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Students from different colleges play basketball. Do you want to know how long a basketball game is? How many halves does a college basketball game have? How long is one half? Is there any break between the two halves?
How long is a break between two halves? Does a college basketball game also have timeouts? How many timeouts are there in a college basketball game, and what is each timeout’s duration? Is there any timeout for electronic media?
What is a shot clock that we use in a college basketball game? When they reset the shot clock? The referees also take time for reviews. Do they count that time again? Are you curious to know do they stop the clock when a foul happens?
All these questions are answered below.
Contents
How Long is a College Basketball Game?
A college basketball game takes approximately 2 hours. The actual playtime is not so long, but other things like timeouts, fouls, and shot clock also take time. Let discuss one by one how much time they consume.
Start of Clock
The clock starts when both teams have sung their national anthem, and all the players are on the court, and the referee throws the ball up. Any player takes it and starts dribbling
Halves of Game
The college basketball game has two halves, and the time of each half is 20 minutes. Each half takes 20 minutes. There is also a break of 15 minutes between two halves.
The purpose of this break is to provide time to the players for rest as we all know basketball is a tiresome game. They can also discuss their strategies, and the substitution of players can also take place.
Timeouts
In college basketball games, each team has four timeouts. The three timeouts are of 30 seconds, and one timeout has 60 seconds, which can be used in any half of the game. Each team must use one timeout in the first half; otherwise, one timeout will be missed.
When a half starts, then after every 4 minutes, there may be TV timeouts if the game stops, and in these timeouts, different commercials are on air on TV. The length of electronic media timeouts is not fixed mostly.
If it is the time of electronic media timeout and any team takes timeout just a few seconds before, then one timeout of both that team and electronic media will be deducted. These electronic media timeouts don’t have a fixed duration.
Overtime
It is given at the ends of the game when there is a tie, and overtime is of 5 minutes. If the tie remains, then more overtime is offered until one team wins the game.
Shot Clock
In college basketball, there is a shot clock of 30 seconds. The shot clock starts when the player has possession of the basketball, and the player has to score the goal in that period. The shot clock stops when the referee declares the ball dead.
Resetting of Shot Clock to 24 Seconds
There is a reset of the shot clock when the following events occur
- Any other player gets possession of the basketball.
- In case of any technical foul, there is no resetting of the clock.
- If any personal foul may happen
No Resetting of Shot Clock
- When the player has possession of the ball.
- Players have more than 13 seconds, but he kicks the ball.
Reviews
Sometimes players don’t agree with the referee’s decision; similarly, the referee is also confused in some cases. By using modern technology, they review and give the final verdict.
During these reviews, the clock stops, and the game delays, and it creates frustration in the audience, and time is served in it.
End of Game
Finally, when a team scores more goals, it may be in overtime wins the game. Then there is a huge celebration of success, and the fans also cheer up. Then there is an award distribution ceremony among the team members, and eventually, the game ends.
Summary
In short, the college basketball game is for two hours, and there are just two halves of 20 minutes, and between them, there is a break of 15 minutes. College basketball also has four timeouts. One of them is of 60 seconds, and the remaining three of 30 seconds.
There are four timeouts for the players’ relaxation, and they also provide a chance to have a meeting with the coach and discuss their strategies, and players can also be substituted in them.
The shot clock of 30 seconds helps to accelerate the game, and we can reset it under certain conditions. Similarly, fouls and reviews also take time. In the end, the team which has scored more goals wins the game, and the game ends.
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