{"id":38341,"date":"2024-04-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=38341"},"modified":"2024-05-24T09:43:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T14:43:42","slug":"how-many-periods-in-a-basketball-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/how-many-periods-in-a-basketball-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Basketball 101: How Many Periods Are In A Basketball Game? NBA vs NCAA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NBA and NCAA Men\u2019s games each have a different number of periods that last for varying amounts of time. There are even more differences when you start looking at WNBA and NCAA Women\u2019s games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, we break down the differences in basketball game structure between the collegiate and professional levels. So, how many quarters are in a basketball game? And how long do they last?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many Periods In An NBA Basketball Game?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The NBA\u2019s 48 minute games are broken down into four 12-minute quarters. <\/strong>Each quarter is separated by a two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minute break. The halftime break is much longer, lasting 15 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"LeBron
Image credit: Wikipedia Commons <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Although NBA games have been like this for a long time, they were not always designed this way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the league was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America, matches were made up of two 20-minute halves. In 1951, this was changed to four 10-minute quarters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years later, the format was changed again to four 12-minute quarters. It has stayed this way ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NBA is famous for the wear and tear players experience over the busy season. Because of this, there has been a lot of discussion about whether 48-minute games are too long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The league did experiment with a 44-minute game<\/a> during the 2014 preseason, but the format didn\u2019t stick. At the time, many coaches said shortening the season, instead of games, was the only way to reduce wear and tear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many Quarters In WNBA Basketball?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WNBA games are broken down into four 10-minute quarters.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like the NBA, the WNBA began with games played over two 20-minute halves. This was the case from the league\u2019s founding in 1996 up until 2006, when it was decided to change games to a four quarter format<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since this time, there have been four quarters, each 10 minutes long. There is a 15-minute break at halftime.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Minnesota
Image credit: Wikipedia Commons <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The main benefit of changing from halves to quarters is that the team foul count is reset every 10 minutes. In the WNBA, this meant games sped up and that less scoring came from the free throw line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, this made WNBA games more exciting to watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many Periods In NCAA Men\u2019s Basketball?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NCAA Men’s games are broken down into two 20-minute halves. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basketball was invented by a man called James Naismith. In his original rule book from 1891<\/a>, Naismith wrote that basketball games should be made up of two 15-minute halves with a five minute rest in between. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1905, this was upped to two 20-minute halves along with a 15-minute break for halftime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NCAA experimented with adopting the popular four period structure in the 1951-52 season, but this didn\u2019t last. The NCAA reverted back to the original two 20-minute halves for the 1954-55 season, and this has been the format for NCAA Men\u2019s basketball ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s one main benefit to playing halves instead of quarters. Long halves are thought to give the game a steady pace and flow. This means games between teams are closer and more exciting. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Slam
Image credit: Chad Cooper\/Flickr, CC BY 2.0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Changing the format now would cause some problems. The biggest being it would reduce the number of TV timeouts that occur during a match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the current format, there are four media timeouts per half. The four quarter system only allows three to be taken over two quarters. This would see the NCAA Men\u2019s advertisement revenue decrease. It may even make it harder for the NCAA to strike media deals with television networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many Periods In NCAA Women\u2019s Basketball?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NCAA Women\u2019s games are made up of four 10-minute quarters. <\/strong>This has been the case since the 2015-2016 season<\/a>. Before this time, women\u2019s NCAA games mirrored the men\u2019s by having two 20-minute halves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s official!\u00a0NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approves playing four 10-minute quarters in women's basketball.<\/p>— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) June 8, 2015<\/a><\/blockquote>