NIT rule changes to test counting fouls if games were quarters, not halves

The NCAA will put in experimental rules for the 2017 NIT

There has been serious discussion of having four 10-minute quarters replace the current format of two 20-minute halves for men's college basketball games in order to get in line with most every other level of basketball in the world.

The idea apparently has some momentum as the NCAA announced Monday some experimental rule changes for this year's NIT that seem to be a nod toward determining what impact playing quarters instead of halves would have on the game.

The biggest change to take effect during the NIT is resetting team fouls to zero at the end of 10-minute segments during each half, the NCAA said in a statement announcing several experimental rule changes.

"The committee believes resetting the team fouls to zero at the 9:59 mark of each half may have the same effect as resetting the team fouls to zero at the end of each quarter, while at the same time allowing for men's college basketball to retain the unique format of two 20-minute halves," the NCAA statement said.

In these 31 NIT games, after a team commits its fifth personal or technical foul in each 10-minute segment (and all fouls after that), the other team will shoot two free throws - essentially dividing the game into four quarters when it comes to how team fouls are counted, but not changing how the game itself is is timed.

Existing standard rules call for a team to shoot "1-and-1" free throws after its opponent commits seven team fouls in a half and and two free throws starting when a team commits 10 team fouls in a half.

The experimental rules will eliminate "1-and-1" free throws.

Also in overtime, teams will shoot two free throws on the fourth team foul.

Another rule change put in place for the 2017 NIT: the shot clock will be reset to 20 seconds instead of 30 seconds when the ball is in-bounded in the frontcourt.

Moving to 10-minute quarters would bring college basketball in line with the NBA and high school, but there's not enough of a movement behind making a change yet to think that it will happen anytime soon at the Division I level. These adjustments for the NIT will, as the association noted, provide more data for the debate and will be studied further in May by the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee.