How new rule could impact Louisville women's basketball in March Madness

For the first time in the NCAA Tournament , coaches can challenge select calls made by referees. Reviews requested during this time of year, also known as win-or-go-home season, could be the difference between packing and advancing. It’s on the coaching staff to determine when to take that chance.

And at Louisville , the “cardinal rule” (or “Cardinal cardinal rule,” if you’ll indulge UofL assistant coach Amanda Butler ) is “whatever Jeff Walz thinks. ” On June 10, the NCAA announced the approval of a coach’s challenge in men’s and women’s basketball . Each game has slightly different criteria in terms of what and when they’re allowed to challenge, and both sets of rules have a narrower scope than their professional counterparts (NBA, WNBA).

The women’s game in particular permits reviews of possession plays (like an out-of-bounds call or backcourt violation) and potential upgrades (from common to flagrant 1 or 2 fouls). The men’s side allows for reviews of these as well as basket interference/goaltending and whether a secondary defender was in the restricted area until the last two minutes of a game. An incorrect challenge in women’s basketball would result in the loss of a timeout.

If a coach initiates a challenge with no timeouts remaining and is wrong, they’ll be assessed a technical foul for an excessive timeout. The men’s game, however, rules teams must have a timeout to request a challenge. A successful challenge would give the coaching staff one additional challenge for the rest of the game.