Elam ending...NCAA

[Sigmapolis]

Why not just on a foul on the floor, inside the last 4 minutes, the team with the ball gets the choice to shoot or take it out? Like football where you can decline a penalty. The Elam Ending seems like an idea to up the entertainment value, which is fine for stuff like TBT, but seems like something that isn’t really needed for NCAA.

Regarding option discussed here for the FTs or keep possession choice for leading team, it could be made to work with the proper balance of details. I think CBB experimented with it in early-season games (maybe back in the '90s (?)) and it was dropped before the experimental period officially ended. Can't recall exactly why, but it proved unpopular.

A reason I think it's worth considering, in some form, isn't only the time required for the FTs themselves, but a lot of the fouls happen in backcourt and it eats time for everyone to go to the other end, set up their positions on the lane. If a main goal is to reduce interruption of game flow, that rule change couldn't hurt, and might not disrupt strategy too much.

Feel free to poke holes in my analysis, for purposes of discussion.

I do not know why a team would ever decline the FTs, though, unless the foul was on a really weak free throw shooter. You are likely to end up with more points out of the possession on the line than you are just trying to run some clock on them.

Running some clock risks a turnover and/or the other team can just keep on fouling you, meaning the end of the game can take even longer than it would otherwise.

 

[Icky_Mettle]

I doubt that. I think the fouling strategy is more likely to increase the lead than decrease it. That doesn't matter at the end of the game because the trailing team is desperate and it doesn't matter if you lose by 5 or 10 points. However, being down 5 vs 10 when the elam ending starts is a huge difference.

So why do NBA teams foul bad free throw shooters off the ball before the 2 min mark, they want the lead to increase?

 

[awd4cy]

Not in favor of it. Some things just don’t need changed. Way too much of a change.

 

[JD720]

So why do NBA teams foul bad free throw shooters off the ball before the 2 min mark, they want the lead to increase?

I read your post too fast and missed that you were just talking about "bad" free throw shooters. I thought you were talking the times were you need to foul whoever has the ball because you are out of options.

 

[awd4cy]

Some of my favorite memories are being at games with buzzer beaters (Naz or Scotty vs OSU, Royce vs KSU) or pulling out games in overtime like at Kansas in 17. Elam ending not quite the same.

 

[Isualum13]

That's a good point. I hadn't thought about it that way.

I suppose the purist in me prefers they fix or tweak other late-game time stoppage issues within the traditional rules framework -- distribution of timeouts, intentional fouls, free-throw overload and officiating reviews -- instead of revamping with something like elam approach.

Maybe after the double bonus, 15 fouls maybe, they can have a super bonus where instead of shooting free throws the team is just awarded 2 points. Maybe have a small time run off too. Down one point it still makes some sense to foul, down 2 you had better be trying to steal the ball.

 

[Clonefan32]

It's kind of a fun idea, and it lead to some exciting finishes in the TBT. Interestingly, from my anecdotal researching (watching about 3 games), the team that is in the lead when the score is set often seems to tense up a bit and struggle to get those last 7 points.

With that said, the game of college basketball is perfect in every way and should not be messed with.

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

An intentional walk is not breaking any rules, though.

It would be like a balk somehow, perversely, leading to some advantage.

Okay fine football game seconds left on the clock up by 3 your only hope to stop a the other team from scoring a touchdown is to lunge grab pads and get a horse collar penalty or let him score the td for the win which is a better risk reward?

Or get a pass interference same option?

 

[Sigmapolis]

Okay fine football game seconds left on the clock up by 3 your only hope to stop a the other team from scoring a touchdown is to lunge grab pads and get a horse collar penalty or let him score the td for the win which is a better risk reward?

Or get a pass interference same option?

That's an extremely narrow circumstance.

Fouling at the end of a game when down a few possessions is pretty much standard.

 

[brett108]

The situation I think of is the opponent is 3 points away. You foul before they even get close to shooting to avoid a look at a 3 point shot.

Possibly, but the big advantage of doing this currently is the clock stops. So you need to beat the score and the clock, not just one in its current format so fouling makes more sense. This at least takes away one of the incentives to foul.