A college basketball game typically lasts about 2 hours in real time, including stoppages, fouls, timeouts, and media breaks, with the regular playing time being 40 minutes for NCAA college games (two 20-minute halves for men; four 10-minute quarters for women). The exact total time can vary depending on overtime, stoppages, and pace of play.

Key formats:

• NCAA men’s: 40 minutes total playing time; often finishes around 2 to 2.5 hours in real time due to whistles, free throws, and timeouts.

• NCAA women’s: 40 minutes total playing time, played in four 10-minute quarters; real-time duration typically around 2 hours with stoppages.

• NBA (for comparison): 48 minutes of play split into four 12-minute quarters; real games usually run about 2 hours 15 minutes due to similar stoppages.

Notes:

• Overtime periods add 5 minutes each (college uses 5-minute overtime in many cases; the NCAA has specific overtime rules that can affect total duration).

• Media timeouts and late-game fouling can extend game length beyond the base playing time, sometimes noticeably in televised games.

If you want, I can tailor this to a specific division (e.g., NCAA Division I men’s or women’s, or a particular conference) or give typical ranges for non- televised games versus nationally televised ones.