Basketball rules - Scoring & Timing |
GOAL DEFINED. If the ball is live when the attempt is made and high enough to drop through the hoop and come out below the net, it’ s a field goal and two or three points are scored.
Should the ball enter from below and still drop through the hoop and net, or pop out before passing through the net, it is not a field goal. You can never score a field goal directly from a throw-in.
SCORING VALUES. Scoring point values are: (a) three points for a successful shot taken from beyond the three-point field-goal line; (b) two points for the team into whose basket a field goal is thrown; and one point for a free throw. Note that if a player accidentally throws a field goal into the opponents’ basket, it is two for the opponents (no individual credit).
WINNING TEAM. The winner is the team with the most points when the game ends-except in one rare forfeit situation. If a team refuses to play when instructed to do so by an official, the other team wins by forfeit. If less than 30 minutes of playing time has been completed, the score is recorded as 2-O. If 30 minutes of playing time has been completed, the score stands for statistical purposes even if the team with fewer points is declared the winner.
PERIODS, REGULAR AND EXTRA. Collegiate teams play two 20-minute halves with a 15minute intermission between halves. Basketball assures a winner every time by extra periods of play until a decision is reached. Each extra period is five minutes long in collegiate play. A one-minute intermission precedes each extra period; and each team is entitled to one additional timeout per extra period, but players are not given extra fouls beyond the disqualifying five.
END OF PERIODS. Each period ends when time expires except when the ball is in flight on a field-goal attempt or when a foul is called as time expires. In the former situation, the period ends with the success or failure of the attempt; in the latter case, when the foul has been administered. After the horn sounds to end the game, only those free throws necessary to determine a winner will be awarded.
TIMEOUT. The list of reasons for stopping the clock can be separated into two main categories:
Timeout called by an official on his or her own initiative for a foul, held ball, violation, injury or in any emergency.
Timeout assessed at the request of a player, the scorer or the coach.
In addition, the clock is stopped after successful field goals in the last minute of the game and the last minute of any overtime period.
Any player on the floor may request a timeout whenever the ball is dead or when the player’s team is in possession of the ball. Such timeouts without penalty are limited to four per team (plus one for each extra period). In games on commercial television, teams are limited to two full timeouts apiece. However, teams also are allotted three 20-second timeouts apiece, two of which may be carried over to the second half. Timeouts in excess of the allotted number are granted at the expense of a two-shot technical foul (free throw by the opposition) for each. A timeout is charged against a team for each 75 seconds (or fraction thereof) consumed when it requests the clock be stopped. However, no timeout is charged for an injury if play is resumed within 75 seconds or if a player is so seriously injured he or she requires help from other than squad personnel to leave the court. And if a player loses a contact lens, it’s timeout on the house while the search is on.
TIME IN. An official signals with a chopping motion (refer to Officials’ Signals) when the clock is to be started. On a throw-in from out of bounds, or after an unsuccessful free throw when the ball is to remain live, the game clock and shot clock are not started until the ball touches or is touched by a player on the court.
