Possible Rule Changes Get Tryout

All the invitational tournaments during this college basketball preseason are being used as one big scientific lab experiment.

The NCAA said it would be using such tournaments as the Maui Invitational, which features powerhouses Arizona and Connecticut, and the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, featuring Syracuse, Wake Forest and Texas Tech, as test grounds for possible changes in the dimensions of the three-point line and to possibly create a wider lane and a restricted-area arc.

During these events, the lane will grow by a foot. This is in addition to the 1 1/2 feet that was added to it last season. The three-point line will be a foot longer, at 20 feet 9 inches instead of 19-9.

The women will also try a longer three-point line, at 20 feet 6 inches, and will experiment with a 10-second violation for getting the ball across half court. Currently, college women’s basketball doesn’t have a requirement for moving the ball into the front court.

Larry Keating, chairman of the men’s rules committee, said the NCAA would track three-point percentages, three-second violations, rebounds from free-throw attempts by lane space and fouls committed following three-point attempts.

Other rule changes aren’t experimental.

Instead of resetting the shot clock back to 35 seconds for men or 30 for women if a violation occurs with 15 or fewer seconds left on the clock, it will be reset to 15 seconds.

If more than 15 seconds remain, the clock won’t be reset.

Also, when a player fouls out, teams will get 20 seconds -- instead of 30 -- to make a substitution.

There are dress-code implementations as well. Headbands and wristbands must match the dominant color of the game jersey and every player on the team must choose the same color bands.

And game officials will be allowed to use courtside television monitors to see if a foul committed at or near the end of the first half or a game happened before the clock read 0:00.