NCAA rules committee votes for 30-second clock

After another season of low scoring and slow play, NCAA rule makers on Friday proposed that men’s basketball games switch from a 35-second clock to 30 seconds, limit timeouts and be officiated to encourage less physical play.

The changes must be approved by the playing rules oversight panel in June.

“Our anticipation is that dedicated officiating enforcement, along with this package of changes, will help balance the offense and defense in our game,” Belmont Coach Rick Byrd, the committee chairman, said in a statement.

Last season, teams averaged 67.74 points per game, the third lowest since 1952, according to the NCAA.