Mercy Rule (New Question)

[LSams]

Had my first "mercy rule" game last year, went off without a hitch, but after the game we got thinking about different scenarios and I thought I'd run this question across the board.

Our mercy rule is 35 points, second half, clock only stops for techs, injuries, and time outs.

If you are in the process of shooting free throws when the clock expires, do you continue with the free throws? Would it matter which team was shooting?

Obviously if a team has come from way back and the free throws could potentially decide the outcome of the game they'd be shot, but what if the spread is still in the 20's or 30's?

Just curious on some different philosophy's.

[Hawks Coach]

I would shoot them regardless in a running clock game. May not be the book answer, but the game wasn't meant to be played this way anyway! And I assume you are only talking about 4th quarter, as clearly in any other quarter the FTs are shot.

[tomegun]

I would treat them the same as the end of a regular game and only shoot them if the mattered.

[Andy]

The real question is:

Why are you calling a foul in a 35+ point game with that little time left??????

[mick]

Originally posted by LSams
Had my first "mercy rule" game last year, went off without a hitch, but after the game we got thinking about different scenarios and I thought I'd run this question across the board.

Our mercy rule is 35 points, second half, clock only stops for techs, injuries, and time outs.

If you are in the process of shooting free throws when the clock expires, do you continue with the free throws? Would it matter which team was shooting?

Obviously if a team has come from way back and the free throws could potentially decide the outcome of the game they'd be shot, but what if the spread is still in the 20's or 30's?

Just curious on some different philosophy's.

Michigan requires clock to stop in last two minutes of a running clock game for Free throws, also.

[Hawks Coach]

Originally posted by tomegun
I would treat them the same as the end of a regular game and only shoot them if the mattered.

If the clock is running, it shouldn't matter; or if it matters, the clock shouldn't have been running.

[oatmealqueen]

Originally posted by mick

Michigan requires clock to stop in last two minutes of a running clock game for Free throws, also.

Also in Michigan
Mercy rule is 40 points.(second half only) If the losing team gets it under 30 it reverts back to "normal" game. So if a team clawed it's way back, it would have reverted back, and there would not be a running clock during a free throw.

[LSams]

Thanks for some ideas. Just to clarify. This is Florida HS. The mercy rule is 35 points anytime during the second half. Once the 35 point margin is established the clock only stops for time outs, injuries and technical fouls. Even if a team claws their way back to 2 points, or sends the game to OT, the clock still runs (as OT is an extension of the 4th quarter).

Kind of weird -- as Hawks coach said, this is not the way basketball was meant to be played.

[Hawks Coach]

then that rule is a joke. It should be re-written. YBOA had a running clock at 30, it went back to stop clock if you cut it to 20. Although I am not a fan of running clock, this rule seems to be a decent middle ground. I also like the stop clock regardless in the last two minutes. It allows quarters to finish normally. I could even live with the last minute. It makes sense.

[stan-MI]

My final tally on the girls varsity season was 5 running clocks in 33 games. In two of those games, we had a running clock early in the third quarter. In the other three, we didn't have a 40-point margin until the last 2 or 3 minutes of the game.

In the boys season, I probably won't have any mercy rule games. In the 3 years when it was an experimental rule for boys basketball, I only remember having it once in a 9th grade game, never in a varsity game.