Decades ago, when the sport was in its infancy without media contracts, online sports betting, recruiting rankings, and basically everything else that currently defines the sport, college basketball games routinely ended in ties.
And while there’s an occasional bizarre exception in lower-division games, college basketball games don’t end in ties. The game is settled in overtime, where some of the sport’s wildest endings have come.
How Long is Overtime in College Basketball?
Overtime in college basketball is settled with a five-minute extra period.
The two teams will continue to play the periods until the tie is broken. The overtime begins with a tip-off at center court and each team is awarded two timeouts for the extra session.
Overtime Records
The record for the most overtimes in one college basketball game came when Cincinnati took on Bradley in 1981. The Bearcats eeked out a 75-73 victory after seven overtimes. The teams combined for 24 points across the seven overtimes and played keep-away since there was no shot clock at the time.
One of the most memorable overtime games came at the 2009 Big East Tournament as Syracuse and Connecticut needed six overtimes to settle their quarterfinals matchup in Madison Square Garden. The Orange would go on to win the matchup 127-117 in a game that lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes and wrapped up at 1:22 a.m. ET.
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