The NCAA Needs an Offical Basketball

I’ll be first to admit, there isn't an excuse for bad play, but I think there is something worth mentioning. The NCAA doesn’t have a regulation ball, so as long as it bounces and is some shade of orange, you can use it until it:

A) pops,

or

B) the game is over.

Now, where this gets interesting is the ball used in the Charleston Classic. It’s called "The Rock," and it’s similar to a street ball. It’s sticky, and it’s slippery when it get sweat on it.

It just so happens the two teams Penn State has played so far in this hodgepodge of a tournament both use "The Rock" on a regular basis throughout the season. While a ball is a ball, a few things lead one to question if somebody had an advantage going into the past two games.

In Penn State's first game of the season, Talor Battle was 11-20 for 27 points. He pretty much hit any shot he wanted. In the team's next game, he didn’t play much, and wasn’t needed for a good portion of the second half, because Chris Babb went off, and the team hit 12 three-pointers. On the whole, the team's first four games work out as follows:

First two games averages:   FG= 50%   3pt= 40%

The next two games averages: FG= 31%   3pt= 23%

Meanwhile, UNC-Wilmington is shooting over 55 percent in both categories, including going 10-16 from behind the arc, and Tulane shot 8-19 from three.

Now, I’m not suggesting any foul play, and I’m not trying to make up for bad defense or poor shooting, but I do think it brings to light the need to have a single ball for all NCAA games.

You don't see teams and players go from scoring in the 70s and 80s in games, to games where a three-ball shooting team couldn’t hit a shot to save its life two games in a row.

I would believe it, maybe, if the teams they were playing were top-notch, but we’re not exactly talking the big-name teams here. It’ll be interesting to see if the stats turn around once we’re back home.

EDIT:

After returning home, the Lions shot 46 percent from three and 63 percent from the field in a 87-75 win.