How Many Quarters Are in a College Basketball Game?

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College basketball games have a first half and a second half, so there are no quarters in the traditional sense. Other basketball leagues typically have four quarters of varying lengths.

College basketball has a long and storied history, and the game has been played with a first and second half since the rules became formalized. Each half is 20 minutes long, so non-overtime games have 40 minutes of playing time. While international basketball games last 40 minutes, they are broken down into 10-minute quarters. The NBA uses four 12-minute quarters, giving a game length of 48 minutes. High school games typically use quarters as well, but their total length is usually less than 40 minutes.

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