Is there anything in sports more annoying than, for example, having an Arizona basketball game scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and having it pushed back 15 or 20 minutes — joined in progress — because the previous game went beyond its two-hour window?
ESPN, ABC, Fox and CBS all schedule college basketball games for two hours even though that’s no longer an average game time. Arizona’s games this year average 2 hours, 12 minutes. Its overtime game against Iowa State went 2:30, its Cincinnati, Kansas State and Baylor games went 2:24. Recent games against BYU, ASU and Iowa State all lasted at least 2:12.
Only seven UA games finished in under two hours this season.
The NCAA playing rules committee could help to alleviate games that go 10 to 20 minutes beyond the scheduled TV window. Work needs to be done to curb the number of late-game monitor reviews and also “game administration” areas, such as subbing players in and shooting free throws in a more timely manner.
Arizona’s Jaden Bradley takes a free throw against Cincinnati, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Cincinnati.
College basketball would do well to follow baseball’s “pitch clock” rules, and make sure it takes no longer than, say, 20 seconds, to get teams assembled at the foul line for two simple free-throw attempts. It all adds up.
