BI - hand in net

[Buckley11]

How many times do we have to cover this on this board before I get it through my thick skull.....

Here it goes: Does the ball have to be ON THE RING, or simply IN THE CYLINDER, for the "hand in the net" to be a BI?

In the case I had during a NCAA game on Friday, team A accidentally got hand caught in net, rattled the ring, but ball was well above the ring, and not on it. The ball bounced off the rim and team A then got the rebound, kicked it out to the 3 pt line and drained the 3. Opposing coach questioned the call, and I froze..... I admitted that team A indeed hit the net, but that the ball was off the ring. NCAA rule book was not clear on cylinder vs. ring in my review later that evening. Hope I was right in my explanation because Coach B will not forget if I am wrong......