2018 NIT to Feature Experimental Rules Including Extended 3-Point Line

The 2018 National Invitation Tournament will feature four experimental rules that could potentially be used to make future changes across men's college basketball.

Per a release by the NCAA, the experimental rules that will be used in this year's NIT include the three-point lines extended to 22 feet, 1.75 inches, the free-throw lanes widened to 16 feet, games split into four 10-minute quarters instead of two halves and a shot clock that will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound. 

Along with the changes to the periods, fouls will reset each quarter and teams will shoot two free-throws beginning with the fifth foul of each quarter.

The rule changes will present the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and the Division I Men’s Basketball Competition with an opportunity to see how the game will look under different rules.

The NCAA's current three-point line is 20 feet, 9 inches. The extended line being used for the NIT is the same one used in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). 

Women's college basketball made the switch from 20-minute halves to 10-minute quarters starting with the 2015-16 season. 

The NCAA release notes there is a two-year rules process cycle, so the earliest any changes can be made is May 2019.

The 2018 NIT will begin on March 13 and conclude at Madison Square Garden on March 29.