NCAA Makes Technical Interpretation

The NCAA took steps Friday to prevent basketball teams from intentionally drawing technical fouls in order to reset the 35-second shot clock.

The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Rules Committee interpreted rules that limit clock resets after technical fouls called against the team with the ball.

Under the interpretation, the clock should not be reset when a technical foul is called against the team that has the ball or is throwing the ball in bounds, or against the team’s bench personnel or fans, the NCAA said.

The interpretation would eliminate a team’s ability to draw an intentional technical foul to keep the ball beyond 35 seconds.

Under the rules, when the team with the ball is assessed a technical foul, the opponent gets one or two free throws, and then the team with the ball retains possession.

Jim Marchiony, director of Men’s Basketball Championship for the NCAA, said the interpretation was not triggered by a particular game. He said it was needed to prevent anyone from interpreting the rules to mean that the clock should be reset to 35 seconds.

“As the rules were read more and more--by coaches, officials and officials’ supervisors--they saw that there was room for abuse,” Marchiony said.

The only exceptions would be single-intentional or single-flagrant technical fouls. In those cases, the ball is awarded to the other team.