Analyst Jay Bilas takes aim at college rules, targets goaltending calls

ESPN commentator Jay Bilas went into detail on the controversial calls seen during the opening round of the SEC Tournament. The Texas Longhorns faced the Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday, after which the analyst also sounded off about the current state of the review system in college basketball:

“When I’m critical of the rule, I’m not being critical of the officials,” Bilas said on the call toward the end of the Texas vs Vanderbild game. “They’re doing what they’re supposed to do. But it’s absurd to put these officials in the position of having to call goaltending every single time. It’s ridiculous, just give a challenge to each team and let’s be done with this stuff.”

Bilas' comments came with just five minutes remaining on the clock during the Texas-Vanderbilt game. It was sparked when Commodores star Jason Edwards converted an and-one layup after Longhorns star Chendall Weaver had been called for goaltending on the play.

When the play was reviewed, it was fairly obvious to Bilas and his co-commentator Dan Shulman that Weaver had blocked the shot attempt while the shot was going up. This meant that the play should have been ruled a clean block on the court.

The referees confirmed that Weaver’s block was legal and that Edwards would shoot two free throws instead of the and-one play due to a foul from Texas player Jordan Pope on the shot attempt.

The 13th-seeded Texas eventually defeated No. 12-seed Vanderbilt 79-72 to advance to the next round of the conference tournament.

Jay Bilas calls for college basketball to change to four quarters like the NBA

ESPN commentator Jay Bilas - Source: Getty

During last week's SEC clash between Florida and Alabama, Jay Bilas urged the NCAA to change its rule from having halves to quarters, just like in the NBA.

"The rules that need to change — we need to go to quarters," Bilas said. "We're the only game of basketball played in the world that doesn't have quarters. The reason I like it is because you can reset team fouls at the end of the first and third quarters. It's just a smart thing to do."

As things stand, the NCAA rules for basketball feature a 20-minute long half, which results in a 40-minute game in regulation time. However, Bilas has suggested that collegiate basketball games should have four quarters of 10 minutes each.