Tonight one of the most ridiculous rules in college basketball is in the spotlight. With 8.8 seconds left Luke Hancock missed a free throw long and Wichita State Shockers’ guard Ron Baker came down with the rebound. An alert Hancock got his hands on the basketball, which brought a whistle.
The call on the floor, a jump ball. With the possession arrow favoring the Louisville Cardinals, Hancock’s hustle helped keep possession of the ball. It’s was an obvious quick whistle that robbed the Shockers of the opportunity possibly tying the game up with a three.
What isn’t mentioned that Wichita State got the benefit of a similar call earlier in the second half and the arrow went their way.
Fans have taken to Twitter voicing their opinion about the call.
For example Sean May wrote “the jump ball rule in college basketball is so bad….. They have to change that!”
David Aldridge weighed in by saying “the jump ball call was bad…the alternate possession rule is worse.”
Another interesting perspective is that of Warren Sapp that gets overlooked he claims “either walk or jump ball.”
What it truly means for the NCAA is that it’ time to get rid of the alternate possession rule and instead have the two players involved in the play jump it up, so the possession gets earned and not just given arbitrarily.