CHICAGO (AP) — If Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had his way, college basketball would take a few more pages from the NBA rulebook.

“If I was the czar for the day, I’d try to get every rule like the NBA, personally,” he said. “I just think that we’d have a better working relationship.”

The NCAA is instituting several rules changes and issued a directive to officials in an effort to speed up the pace of play, create more movement, cut down on stoppages and strike a better balance between offense and defense.

One of the most notable rules changes is the reduction of the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30, a move Izzo applauds. He would not mind playing four quarters instead of two halves, although he is not advocating bumping the length of the game from 40 minutes to 48.

He just wants to see more similarities between the NCAA and NBA rules.

“You know, I get disappointed on the committees I’m on,” Izzo said. “I think you always hear, “Well, you don’t want to be like the NBA.” Why not? That’s what the kids want.”

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said he’s not sure that simply copying the NBA rule book is right for the college game, given the talent of the pros, the length of their season and the way rosters are constructed. But he does think there are things the NCAA can learn from the league. He also thinks the college game is better than the pros in some ways.

“What we have to do is find out a way to make the changes that are appropriate with 32 conferences, lots of different styles, lots of different talent level,” Delany said. “I don’t know that just en masse taking the NBA approach and dumping it on the colleges is necessarily the right answer. But I think it is the right answer to look at their game, see how they have made the changes. They have better, more plays at the rim. They have less block/charge. They have less congestion. They’ve taken their hands off the point guard, which I think was a good adjustment.”