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You're right. It was 30 when I started following the game's finer points back in the early 90s. Then it changed to 20 because coaches were taking too much liberty in getting a "free" timeout.
During OT of the Ok St. vs. Mizzou game last night there was a foul out and the announcers were criticizing how long it was taking (this after several monitor reviews that had already made the game take forever). The Ok. St. coach totally milked it for as many seconds as he could get. I think at one point he even said something to the officials about checking something on the monitor, they bought it, and he turned right around for more free "timeout" time with his players. That was his plan the whole time. And then it was hard getting him out of the huddle.
Could the officials have whacked Ok. St. coach with a T? Let us use the three-pronged test for technical fouls:
Does it fit? No (OT, close game, coaches just trying to coach)
Is it effective? Yes.
Can it be defended? Yes.
So I wouldn't give the T because it doesn't fit the situation (not good for the game at that point).
The NCAA rules committee could look at this and make a POE, but I don't think that would change much. It's like improving pace of play in baseball, i.e. very very hard to do.
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