NCAA Men's Basketball Takes Positive Step With Rule Changes

After last season, Iowa State should be thrilled about the new charge/block rule recommendation. (sports.yahoo.com)

The voices of displeasure were loud and clear. There isn't enough scoring. The product is going downhill. The officials are ruining the game.

The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee deserves credit. Angry voices can go years without being heard, or maybe more appropriate, being acted upon. Just look at college football's BCS system. Year after year went by as the exhausted angry voices turned more into zombie chants calling, "Playoff. Playoff" with no response. College football will soon have its playoff system, but it was a fight that took far too long before finally ending in victory.

This case is not nearly as extreme as changing the postseason format of a sport. Not even close. These are simply modifying rules, which happen on a regular basis, but it shouldn't take away from the fact that fans were angry and the people with the power to do something about it listened and are reacting quickly. This does not happen often.

Ask Iowa State's basketball team how it feels about the charge/block rule. The Cyclones have been on the wrong end of it twice, the first opened the door for a comeback by Kansas in the regular season, and the second ended the Cyclones' NCAA Championship chances against Ohio State. The Cyclones stick out, but are far from the only ones with a case to complain.

Now the rules committee has recommended a change to the rule, where defenders, "who move into the path of an offensive player once he has started upward movement to pass or shoot the ball will be called for a blocking foul." When the block line under the basket was incorporated in the college game, it was used as a crutch for officials, and an emphasis was taken away from the defender's positioning and footing. This should help restore balance in the call and give more freedom to the offensive player.

Also helping the offensive player is another rule recommendation limiting the amount of hand and forearm contact by defenders. A criticism after this season is the game has gotten too physical, and calling more fouls for hand checks should benefit offensive players from being thrown off by contact. These two changes are not official, and will be discussed by the Playing Rules Oversight committee in June.

Both of these are recommended with the intent to increase scoring, which has been the main complaint by fans, because a 20-14 halftime score is just not as appealing as it sounds. Another suggested solution to the scoring drought has been to lower the shot clock from 35 seconds, but the committee was too segmented for this change to be recommended. 

The two changes will not fix all of college basketball's problems, but it's a positive start and a refreshing one in that fans have not had to yell about a change for five years before the NCAA obliged. 


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If the Mascots Battled - Predicting Regional Finals

Basing bracket predictions off which mascot would win in a fight is a popular method for those unfamiliar with the college basketball landscape (and we all know that they do better in bracket pools than the rest of us). There are some great mascots in the field this year, so here is how I think the regional finals would break down if each team's mascot got to duke it out for a chance to advance in the Big Dance.

Midwest

Billikens vs. Spartans

The St. Louis Billikens have easily the most enigmatic mascot in all of sports. Even the university itself can't quite seem to pin down the origin or definition of their mascot. As they state on their own website, "Several details seem to be certain. Everyone agrees that the Billiken is a good-luck figure who represents "things as they ought to be." The designer of the Billiken also seems to be fact. Florence Pretz, a Missouri art teacher and illustrator, patented her "design for an image" of the jovial creature in 1908.

The Billiken in action.

It's also known that the Billiken was manufactured in the early 1900s as a bank and statuette and was the national rage for about six months -- kind of that period's pet rock. During this time, the Billiken was turned into all sorts of things: dolls, marshmallow candies, metal banks, hatpins, pickle forks, belt buckles, auto hood ornaments, salt and pepper shakers and glass bottles." - http://www.slu.edu/evgrn-what-is-a-billiken, St. Louis University

The Billiken would advance to the regional final out of the midwest simply because of its magical, mysterious properties and the fact that all other mascots would be too confused to fight back.

The Spartans vs. the Blue Devils presents an intriguing Sweet Sixteen matchup, but the Spartans win out because, well, the Spartans always win out, even when down 300 - 150,000. Look for a glorious comeback victory that will avenge the Gods to advance Michigan State to the Elite Eight.

South

Wolverines vs. Aztecs

With all due respect to the Hilltoppers, Jayhawks, and Tar Heels, the Wolverine actually exists and he usually means business. It's definitely not something you would want to run into in the wilderness. It is renowned for besting predators that are significantly larger and more well-equipped. Like the honey-badger, the Wolverine don't care. He'll rip you apart for no reason at all.

I like the Aztecs to come out of a weak bottom half of the South bracket, but I hesitate because of that whole Cortes fiasco a while back. Sure, you can blame smallpox all you want, but losing an empire to a few Spaniards just off the boat is pretty weak. Look for the Wolverines to advance in this one.

East

Wolfpack vs. Buffaloes

The East region has a few of the better live mascots in sports. Butler's Blue II and Blue III get a lot of recognition for being so darn cute, but I've always thought the Bulldog was a rather lazy breed. I like Tuffy, the Tamaskan representing the North Carolina State Wolfpack to get through as the only canine member of the Elite Eight. NC State's website describes the Tamaskan as a "breed of domestic dog originating from Finland. It is known to excel in agility, obedience, and working trials." Sounds like a much better recipe for success than that paunchy bulldog.

You don't want to get in the way of Ralphie, Colorado's live mascot. (zimbio.com)

The bottom half of the East region has several of the more intriguing mascot matchups. At first glance, it would seem that the Miami Hurricanes have the advantage. Hurricanes can really take a punch. However, Miami has employed Sebastian the Ibis as their mascot, and we all know Ibises, "a group of long-legged wading birds" are far too lanky to do well in a fight. Ralphie from the University of Colorado, another impressive live mascot during football season, should make short work of Sebastian after getting revenge on the Illini for all those years getting chased across the plains.

West

Explorers vs. Cyclones

The top half of the West region offers some unique human-based mascots against some feisty wildlife, such as the Badgers out of Wisconsin (you already know my opinion of bulldogs). The Wichita State Shockers and LaSalle Explorers both offer intriguing qualities in fights. The Shocker mascot supposedly originates from students who would shock wheat to work their way through college, though it has taken on quite a different connotation of late. As fun as Shockers can be, Explorers are a gritty bunch who have fought their way through scurvy, chlamydia, and rambunctious natives over the years and can certainly handle a Wildcat or two.

The Iowa State mascot, Cy the Cardinal, as a cyclone. (newspaper.li)

The Iowa State Cyclones have a cake-walk to the Elite Eight, facing potential match-ups against the Buckeyes, and the Wildcats or Crimson. Please. Yes, Cy the Cardinal is a much weaker stand-in for an actual cyclone, but for the sake of argument, we are going to assume that he can turn himself into a column of wind at will. How else could he have posed for his picture featured on the Iowa State logo?  This should be a tough matchup for the privilege of a trip to the final four. 

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