[Raymond]

chseagle, have you ever made this mistake? I think the timer should be tasered on the spot.

Originally Posted by article

...Here's a wacky situation quiz for ya: A player takes a foul shot with his team leading by two points. He misses the shot, the ball lands on the floor, and nobody from either team touches it. You probably know that the clock is not supposed to start until a player touches the ball, but what if the scoreboard operator mistakenly starts the clock, and the ref notices the error and blows his whistle -- and still nobody has touched the ball? Yes, they can use the replay monitor to determine that a few seconds should be put back on the clock to correct the timing error, but how do you know which team gets the ball?

The answer: You use the possession arrow. I raise this question because Adams told me that that was the exact situation at the end of Evansville's recent win over Butler. Following the missed free throw, the Evansville players had all run back on defense, but the Butler players were waiting to touch the ball to conserve time. The scoreboard operator mistakenly ran the clock. Fortunately for everyone involved, the possession arrow pointed to Butler, but it would have been a p.r. disaster if Butler would have lost a chance to tie the game on that kind of fluke.