Width of Lane Increased

College basketball will experiment with a wider three-second lane next season in an attempt to limit rough play around the basket, said Kansas Coach Roy Williams, chair of the men’s basketball rules committee.

The wider lane is one of several changes made last week when the men’s and women’s rules committee held their annual meetings.

Williams said the effort to limit rough play was the continuation of a policy handed down last year.

The NCAA will switch from the current 12-foot width to 16 feet, which is used in the NBA.

The change, which will be in effect for games before Jan. 1, 2002, is designed to shift play away from the basket more to the perimeter.

“The emphasis on eliminating rough play was most effective in the early part of last season but that emphasis did not continue throughout the season,” Williams said in a statement. “This year, we would like to aim for consistency from the beginning of the season to the end, with particular attention to inside play.”

In another change for next season, all technical fouls will carry penalties of two free throws, but not loss of possession of the ball.

The men’s committee also passed an experimental rule bringing about the return of the jump ball at the center circle in all situations where the alternate-possession arrow was used.