College basketball shot clock rules: How is it different from NBA, changes and more

March Madness is must-watch, but it can be hard to keep the rules straight. There's what the NBA does and what college basketball does during the regular season and then what college basketball does during the NCAA Tournament.

But don't worry if you're not certain about which rules belong to which league. We've got you covered.

Let's look at the shot clock specifically. How does it work? And what's different between college and the NBA?

College basketball shot clock rules, explained

In college basketball, each team has 30 seconds to attempt a shot once they have established possession. If a shot does not hit the rim within those 30 seconds, the team has committed a shot clock violation and loses possession.

If the team does attempt a shot that hits the rim and retrieves an offensive rebound, the shot clock resets to only 20 seconds.

If the opposing team retrieves the defensive rebound, their shot clock begins at 30 seconds.

When did the college basketball shot clock rule change?

The shot clock officially came to men's NCAA basketball in 1985. However, at that time it was 45 seconds. Just a few years later for the 1993-93 season, the NCAA shaved off 10 seconds. The shot clock remained at 35 seconds for two decades.

The 2015-16 season brought about the most recent change to the shot clock in college basketball. It was reduced to 30 seconds.

In women's college basketball, the 30-second shot clock has been in place since the 1970-71 season.

How are college basketball shot clock rules different from the NBA?

The NBA uses a 24-second shot clock. That's been the rule since the shot clock was adopted in 1954.

The speed of halfcourt play in the NBA has always been quicker than in the college game as a result. The reduction in time to the college shot clock was in an effort to increase scoring and speed up play.

The NCAA brought the game closer to the speed of the NBA with the 30-second shot clock, but they didn't go all the way in that regard, giving college teams those extra few seconds to find their shot.

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