NIT — You make the call

6:55 Q2 USC going right to left from our perspective.

USC player advancing the ball just past halfcourt line, has pocket picked by UNC Asheville player.
UNC-A player floor burns the ball left to right back across halfcourt line, while on back with both feet in air (never on his feet with possession of the ball) throws ball right to left back across halfcourt line to teammate (all his teammates are on other side of the line).

1. Do you call traveling on UNC-A?
2. If no, then do you call “over and back” on UNC-A?

If no to 2, why not?

I’m purposefully NOT saying how the refs ruled — or did not rule — to minimize possibly biasing your call.

Thanks!

You both are correct that nothing was called. However I would interpret the reasoning for the no over and back a little differently because the floor burn player clearly had control of the ball while he was physically on his offensive side of the court, even if his feet had not touched the court.

I think the key to over and back is whether or not a team is in control of the ball as it crosses the half court line. Over and back occurs when a team in control of the ball physically places the ball on its offensive side of the court by dribble or pass, and then the player or a teammate in possession of the ball puts at least one foot on or back across the half court line.

In this instance it was a loose ball, stripped away from the ball handler by the defender, that crossed the half court line. The floor burn player in the example recovered the ball on his offensive side of the court and then while on his back threw it back across the line to a teammate. By rule, it could not be a an over and back violation as his team had not advanced a controlled ball across the half court line.

I was really stumped at first trying to figure out why over and back was not called until I realized that the player did not cross the half court line in possession of the ball

Make sense?