NCAA approves new basketball rule

<br>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The NCAA has approved a basketball rule eliminating free throws during a bonus situation when the foul is committed by a player for the team with control of the ball. <br><br>It

Tuesday, May 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The NCAA has approved a basketball rule eliminating free throws during a bonus situation when the foul is committed by a player for the team with control of the ball.

It was tried as an experiment in men's basketball last season and will be made permanent for men and women next season, the NCAA rules committees decided at their annual meeting last week in Palm Harbor, Fla.

``We discussed at length many items that were submitted to us, but for the most part we didn't change things much because we thought the rules were in good shape,'' Art Hyland, chairman of the men's committee and coordinator of officiating for the Big East Conference, said Monday.

Now, when a foul is committed by a player for the team with the ball during the bonus, instead of shooting free throws, play will be restarted with the other team given possession. The change makes the penalty for such fouls during the bonus the same as for player-control fouls.

Another change for men's basketball includes a requirement that the two lane spaces closest to the free-throw shooter remain vacant in order to reduce the chance of distracting the shooter.