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The whole "engrained" in my mind rule, strikes me also. I guess in soccer there are red cards or even game misconducts in hockey. I think Vitale has a point. I mean...they do get to shoot free throws correct? Its one thing, if the guy is fighting or running his mouth, but a few blocking fouls and a maybe a charge and you are benched is quite weak. It does change player discipline, and for the coach to manage. I am teetering on this one. Ok, I think is point is valid, but if it happened EVERY or MOST games, it would have more beef. Since it doesn't, its an unfortunate part of the game. The Big East even tried 6 Fouls once...why is it back to 5 and never stuck?So with that being said, you don't change a good thing.

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If it was up to Vitale, every kid would get orange slices, juice boxes and a trophy after every game. Nothing is fair in life and we all have to abide by the rules, rules we all know, rules that have been well established. I guess Vitale doesn't watch soccer? Neither do I, but I know a whistle and a yellow card or is it red card? gets you tossed from the game. These have been long standing rules and Vitale's bleeding heart can't take it anymore.

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The rule exist as part of the fundamentals of the game. Coaches game plan to try to get the other teams players in foul trouble. The chess match of moving players in and out of the line-ups, playing through foul trouble, and taking the ball at a player to try and induce fouls are integral to game planning. If anything, the rule is more difficult for a smaller, less deep team with one great player, than it is for a team like Georgetown, which has the deeper squad. I think the rules should stay as there are, not be changed because Vitale thinks Georgetown somehow got a bad deal with the calls in the game yesterday.

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Who really wants to see all of those free throws? The foul rule is meant to speed the game up and promote action. Basketball games are meant to be high scoring affairs.

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I can see where he's coming from. I don't agree, but how many games have been ruined because refs couldn't go two seconds without calling a foul on SOMEONE?

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Basketball isn't supposed to be football or rugby. It is supposed to be a non-contact sport. It is also a sport which is not just about who's got the best five players, but who's got the best bench. I like Dan Bonner as an announcer, but hated him as a player when he was at Virginia. He was nothing but a hack. Terry Holland would send him to hack away at the other teams best offensive players. He and other players who by intent, lack of control or lack of skill, get more than five fouls deserve to be disqualified from the rest of the game. It's no longer a touch foul game and if you get five fouls that means you've probably committed alot more. If it is your teams strategy to repeatedly foul another teams star, alright the rules allow it, but be prepared to have two or three fairly talented guys guard my star to face the consequence that one or two of them will foul out

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If Vitale wants to rail about something, he should rail about the NCAA Tourney Committee giving a home court advantage in 2 games to any team, much less to a team seeded 10th. That was patently unfair to both Gonzaga and Georgetown - to say nothing of the fact that Davidson should have been seeded much lower than 10th. They were in the top 25 polls all season. They created a perfect storm for the Cinderella story they wanted - and they got it.

That type of home court disadvantage should never be awarded to another team again in the tourney's opening games, ever.

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1) If Hibbard wanted to stay in the game, he should have played tighter and more disciplined. He knew the rules, and he knows that if he wants to help his team for a full 40 minutes, it behooves him not to hack and elbow every Davidson player who makes a play in his vicinity. It's part of the game, suck it up, be a man, and deal with it.

2) Vitale loves his big-time programs. G-town, Duke, Carolina, etc. If it were up to him, the Final Four would be nothing but 1 and 2 seeds. This is great evidence. Davidson pulls off a great upset, knocking off one of the best teams in the nation. Good for the, right? Cheers to Cinderella? Nope, instead, Dickie V decides to blame the RULE BOOK to excuse G-town's loss. Sorry dude, your boys lost fair and square. Stop acting like you're some 12-year old's dad at his middle school game. Don't play favorites.

3) Why the effort to homogenize all sports? It's like the NCAAF world thinking they have to have a playoff because all other team sports do. And now basketball has to change its foul rule to be like every other sport? Please. Sports are different than other sports. Different rules, different strategies, different experiences. Let's leave it that way!

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It's like Vitale read my mind! I too think that the only penalty for a player that commits his fifth foul is for every foul after that to result in two freethrows and the basketball. That would definitely prevent the hacking and allow the star players to stay in the game.

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Did the coach lose Hibbert and the game? Hibbert said he was told not to play "soft". I do think the referees called a little too tight.

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The real question is why do the refs call so many fouls? Its a physical game, why can't the refs understand that? Fouling out is necessary. It gives teams without a size advantage to get another team's big man in foul trouble, etc.

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Hibbert did try to play "tighter and more disciplined." He asked the refs in the first half what he needed to to do avoid picking up offensive fouls, but he was still called for them. When you're six inches taller than the guy guarding you it can be hard not to do that.

Not sure how I feel about Vitale's suggestion. The threat of fouling out keeps some players from being overly physical with smaller teams. I think an argument could be made that it prevents injury. If there's no chance of fouling out by throwing an elbow or dropping a shoulder (assuming it doesn't look flagrant), why not? It would be an interesting experiment for early season tournaments though.

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Hibbert fouls out early a bit more than he should.

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Dick has a good idea but I doubt that the NCAA will change the rule. If a team can't win when their star player is disqualified from a game then his replacement is required to stand up and deliver.

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Stupid idea. The rule is there for several reasons. Here's one of them: if a team has a big man who plays well under the basket but can't shoot freethrows, you could foul him intentionally every play. But because of the foul-out rule, you can't, because all of your players would foul out.

There are lots of different ways that teams could take unfair advantage of there not being a foul-out rule. Plus, like someone said, if the rule wasn't there, we'd spend the entire game watching teams shoot free throws, which would take forever and be really boring. Dickie V just needs to get over the fact that sometimes the big-name teams lose. Georgetown knew the rules and lost. End of story.

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Number 1-Hibbert could easily have had 15 fouls. He doesn't set picks with his hands kept in, he sets them with huge soupbone elbows flying in every direction at about head heighth for a normal 6-8 guy. He also just flat out bulls people with established position, off the block, A CHARGE which didn't get called at all. I was at the game, and have seen UNC, UCLA, etc. this year, and they Georgetown came out to bully not play basketball. Have a nice winter....Apparently America would rather see the sweet game of Stephen Curry and a team that actually plays basketball as opposed to a mugging. In fact, had Georgetown actually pushed the tempo and gotten their bigs down low the last couple minutes instead of settling for long jumpers against a team much smaller, maybe they'd still be playing.
Hey Dickie V, I got news for you, 20 TURNOVERS HAS A TENDANCY TO IMPACT YOUR ODDS OF WINNING A BIT MORE THAN YOUR HACK CENTER GOING OUT when he's replaced by two guys that are still bigger and more athletic than anyone on the court. The weren't bitching when they were up 17...perhaps they didn't need unlimited fouls but a HEART TRANSPLANT.

Its like Hillary bitching now about the rules after getting her wide butt kicked. The rules were just fine when she was up 20.....

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Watch the intentional fouls sky rocket if a player knows he won't have to sit for the remainder of the game.

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