewed during the next media timeout."
• In the last four minutes of the game and the entire overtime, officials will go to the monitor immediately to look for indisputable evidence as to how many points should be awarded for a field goal.

Officials will also now be allowed to look at the video monitor in new situations. The Panel OK'd checking monitors in the following situations:

• "in the last two minutes of regulation and overtime so officials can look to see if a shot clock violation occurred and to determine who caused the ball to go out of bounds on a deflection involving two or more players."
• "When officials have a question as to whether a shot was a two-point or a three-point field goal, they will be allowed to signal to the scorer’s table that the play will be reviewed during the next media timeout."
• In the last four minutes of the game and the entire overtime, officials will go to the monitor immediately to look for indisputable evidence as to how many points should be awarded for a field goal.

In an effort to be firm, officials caught some slack on their inability for using judgement in calling flagrant fouls on elbow contact above the shoulders. In 2013-14 refs will have the ability to use the monitor to review an incident that happened during a play. "When the officials use the monitor to review a situation that is not called on the floor, the only options are flagrant 2, flagrant 1 or no foul."

According to the NCAA, "The men’s and women’s basketball committees felt the original intent of the elbow rules have caused too many flagrant fouls being called when they weren’t appropriate. The intent of the elbow rule has always been to protect players and eliminate the rip move where players were making contact above the shoulders of defenders. By allowing officials to review these plays on the monitor, both committees believe it will eliminate the non-deserving flagrant 1 fouls in particular."