A big part of the madness in March is when NCAA tournament teams head to overtime after battling to a tie through the first 40 minutes of regulation.
Here are the rules for bonus basketball in the men’s and women’s tournaments:
—Overtime lasts for 5 minutes. There is no limit to the number of 5-minute overtime sessions. They are played until an overtime concludes with a team leading.
Though regulation time is divided differently with games for men (two 20-minutes halves) and women (four 10-minute quarters), the 5-minute length for each overtime is the same for both.
—The NCAA men’s rulebook outlines its overtime criteria in Rule 5 (Scoring and Timing Regulations), Section 9 (Periods — Extra).
“An extra period is the extension of playing time allocated to break a tie score. When the score is tied at the end of the second half, play shall continue without change of baskets for one or more extra period(s) with a one-minute intermission before each extra period. The game shall end when the score is not tied at the end of any extra period. The length of each extra period shall be five minutes. As many such periods as are necessary to break the tie shall be played.”
—The NCAA women’s rulebook outlines its overtime criteria in Rule 5 (Scoring and Timing Regulations), Section 6 (Quarters — Length) and Section 7 (Quarters and Overtime — Beginning and End).
—With every extra session an extension of the second half, teams receive a 30-second timeout in each overtime (in addition to any timeouts previously unused).
—Fouls accumulated during regulation carry over to overtime. Players who fouled out during regulation aren’t allowed to return in OT. Once a team reaches 10 fouls, whether in the second half or overtime, its opponent will shoot two free throws on fouls the rest of the way (through each overtime).
How many tournament games went into overtime last year?
In the 2024 men’s tournament, there were three OT games. In the first round, Northwestern beat Florida Atlantic 77-65. In the second round, Creighton beat Oregon 86-73 in double overtime, and Houston defeated Texas A&M 100-95 in overtime.
There were two OT games in the 2024 women’s tournament. Kansas beat Michigan 81-72 in overtime during the first round, and Stanford defeated Iowa State 87-81 in overtime during the second round.
What is the longest game in March Madness history?
There have been two four-overtime finishes in the NCAA men’s tournament.
In the 1956 tournament, Canisius beat North Carolina State 79-78 in the East Region quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. During the third-place game (which no longer is played) in the 1961 tournament, St. Joseph’s defeated Utah 127-120.
