NCAA Division 1 game goes to SIX overtimes

[Dan's Brain]

http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290710041

Syracuse held on for 70 game minutes to defeat UConn in the second longest Division 1 game in history.

8 players fouled out.
6 had double-doubles.
The teams scored 102 points combined after the end of regulation.

Jesus.

[JaoSming]

I was getting really into that game, and after that waved off buzzer beater at the end of regulation I decided to turn it off.

but damn, they looked so tired at the end on SC

[Doobie]

What an ammazziinngg game!! This is the first year im actually watching college ball on a consistent basis and wow, game of the year!

Jonny flynn played 67 freaking minutes. Syracuse plays tonight again it will be there third straight game. Think he has any legs left???

[Andrew]

Sounds like quite a game. I believe that might equal the longest game of basketball at any level, since there was a six overtime game in the NBA in the '50s.

[Dan's Brain]

There was an NCAA game that went to 7 overtimes, they mentioned in the video.

[Andrew]

I stand corrected. Odd that they refer to the NBA game in the '50s as the longest/having the most overtimes then, though I suppose they're probably referring to BAA/NBA games even though they don't specifically say that. Then again, a seven overtime college game would run 75 minutes while a six overtime NBA game would run 78 minutes so technically it is longer. Perhaps I'm confusing records and wording.

[Dan's Brain]

I'd say that's probably the distinction they're making.

Have regulation NBA games always been 48 minutes long?

[Andrew]

I believe so, certainly by the time the record was set.

[Hoyasaxa]

In all honesty though there are other sports which require a more sustained athletic effort over longer stretches of time than 70 minutes, though I can't imagine any NCAA player would be accustomed to playing a game of that length.

[Test cricket comes to mind]

[Andrew]

I don't know about that, considering the amount of cricketers that have been pudgy and/or chain smokers. I believe basketball players as individuals also cover the most amount of distance during a game despite the size of a basketball court resulting in a small playing field, simply because all five players are up and down on each play; they certainly rank up there on average if they aren't actually number one. Compare that to other sports where there is more "standing around" particularly when there's a large playing field and especially when a team is managing to keep the ball at one end more often than not.

Consider also that in cricket the team that's batting only has two players out there at any given time and they don't have to run on every ball. Even if you're fielding, you have to be alert but you're not necessarily going to be running or throwing if the ball doesn't come anywhere near you. The matches are long and the physical exertion is there but it lacks the more consistent movement for the whole team that basketball has.