Retiring Tucson basketball refereeΒ Steve Ganson, who has worked local high school basketball games for 40 years, is among those (me included) who think college basketball is infested with too many stoppages. Too many TV replays.
βI personally think colleges go to replay too much,β said Ganson. βHow many times do the officials stop play to determine if two-tenths of a second should be put back on the clock? I think they overdo it. Hey, college basketball worked well without replays for about 100 years. It has lost its flow.β
In last weekβs Auburn-LSU game on ESPN, seven timeouts were called and 18 free throws attempted in the final 4 minutes 48 seconds. The game seemed like it would never end.
Worse, in Thursdayβs Oregon-Washington game, seven timeouts were called in the final 3:37, and officials stopped play twice to view TV replays on ticky-tack issues.
What college basketball needs is a commissioner β a man in charge β who can help to organize change and implement common sense. TV programming usually schedules college basketball games for two-hour blocks. Many now take 2:15 or longer.
Joined-in-progress has become the bane of what should be a fun and much faster viewing experience.
