It’s been an eventful few days in the world of college basketball, and there’s plenty to talk about. The big headline everyone is buzzing about is the NCAA’s approval of several new rule changes for the men’s game, announced just yesterday. After years of speculation and feedback from coaches, starting with the 2025–26 season, men’s college basketball will introduce the coach’s challenge. For the first time ever, coaches will have the ability to challenge a call—think of it as borrowing a bit from the NBA’s recent rulebook. This new system grants each team one challenge to initiate an instant replay review on certain plays, like out-of-bounds decisions, basket interference, and goaltending. Instead of relying entirely on officials to initiate video reviews—which can really break up the game’s rhythm—the coach’s challenge is designed to give coaching staffs more control and keep the action moving.
Reviews for things like timing errors, shot clock violations, and flagrant fouls will still be initiated by officials as usual, but the new challenge rule puts a stop to unnecessary stoppages. There’s even talk about switching men’s games from two halves to four quarters, aligning with the women’s game and international play. Right now, it’s just a possibility, but conversations are underway to evaluate how such a change would affect everything from TV timeouts to game strategy. It’s clear the NCAA is actively engaging with ideas to make college hoops more dynamic and efficient.
Off the court, roster shakeups have been making waves thanks to the ever-busy transfer portal. St. John’s is drawing serious attention after landing five top-100 transfers, including standout former All-Big East performer Bryce Hopkins and some high-upside former top-25 recruits. Rick Pitino’s crew barely edged out Kentucky for the nation’s top transfer portal class this year. Kentucky, guided by Mark Pope, also brought in a slew of talented transfers—Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State is a standout, though there’s some concern as he recovers from a late-season ACL tear. With so much new talent converging on both programs, fans and analysts alike have started debating which roster has the higher ceiling heading into next season.
While coaches, players, and fans adjust to the new rules and new faces, one thing’s for sure: college basketball is evolving quickly, both in how the game is played and who’s playing it. The countdown to tipoff has never felt more intriguing.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
