ANIMATED: Notre Dame Falls Victim To Lane Violation

I’m not sure I’d ever seen this called before Thursday. So imagine my surprise when, on Friday, a lane violation was called on the man behind the free throw shooter. Again. For the second day in a row, in a close game.

This time it was Notre Dame falling victim to the dreaded lane violation. The player behind the shooter -- a shooter who made the shot, no less -- cross the three-point line and free throw line extended too early, before the ball hit the rim. And thus, the basket didn’t count and the ball was awarded to Xavier.

Watch the guy sprinting from the top-left corner. It’s on him, as he comes in too early.

And now to jump on the soapbox. This rule is stupid. It’s incredibly stupid. You know why it’s stupid? Simply because we will never see something like this. Michael Jordan thinks this rule is moronic, and Michael Jordan knows basketball.

We know the rule is different in college than it is in the NBA. And it’s still a dumb rule in college, even if the call was right.