"[Refs] spend more time watching TV": Analyst Jay Bilas calls for multiple rule changes in on-air rant

During a matchup between No. 5 Florida and No. 7 Alabama on Wednesday, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas offered some critiques on college basketball, including a direct critique of referees.

"We have to change the replay rule," Bilas said. "[Refs] spend more time watching TV than they do officiating the game."

Officials spending excessive time on monitor reviews has become a significant complaint from both analysts and fans alike. An expanded video replay review was approved ahead of this season, including whether a player's foot last touching the court was inbounds on a made shot before time expired. Bilas argued that referees spend too much time on reviews and replays and that the system should change to be more like the NBA's, in which each team gets one challenge.

Bilas offered another suggestion for how college basketball could become more like the NBA. The analyst pointed out that men's college basketball is the only type of basketball played in halves rather than quarters, and that this should be corrected.

"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."

NCAA Basketball: Texas Christian at Iowa State - Source: Imagn

Bilas' suggestions raise valid concerns about the state of college basketball and where the sport should go from here.

Florida vs. Alabama

The game in which Jay Bilas made his critiques of college basketball was a ranked SEC matchup between the Gators and the Tide. The highly anticipated conference contest resulted in a 99-94 win for Florida.

The Gators entered halftime up by a singular point but turned the tide in the second half. Florida led by nine points with five minutes remaining in the game, and despite Alabama's late comeback attempt that brought the point margin to four points with 0:20 seconds left on the clock, the Gators came out on top.

NCAA Basketball: Florida at Alabama - Source: Imagn

Sophomore forward Alex Condon led Florida with a career-high 27 points. His ten rebounds made it a double-double. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. added 22 points and eight assists to aid the Gators. Condon and Clayton Jr. contributed 36 of Florida’s 72 attempted shots and 15 of its 29 free-throw attempts.

This win could be monumental for the Gators in possibly putting Florida ahead of Tennessee in the race for the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.