Except for perhaps “American Idol,” many people will tell you the hottest viewing on TV is the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. For me, “Idol” gets my vote every time. Why? Fewer commercials.
Among the discerning, Division I college basketball is a game with flaws that need fixing. Doesn’t matter whether it’s the NCAA tournament or regular season, college hoops should be a better game to watch and play.
The frequency and length of the TV timeouts is abominable. Every four minutes a TV timeout is imposed so that networks and athletic departments can line their pockets with money. Not only can you count on the TV timeouts, but it’s pretty likely, too, the coaches will call one or two timeouts during these four minute periods. In a span of five minutes real time we can be “treated” to three commercial breaks!
The result is college games don’t have much non-stop action and that’s an affront to the beauty of basketball. For participant and spectator alike, basketball is best played and watched during multiple minutes of uninterrupted action. Instead of a game that flows, too often we see a product that seems like a tease to make us watch a tiresome babble of advertising messages.
While the takeover of college basketball by the TV bean counters and Madison Avenue creative teams is a relatively new development, NCAA hoops is also off its game with the five foul rule for disqualification. First, the college game is over officiated and too many fouls are called, particularly violations close to the basket where more contact should be green light, not red light. Second, fans come to see the best players compete, not watch them spend inordinate amounts of time on the bench because of fouls.
Ohio State and other Big Ten Conference basketball fans can tell you about the numerous games this season when they watched freshman phenom Greg Oden be charged with early first half fouls and then sit on the bench. It will likely be no different for Oden, Texas superstar Kevin Durant and other star players during the NCAA tournament. Gee, do I turn on these games to watch the likes of Oden and Durant, or do I view them to see a second stringer? Please, change from five fouls to six and loosen up the calls.
College basketball could be improved, too, by adding four minutes to its games. Use two 22-minute halves, or four quarters with periods of 11 minutes each. Keep the same darn number of TV commercials (please, don’t add any) and spread the ads over more minutes than presently available with two 20-minute halves. We’re probably dreaming on this next one, but reduce the coaches’ allotment of game timeouts from five to four. The longer games will provide more entertainment for fans, a better flowing game for spectators and players, and perhaps more playing opportunity for reserves.