It’ll be different.
At least the season isn’t over, right?
I know the last thing most of you want to hear about is the NIT, but it’s time to embrace that it’s the path Syracuse basketball has. And there’s no one to blame but the Orange.
However, this year is a little different past National invitational Tournaments. There are some significant rule changes that will affect the gameplay, which could throw teams early on.
To be honest, this just adds to the theory that these games truly don’t matter, because the NCAA feels like it can try new things out with little-to-no impact on how anyone feels.
New rules:
- The game will be four 10-minute quarters (similar to the women’s game), instead of two 20-minute halves.
- Team fouls reset after each 10-minute quarter.
- After a team commits its fifth personal or technical foul in each 10-minute quarter, the other team will shoot two free throws. There’s no more one-and-ones.
- The shot clock will be reset to 20 seconds instead of 30 when the ball is in-bounded in the front court.
We’ll see what sort of impact these rule adjustments have, if any. The increased stoppages -- even if minimal — could make games run longer. While the foul situation both harms and bails teams out at the same time.
The top-seeded Orange will put the new rules to the test when they host No. 8 UNC-Greensboro on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome. Tickets are available at Cuse.com and at the Carrier Dome box office. Or you can catch the game at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
