Plenty of factors make men’s college basketball unique. Most notably, the games involve playing two halves rather than four quarters. Many people likely don’t think too much about this quirk and see it as a fundamental part of college basketball. In reality, however, it represents an outdated remnant of a bygone era that must be eliminated for the good of the game.
Currently, high school basketball involves playing four quarters, with the same true for professional leagues such as the NBA and WNBA. This means that players coming into college have to adjust to a new system that they will never see again after they are done with school. In college, players are supposed to learn the skills necessary to help them succeed at the next level, but in this case, the opposite is true.
With women’s college basketball switching over to quarters in 2015, men’s college basketball remains the last major level where halves are played. Some people like the fact that this keeps the men’s side unique. Unique, however, doesn’t necessarily mean better, and in this case, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits.
Switching to quarters has allowed for other beneficial changes in women’s college basketball. In men’s college basketball, there is a media timeout every four minutes in each half, which can slow down the pace of the game. Meanwhile, women’s college basketball has one timeout at the midway point of each quarter. This guarantees five minutes of action rather than four, leading to more basketball and fewer commercials.
Changes in advertising are likely to be the main sticking point when it comes to negotiating a change to quarters. This shouldn’t be a point of contention, however, as the fan experience should come first. Fans tune into the NCAA Tournament to watch upsets, not commercials. Likewise, they aren’t paying to attend games in person to watch players stand around waiting for the commercials to end.
Explaining the free throw rules for men’s college basketball can get complicated. Namely, after the seventh foul in a half by a team, their opponents will shoot one free throw, getting a second attempt only after a successful make. Then, following the tenth foul by a team, their opponents are guaranteed two free throws for the rest of the half.
This setup for free throws adds an unnecessary amount of confusion to the game. On the women’s side, the rules became much simpler after the switch to playing quarters. Following the fifth foul by a team in a quarter, their opponents will shoot two free throws for the rest of the quarter. Gone are the long-winded explanations involving terms like “one-and-one” and “double bonus.”
When discussing changes to free throw and other rules, people often cite tradition as a reason to keep the current system in place. Tradition, however, cannot serve as the sole reason for doing something. It is also worth noting that men’s college basketball had ten-minute quarters in the 1950s before the change to twenty-minute halves. As this shows, quarters used to be part of the tradition of the game and can be brought back.
Each year, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee meets to discuss what changes to make to improve the game. This year, the committee proposed that conferences begin a dialogue on whether to switch from halves to quarters. So, there is reason to be hopeful that progress is coming at some point. Men’s college basketball should be able to change with the times, and getting rid of halves would be an excellent place to start.
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