RULE NO. 5—SCORING AND TIMING
Section VII—Regular Timeout—100 Seconds
A player’s request for a timeout shall be granted only when the ball is dead or in control of the team making the request. A request at any other time shall be ignored.
A team is in control when one of its players has possession of the ball on the floor, in the air or following a successful field goal by the opposing team. A request at any other time is to be ignored. Timeouts are considered regular unless the player called, “20-second timeout.”
EXCEPTION: The head coach may request a regular timeout if there is a suspension of play to administer Comments on the Rules—P—Guidelines for Infection Control.
a. Each team is entitled to seven (7) charged timeouts during regulation play. Each team is limited to no more than four (4) timeouts in the fourth period and no more than three (3) timeouts in the last two minutes of regulation play. (This is in addition to one 20-second timeout per half.)
b. In overtime periods each team shall be allowed three (3) timeouts regardless of the number of timeouts called or remaining during regulation play or previous overtimes. There is no restriction as to when a team must call its timeouts during any overtime period.
c. There must be two timeouts per period. If neither team has taken a timeout prior to 6:59 in each of the four regulation periods, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it at the first dead ball, and to charge it to the home team.
If neither team has taken a second timeout prior to 2:59 in each of the four regulation periods, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it at the first dead ball and charge it to the team not previously charged in that period.
The official scorer shall notify a team when it has been charged with a mandatory timeout.
No mandatory timeout shall be taken during an official’s suspension of play for (1) a delay of game warning, or (2) retrieving an errant ball, or (3) any other unusual circumstance.
d. If a regular or mandatory timeout is awarded the offensive team during the last two minutes of regulation play or overtime and (1) the ball is out of bounds in the backcourt, or (2) after securing the ball from a rebound and prior to any advance of the ball, or (3) after securing the ball from a change of possession and prior to any advance of the ball, the timeout shall be granted. Upon resumption of play, they shall have the option of putting the ball into play at the midcourt line, with the ball having to be passed into the frontcourt, or at the designated spot out-of-bounds.
However, once the ball is (1) thrown in from out-of-bounds, or (2) dribbled or passed after receiving it from a rebound or a change of possession, the timeout shall be granted, and, upon resumption of play, the ball shall be in-bounded at the spot nearest where the ball was when the timeout was called.
The time on the game clock and the 24-second clock shall remain as when the timeout was called. In order for the option to be available under the conditions in paragraph 12 above, the offensive team must call a 20-second timeout followed by a regular timeout, or call two successive regular timeouts.
EXCEPTION: Rule 12A—Section II—Excessive Timeouts.
In the last two minutes of the fourth period or overtime, the official shall ask the head coach the type of timeout desired—(regular or 20-second)—prior to notifying the scorer’s table. This applies only to a requested timeout.
e. No timeout shall be charged if it is called to question a rule interpretation and the correction is sustained.
f. Additional timeouts may be granted at the expense of a technical foul and all privileges apply.
EXCEPTION: see Rule 12A—Section II.
g. All timeouts which are granted prior to the ball becoming alive after the first timeout will be 45 seconds. The 45-second timeout cannot be a mandatory timeout.
