MARCH MADNESS GLOSSARY
AB - CD - EF - GHIJKL - MNO - PQR - S - TUVWZ
team fouls:
each personal foul committed by a player is also counted against his team; when a team goes over the limit, its opponent is awarded free-throw opportunities.
technical fouls or Ts:
procedural violations and misconduct that officials believe are detrimental to the game; penalized by a single free-throw opportunity to the non-offending team (2 free-throws and possession in college).
3-on-3:
a game played with only 3 players on the court for each team.
3-point play:
a 2-point field goal followed by a successful free-throw.
3-point shot:
a field goal worth 3 points because the shooter had both feet on the floor behind the 3-point line when he released the ball; also counts if one foot is behind the line while the other is in the air.
throw-in:
the method by which a team with possession inbounds the ball.
timeout:
when play is temporarily suspended by an official or at the request of a team to respond to an injured player or discuss strategy; there are full timeouts (100 or 60 seconds in NBA, 120 seconds in WNBA, 75 or 60 seconds in college) and 20-second timeouts (30 seconds in college).
tip-off:
the initial jump that starts the game.
transition:
the shift from offense to defense.
traveling:
a floor violation when the ball handler takes too many steps without ; also called walking.
triple double:
when a player scores double-digits in 3 categories during one game (points, assists and rebounds are most common, but it can also be blocks or steals); a sign of great versatility.
turnover:
when the offense loses possession through its own fault by passing the ball out of bounds or committing a floor violation.
upset:
when a higher-seeded (better) team loses to a lower-seeded (inferior) one.
violation:
see floor violation.
weakside:
the side of the court away from the ball.
zone defense:
a defense where each defender is responsible for an area of the court and must guard any player who enters that area; compare with man-to-man defense.