NCAA Cuts Shot Clock 10 Seconds to Help Speed Up Men’s Game

In an attempt to speed up play in men’s basketball and reduce excessive fouling in the last minutes, NCAA officials voted Wednesday to reduce the shot clock from 45 to 35 seconds.

Members of the men’s basketball rules committee acknowledged they don’t think many coaches will be happy.

“Through the years, if the rules committee had waited for a mandate . . . there would hardly have been any rules changes,” said Hank Nichols, secretary-rules editor of the committee. “We think it will pick up the excitement and maybe take the game to a higher level of continuous action.”

The 45-second clock was introduced in the 1985-86 season in a move that virtually eliminated stall tactics.

Nichols said the committee voted to keep the three-point arc at 19 feet 9 inches, but predicted it will eventually be moved back.

Besides taking 10 seconds off the shot clock, the committee voted to stop the game clock after each field goal in the last minute of regulation or the last minute of overtime. It also eliminated the five-second dribbling violation while closely guarded.

The women’s committee voted to retain the 30-second shot clock it has used since 1969.