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How many teams in the ncaa mens basketball tournament


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Since 1939, the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament, or March Madness, has been held annually at the end of college basketball’s regular season. The single-elimination tournament is one of the most watched sporting events in the United States and generates a ton of betting action across the country.

Below you will find all the stats and info you need to gear up for college basketball’s highly anticipated postseason competition. 

Gonzaga Bulldogs

+500

Kentucky Wildcats

+850

Arizona Wildcats

+900

Auburn Tigers

+900

Purdue Boilermakers

+1050

Baylor Bears

+1200

Duke Blue Devils

+1200

Kansas Jayhawks

+1500

UCLA Bruins

+2200

Illinois Fighting Illini

+2300

When is the 2022 NCAA tournament?

March Madness will begin on Tuesday, March 15 at 4 p. m. ET, with the First Four—or play-in—stage of competition. The official first round, featuring 64 teams, will take place Thursday and Friday, March 17-18, before the round of 32 on Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20.

The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 occur the following weekend, March 24 through March 27. Caesars Superdome in New Orleans will host the Final Four, which includes the national semifinal championship game on the evening of Monday, April 4.

First Four

March 15-16

First Round

March 17-18

Second Round

March 19-20

Sweet 16

March 24-25

Elite Eight

March 26-27

Final Four

April 2

National Championship Game

April 4

Who can make the NCAA tournament?

In order to qualify for March Madness, a Division I college basketball team must either win its conference tournament or receive an “at-large” bid from the NCAA tournament selection committee.

A total of 68 teams play in the tournament, with 32 of those teams earning an automatic bid by winning their conference tournament. The 36 remaining tournament bids are granted by the selection committee and are revealed on Selection Sunday.

The committee is also in charge of seeding and placing each team in one of four regions of the tournament bracket: the East, West, Midwest and South. Each region will be seeded 1-16.

The selection committee is currently comprised of eight athletic directors and two conference commissioners in Division I men’s and women’s athletics. Members serve a five-year term.

Duncan Robinson (22) of the Michigan Wolverines cuts down the net to celebrate the victory during the NCAA Division I Men's Championship Elite Eight round basketball game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Michigan Wolverines. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire)

How can I watch the NCAA tournament?

truTV and TBS will air the First Four, then split first- and second-round coverage with CBS, TBS, and TNT.  

TBS and CBS will televise the Sweet 16 and Elite, while the Final Four and NCAA National Championship Game can be found exclusively on CBS.

How long are March Madness games?

March Madness will follow the standard rules of a regular-season college basketball game, with two 20-minute halves. The overtime period is five minutes long and may be repeated as many times as necessary to determine a winner.

What is the Final Four?

The Elite Eight will decide the champion of each of the four regions in the NCAA tournament. The winner from the East, West, Midwest and South move on to the Final Four to play in the national semifinal games. 

The Final Four includes both the semifinal round and the championship game on Monday, April 5.

Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Shutterstock)

Where is the Final Four?

Caesars Superdome, home to the New Orleans Saints, will host the Final Four from April 2-4.

What time is the national championship game?

Tipoff of the national championship game is scheduled for 9 p. m. ET Eastern on Monday, April 4.

UCLA

11

Kentucky

8

North Carolina

6

Duke

5

Indiana

5

Connecticut

4

Kansas

3

Villanova

3

Louisville

3*

Cincinnati

2

Florida

2

Michigan State

2

From 1964 to 1995, the UCLA Bruins accumulated 11 national championship titles, 10 of those under head coach John Wooden.

The University of Kentucky, a longtime elite program in college basketball, earned its first championship in 1948 and most recent in 2012. ACC schools North Carolina and Duke are neck-and-neck for titles, with six and five, respectively, and have each won one in the last five years.

The Indiana Hoosiers also rank high with five championships, but the school hasn't experienced the NCAA's ultimate glory since 1987, with head coach Bob Knight.

The University of Louisville hung championship banners in 1980 and 1986 with head coach Denny Crum, and again in 2013 with Rick Pitino. However, because of NCAA violations, the school had to vacate its 2013 championship and two Final Four appearances. Louisville is the only school in NCAA history to have a men's basketball championship vacated.

John Wooden

10

Mike Krzyzewski (active)

5

Adolph Rupp

4

Roy Williams (active)

3

Jim Calhoun

3

Bob Knight

3

Jay Wright (active)

2

Denny Crum

2

Billy Donovan

2

UCLA head coach John Wooden's record of 10 national championships may never be touched, but "Coach K" (Mike Krzyzewski) is hot on his track, with five. The Duke basketball coach's teams regularly rank in the AP Top 25 poll and are often considered one of the favorites in the NCAA tournament each year.

A statue of former Purdue Boilermaker player John Wooden is seen outside of Mackey Arena. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire)

Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp led the school to the Promised Land four times (1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958) during his tenure. There is a three-way tie for fourth-most wins, as UConn's Jim Calhoun, Indiana's Bob Knight, and Roy Williams each own three titles. Williams collected his trio of banners with North Carolina in 2005, 2009 and 2017. He also guided the Kansas Jayhawks to a national title game, where they fell to Syracuse in 2003.

ACC

17

Pac-12

16

SEC

11

Big Ten

11

Big 12

7

American Athletic

6

Big East

5

Based on current conference membership, the ACC owns the most NCAA titles. North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State, Louisville, Syracuse and Virginia have each claimed at least one national championship. The Cavaliers most recently won the tournament in 2019.

The Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 triumphed in the first national championship game in 1939. Since then, the Pac-12 has earned 16 titles among Stanford, Utah, Cal, UCLA and Arizona. UCLA won seven in a row from 1967-1973, then again in 1975, the last season Wooden coached for the Bruins. Wooden also achieved back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965.

When is Selection Sunday?

Selection Sunday will take place on Sunday, March 13 at 6 p.m. ET,  and will air on CBS.

How does seeding work?

The selection committee will offer 36 at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in addition to 32 automatic bids for those teams that won their conference tournament. 

The committee will look at record, strength of schedule and quality of wins and losses, among other factors, to rank the field of teams from 1 to 68. Theoretically, the top four teams will earn the No. 1 seeds, and the next four on the list will receive the No. 2 seeds, and so on.

The committee strives for balance in each of the East, West, Midwest and South regions. The overall No. 1 seed should play the weakest No. 2 seed, and that pattern should follow down the line from the No. 3 seeds to No. 16 seeds for each region. 

What is the First Four?  

In 2011, the NCAA expanded the men's tournament to 68 teams and added a "First Four" play-in stage that included eight teams. Those eight teams hold the four lowest-seeded automatic bids and four lowest-seeded at-large bids.

The four winners of the First Four games move on to the field of 64 to compete in the first round of the tournament.

From 1985 to 2001, the NCAA tournament followed a 64-team format, until the Mountain West Conference joined Division I. To accomodate an additional automatic bid, which bumped the field to 65, the NCAA created one play-in game before the opening round. Since the arrival of the First Four in 2011, the tournament has maintained the same 68-team format.

The University of Dayton Arena in Ohio is the annual host site of the First Four games.

How many rounds are in the NCAA tournament?

There are six rounds of the NCAA tournament, not including the First Four play-in round.

Sixty-four teams participate in the first round. From there, the field is narrowed down to 32 for the second round of competition.

The third round is referred to as the Sweet 16, or regional semifinal, and the fourth round is best known as the Elite Eight or regional final. 

The fifth round, or national semifinal, is part of the Final Four, as is the sixth round, the national championship game.

Where can I download a March Madness bracket?

You can fill our our official TwinSpires Sports downloadable March Madness bracket by clicking here.

It's been estimated that around 70 million brackets are filled out each year across the country for company or family pools and nationwide contests.

The odds of filling out a perfect bracket are about 1 in 120.6 billion—if you know something about basketball. If you filled out your bracket by flipping a coin or blindly guessing, your odds are much higher.

No one has filled out a perfect bracket—that we know of—in the history of the NCAA tournament.

NCAA Final Four Betting Trends

20 of the last 21 Final Four Champions Have Been East Coast Teams

The only team that could be considered following in this trend for this year’s Final Four is Virginia. With a state that does touch the East Coast, does the basketball world truly count Virginia as an East Coast team? Michigan State is from the Midwest, while Auburn is from the South and Texas Tech is a Southwest team, thus they would not come as close to fitting the mold. If the Cavaliers fit the narrative of East Coast, then the trend could very well continue to prove true.

Favorites Usually Dominate in Final Four Semifinals

If this trend holds, Michigan State will beat Texas Tech and Virginia will beat Auburn. I’ve got Texas Tech upsetting MSU and Auburn upsetting UVA. So, I’ve thrown out this trend!

Underdogs Have Performed Well in the Finals

UNC won as a favorite in 2017. Last year, Villanova won as the favorite. But, before those two chalked it up, Nova beat North Carolina as a dog in 2016, Duke upset Wisconsin as a slight dog in 2015, and Connecticut upset Kentucky as a major underdog in 2014.

Will any of the three trends listed above hold? Or, will Auburn and Texas Tech prove best? Get your popcorn ready and watch one of the greatest sports events in the U.S., the annual NCAA College Basketball Final Four!

NCAA Final Four Notable Games

1975 National Championship – UCLA 92, Kentucky 85

The great John Wooden won his final championship. It was the Wizard of Westwood’s 10th title.

1979 National Championship – Michigan State 75, Indiana State 64

Magic and Bird started one of the most important rivalries in NBA history while still in college.

1983 National Championship – NC State 54, Houston 52

NC State upset Phi Slamma Jamma with a last-second shot, handing Jimmy Valvano the NCAA Final Four trophy. Valvano would end up starting the Jimmy V. Foundation, one of the most important cancer research non-profit organizations in the world.

1985 National Championship – Villanova 66, Georgetown 64

Villanova beats Georgetown in one of the biggest upsets in Final Four history.

1991 National Championship – Duke 72, Kansas 65

Coach Mike Krzyzewski wins his first of five national championships by beating Roy Williams- coached Kansas. The Blue Devils upset heavily favored UNLV in the semifinals. Today, Williams coaches North Carolina, which means Coach K and Williams have continued the rivalry that started in 1991.

2022 College Basketball Championship Regions and Dates

  • Regions: South, East, West, Midwest
  • Inaugural Game: March 17, 1939
  • Current Number of Teams Participating: 68
  • 2022 NCAA National Championship Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • 2022 NCAA National Championship Date: Monday, April 4, 2022

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Top Questions

What is March Madness?

March Madness is an informal term that refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments that begin each March and consist of fields of 64 (for the women’s) and 68 (for the men’s) teams.

How are March Madness teams selected?

In March Madness, the single-elimination tournaments begin each March and consist of fields of women’s and men’s teams that qualify either by winning their conference title or by being chosen as an at-large entry by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's selection committee.

When was the first March Madness tournament?

The first men’s tournament of what eventually became known as March Madness was held in 1939. The NCAA tournament gradually began to draw top teams and more television revenue over the next two decades. The first women’s tournament was a 32-team event held in 1982.

March Madness, informal term that refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments and the attendant fan interest in—and media coverage of—the events. The single-elimination tournaments begin each March and consist of fields of 64 (for the women’s tournament) and 68 (for the men’s) teams that qualify either by winning their conference title or by being chosen as an at-large entry by the NCAA’s selection committee.

The first men’s tournament was held in 1939, but it was overshadowed for most of the first two decades of its existence by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which was considered more prestigious and usually featured the best teams in the country. The NCAA tournament gradually began to draw the top teams and more television revenue, and, by the time the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), began its record run of seven consecutive titles in 1967, the tournament was firmly established as the premier college basketball postseason championship series in the United States. The size of the tournament field increased incrementally from 8 teams in 1939 to 64 teams in 1985. A 65th team and corresponding “play-in game” were added in 2001, when a new conference with an automatically qualifying champion was created and the NCAA did not want to lower the number of high-profile at-large schools it could invite to the tournament. In 2011 the NCAA added three additional opening-round games to the field, bringing the field to 68 teams. The first women’s tournament was a 32-team event held in 1982, and it expanded to its current field of 64 in 1994.

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The men’s tournament format (not including the play-in games) consists of four subsets known as regions, each of which contains 16 teams that are seeded number 1 to number 16 by the selection committee and then matched up according to seed, with the number 1 seed playing number 16, number 2 playing number 15, and so on. (The selection committee generally comprises university athletic directors and conference commissioners.) Two of the four first-round games pit the four lowest-seeded teams (often the champions of the smallest conferences in the NCAA) against each other to determine two of the 16 seeds, while the other two first-round games feature the final four at-large teams, which are traditionally 11 or 12 seeds. The second- and third-round games take place later in the first week of the tournament at eight geographically dispersed sites, and the 16 teams that move on to the second week (having won both their second- and third-round games) are referred to as the “Sweet Sixteen.” These remaining teams then proceed to four regional sites and are further winnowed to an “Elite Eight” and a “Final Four,” the last of which advances to yet another location for the national semifinals and finals in the third week of the competion. The sizable field often produces pairings of large schools from highly regarded conferences with smaller automatic qualifiers that may result in first-round upsets, which can then lead to underdog teams (known as “Cinderellas”) advancing far in the tournament.

It is a common practice for fans to fill out tournament brackets with their predictions before the event begins and to enter their brackets into office pools (or on the Internet) with friends and coworkers. Studies have shown that American workers become less productive during March Madness, as large numbers of basketball fans frequently monitor the status of their brackets or discuss the tournament (or even watch the games) while on the job.

Winners of the men’s and women’s NCAA Division 1 basketball tournaments are provided in the tables.

Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship—women
year winner runner-up score
*Tournament canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
1982 Louisiana Tech Cheney (Pa.) 76–62
1983 Southern California Louisiana Tech 69–67
1984 Southern California Tennessee 72–61
1985 Old Dominion Georgia 70–65
1986 Texas Southern California 97–81
1987 Tennessee Louisiana Tech 67–44
1988 Louisiana Tech Auburn 56–54
1989 Tennessee Auburn 76–60
1990 Stanford Auburn 88–81
1991 Tennessee Virginia 70–67
1992 Stanford Western Kentucky 78–62
1993 Texas Tech Ohio State 84–82
1994 North Carolina Louisiana Tech 60–59
1995 Connecticut Tennessee 70–64
1996 Tennessee Georgia 83–65
1997 Tennessee Old Dominion 68–59
1998 Tennessee Louisiana Tech 93–75
1999 Purdue Duke 62–45
2000 Connecticut Tennessee 71–52
2001 Notre Dame Purdue 68–66
2002 Connecticut Oklahoma 82–70
2003 Connecticut Tennessee 73–68
2004 Connecticut Tennessee 70–61
2005 Baylor Michigan State 84–62
2006 Maryland Duke 78–75
2007 Tennessee Rutgers 59–46
2008 Tennessee Stanford 64–48
2009 Connecticut Louisville 76–54
2010 Connecticut Stanford 53–47
2011 Texas A&M Notre Dame 76–70
2012 Baylor Notre Dame 80–61
2013 Connecticut Louisville 93–60
2014 Connecticut Notre Dame 79–58
2015 Connecticut Notre Dame 63–53
2016 Connecticut Syracuse 82–51
2017 South Carolina Mississippi State 67–55
2018 Notre Dame Mississippi State 61–58
2019 Baylor Notre Dame 82–81
2020 not held*
2021 Stanford Arizona 54–53
2022 South Carolina Connecticut 64–49

Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship—men
year winner runner-up score
*Louisville's title was vacated in 2018 because of rules violations committed between 2011 and 2015.
**Tournament canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
1939 Oregon Ohio State 46–43
1940 Indiana Kansas 60–42
1941 Wisconsin Washington State 39–34
1942 Stanford Dartmouth 53–38
1943 Wyoming Georgetown 46–34
1944 Utah Dartmouth 42–40
1945 Oklahoma A&M New York 49–45
1946 Oklahoma A&M North Carolina 43–40
1947 Holy Cross Oklahoma 58–47
1948 Kentucky Baylor 58–42
1949 Kentucky Oklahoma State 46–36
1950 CCNY Bradley 71–68
1951 Kentucky Kansas State 68–58
1952 Kansas St. John's (N.Y.) 80–63
1953 Indiana Kansas 69–68
1954 La Salle Bradley 92–76
1955 San Francisco La Salle 77–63
1956 San Francisco Iowa 83–71
1957 North Carolina Kansas 54–53
1958 Kentucky Seattle 84–72
1959 California (Berkeley) West Virginia 71–70
1960 Ohio State California (Berkeley) 75–55
1961 Cincinnati Ohio State 70–65
1962 Cincinnati Ohio State 71–59
1963 Loyola (Ill. ) Cincinnati 60–58
1964 UCLA Duke 98–83
1965 UCLA Michigan 91–80
1966 Texas Western Kentucky 72–65
1967 UCLA Dayton 79–64
1968 UCLA North Carolina 78–55
1969 UCLA Purdue 92–72
1970 UCLA Jacksonville 80–69
1971 UCLA Villanova 68–62
1972 UCLA Florida State 81–76
1973 UCLA Memphis State 87–66
1974 North Carolina State Marquette 76–64
1975 UCLA Kentucky 92–85
1976 Indiana Michigan 86–68
1977 Marquette North Carolina 67–59
1978 Kentucky Duke 94–88
1979 Michigan State Indiana State 75–64
1980 Louisville UCLA 59–54
1981 Indiana North Carolina 63–50
1982 North Carolina Georgetown 63–62
1983 North Carolina State Houston 54–52
1984 Georgetown Houston 84–75
1985 Villanova Georgetown 66–64
1986 Louisville Duke 72–69
1987 Indiana Syracuse 74–73
1988 Kansas Oklahoma 83–79
1989 Michigan Seton Hall 80–79
1990 UNLV Duke 103–73
1991 Duke Kansas 72–65
1992 Duke Michigan 71–51
1993 North Carolina Michigan 77–71
1994 Arkansas Duke 76–72
1995 UCLA Arkansas 89–78
1996 Kentucky Syracuse 76–67
1997 Arizona Kentucky 84–79
1998 Kentucky Utah 78–69
1999 Connecticut Duke 77–74
2000 Michigan State Florida 89–76
2001 Duke Arizona 82–72
2002 Maryland Indiana 64–52
2003 Syracuse Kansas 81–78
2004 Connecticut Georgia Tech 82–73
2005 North Carolina Illinois 75–70
2006 Florida UCLA 73–57
2007 Florida Ohio State 84–75
2008 Kansas Memphis 75–68
2009 North Carolina Michigan State 89–72
2010 Duke Butler 61–59
2011 Connecticut Butler 53–41
2012 Kentucky Kansas 67–59
2013 Louisville* Michigan 82–76
2014 Connecticut Kentucky 60–54
2015 Duke Wisconsin 68–63
2016 Villanova North Carolina 77–74
2017 North Carolina Gonzaga 71–65
2018 Villanova Michigan 79–62
2019 Virginia Texas Tech 85–77
2020 not held**
2021 Baylor Gonzaga 86–70
2022 Kansas North Carolina 72–69

Adam Augustyn

Yeshiva University Men's Basketball Team Qualified for NCAA Tournament - Lechaim

Yeshiva University Men's Basketball Team Qualified for NCAA Tournament

February 27, 2018, 11:00 Sport

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Yeshiva University's men's basketball team won first place in the NCAA Division III basketball tournament for the first time in its history. By defeating Purchase College's Maccabi 87-81 on February 25, they won the Skyline Conference championship and earned automatic berth to the tournament.

“Not much to say. We are the champions,” Yeshiva University head coach Elliot Steinmetz said in an interview published on the Maccabi website. “These guys worked hard, persevered all season, and now we are champions forever!” Yeshiva University sports director Joe Bednarsh said people from all over the world are following the team and its path to the championship.

“People have come to me with questions about this team from Thailand, South Africa, Argentina, Israel, England and many other places,” said Bednarsh. “Maccabi is truly the pride of the Jewish people.” The schedule for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on the afternoon of February 26th. EU will compete in the first round of the popular tournament next weekend.

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Rabbi Dimanstein

Opponents called him the "Jewish Bailiff". It was he who determined the course for a merciless struggle against all non-Bolshevik Jewry in Russia. In his uncompromising nature, he even entered into an internal party polemic with the People's Commissariat of Nationalities - then not so powerful, but still Stalin.

November 10 Boruch Gorin

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The magazine Tribuna of the Jewish Soviet Public began to appear in Moscow in 1927. Jewish land management and resettlement in Birobidzhan were the most important topics of the publication, but no less intensive coverage of the social life and "cultural construction" of Jews in various regions of the USSR was published on its pages, materials were published on the situation of Jews in other countries, as well as reports on cases of anti-Semitism.

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November 7 historian's office Oleg Budnitsky

How long is a college basketball game? Game Time NCAA

Basketball games always attract attention at every level. Fans are interested not only in professional tournaments, but also in student basketball.

The Junior Basketball Tournament is organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The time depends on the level of the match.

How long is a basketball game at college ? The total playing time is about 2 hours 10 minutes.

A college basketball game consists of two halves of 20 minutes each. The halftime interval for NCAA games is 15 minutes. Overtime in college basketball is 5 minutes.

If you're still wondering about the duration of different tournaments, let's find out with Scott Fujita in this article.

Men's college basketball game

How long is a college basketball game on TV?

With a total of two 20-minute halves and a 15-minute break, a standard college basketball game should be 55 minutes long.

However, the total length of a TV match is often much longer. longer than that. Most NCAA matches last 2 hours and 10 minutes.

With this in mind, we have 40 minutes for the actual game, two 30 second timeouts for each team and three total timeouts. Total time 48 minutes.

One exciting thing you should note is that college games are typically 8 minutes shorter than NBA games. Despite this, the average length of live NCAA matches is less than a few minutes. The number of time-outs and the frequency with which teams shoot free throws during and after college basketball games are major causes of this problem.

Unlike NBA games, there are no quarters in men's college basketball games. . This means fouls will last an inning and not much time to reset. The more fouls a player commits, the longer the game lasts and the length of the game increases.

Each men's college basketball team will have four time-outs in a basketball game. Three of them lasted 30 seconds and only one timeout lasted 60 seconds.

They should have used a time-out in the first half, otherwise they would have conceded. The second half provides that each team can only stop the game three times.

In addition to the time-outs and half-times, four sets of TV waiting times are scheduled for each round. Their name "stop" appears on 16, 12, 8 and 4 in every game. If there is no stop at one of these four stages, it will be ignored.

Read more:

  • How long is the NBA break
  • How long is the basketball court
  • How long is an NBA game

How long will the women's college basketball game last?

Unlike a men's college basketball game, women's games typically last 2 hours with four 10-minute quarters.

Women's basketball games used to last as long as men's. In 2015, new rules changed the format of the game. The use of four quarters is entirely in line with other major leagues. These matches also include a break between the 2nd and 3rd half.

During the game, each team is allowed about four time-outs, similar to the men's game. Despite this, there are no restrictions on when women's groups can use them.

Longest NCAA basketball games of all time

In addition to the longest NBA game, some people are curious about the longest NCAA game in history. Let's find out in this section.

Bradley Vs. Cincinnati

Bradley v. Cincinnati (1981)

The basketball game between Bradley and Cincinnati on December 21, 1981 was the longest NCAA game. After six innings, both teams were tied. It wasn't until the 7th overtime that Cincinnati got the better of Bradley.

This match lasts about 4 hours, from 19:30 to 11:20. Interestingly, the score in this match was relatively low, 75-73.

Connecticut Vs. Syracuse (2009)

On March 12, 2009, Connecticut faced Syracuse in a game that went to the sixth overtime in the quarterfinals of the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament.

Syracuse were the winning team with a score of 127-117. The match lasted a total of 3 hours and 46 minutes. You can watch a recording of this college game here.

How long is an NBA game?

A typical NBA game usually lasts 2 to 2.5 hours. . This number is not fixed as many factors can directly affect match times.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) specifies that each round of an NBA basketball game must be approximately 12 minutes long. With four games, the total playing time will be up to 48 minutes. Extra time of these matches lasted 5 minutes.

There will be a 15 minute break between rounds 2 and 3, but this is only theoretical. Some issues can cause a basketball game to last longer than expected, up to about 2 hours in a real game. Compared to FIFA games, these matches last longer.

How long will FIBA ​​games last?

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) stipulates that each basketball game will consist of four quarters. With a total playing time of 40 minutes, each basketball quarter will last 10 minutes. We see that the duration of FIBA ​​basketball games is slightly shorter than the duration of NBA games.

This tournament also establishes the following break rules:

  • Each team is given 20 minutes to prepare before the start of the competition
  • There will be a short break of 2 minutes between the first and second half.
  • In order for both teams to change the field and proceed to the next half, the break between the 2nd and 3rd half is 15 minutes.
  • Break between the 3rd and 4th quarters - 2 minutes.
  • There will be a break of 2 minutes in extra time.
  • If both teams play four quarters without finding a winner, they will go to extra time. The team with the most points in the first overtime wins.
  • Otherwise, the two teams will continue to play in the next extra time.

When the FIBA ​​end of round alarm goes off, the halftime break will begin.

How long is a high school basketball game?

High School Basketball Game

According to NFHS rules, a high school basketball game will have four quarters. Each round lasts 8 minutes with a 10 minute break in between.

People don't usually use clocks for school games. However, there is still a rule that graciously turns the game clock running if a team leads by a certain number of points in the second half. This rule only applies in a few states.

Each state has different rules, so there will be different criteria for time regulation and clock management.

Junior class basketball game lasts less - 1 hour 30 minutes. These matches also span four quarters of 6 minutes each. In some states, the playing time for each quarter may be up to 8 minutes.

The break is 10 minutes and there is usually no shot clock in junior basketball games.


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