Michigan testing 16 minute halves

[Rich]

We're talking 4 minutes game time. 2 fewer quarter breaks. Evidence I've read is that games end on average earlier.

Sometimes we gotta pick our battles.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Rich

Sometimes we gotta pick our battles.

Time and a half for overtime?

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by Rich

We're talking 4 minutes game time. 2 fewer quarter breaks. Evidence I've read is that games end on average earlier.

Sometimes we gotta pick our battles.

Interesting (to me) that NCAAW is going to quarters -- and one of the claims is that the games will be shorter (overall elapsed time).

I do agree that it's much ado about nothing.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

I do agree that it's much ado about nothing.

How about three periods for basketball, like ice hockey? They could use a Zamboni to clean the court during the two intermissions.

[Bad Zebra]

What is the reason for the testing? Is the objective to shorten games? move to NCAA format? change something just for the sake of change? Where does the Fed come down on this topic?

I do some wreck ball that uses halves. It does seem to go quicker...but it's more challenging to coaches that like to rotate a lot of personnel. They seem to like the break between quarters to organize rotations. I think that's important at the HS level...being able to develop as many players as possible.

In the end, I don't think it makes much difference to officials...but I hate to see the HS game altered just because it looks good at a different level.

[Rich]

We're playing 18 in Wisconsin.

[crosscountry55]

Originally Posted by Rich

We're playing 18 in Wisconsin.

Interesting that in MN and now WI, the choice has been made to disregard the NFHS and change to 18-min halves, yet in MI a formal request was made to play the game in 18-min halves and it was denied by the NFHS. I wonder why some states opt to ask permission and others act unilaterally?

As I understand it, the choice to act contrary to the NFHS comes at the cost of not being allowed to have a representative seat from your section on the rules committee. Guess what? Section 4 is currently represented by MI's Nate Hampton until 2018, so perhaps they didn't act unilaterally lest he would have lost his seat? Anyway, the price is small. The average section has six states. With four-year terms on the committee, that means a state has a vote (on average) 4 out of every 24 years. To put it another way, for 20 out of every 24 years states have nothing to lose by experimenting. Many have done so with the shot clock, and now apparently some are with halves and 36-min vice 32-min games.

I agree with the general feeling in this forum that this is all much ado about nothing. If anything, it just gives a few more individual statistical records a chance to be broken (more minutes = more stats).

[constable]

Some of our tournaments around here do 16 minute halves. It probably saves 4 minutes a game. When you're running on a tight schedule, that could make or break how on-time you are....or aren't...