Nothing is particularly strange about a basketball game that goes into overtime. It happens all the time. Two overtime periods is by no means extraordinary. Three overtime stanzas is uncommon, and four is pretty rare. But after that the overtime periods usually stop. In fact, in the history of basketball, only four games have gone into a sixth overtime. All were played by college teams.
On February 21, 1953, Niagra and Siena were tied at 54-all at the end of regulation play. Then the overtime periods began, and it seemed they would never end. In the first overtime both teams scored seven points; in the second, two points; in the third, seven again; in the fourth, two again; in the fifth, five points. Tired? So were the players. At last, Niagra spurted ahead to stay in the sixth extra frame and won by a score of 88-81. Eddie Fleming of Niagra played the entire 70 minutes of basketball, and thereafter his number was changed to 70.
Two years later, Western Illinois University played St. Ambrose College. With four seconds to play, Western Illinois scored the tying basket to make the score 51-51. After that came the usual freeze, the pass-around and the stalling, with each team waiting to try the last-second shot to win the game. In the six overtimes the two teams scored only 13 points. Finally, Western Illinois made a last-second shot in the sixth overtime and won, 58-57.
The only major college game with six overtimes occurred in 1955 between Purdue and Minnesota. Each team had 57 points when the clock ran out. After four overtimes–another full half of basketball–the score was exactly the same! Not one point had been scored. Each team scored two points in the fifth overtime. Then they gave up their stalling tactics. Minnesota outscored Purdue ten to seven in the final period to win, 69-66.
On January 5, 1957, Coe College and Monmouth College tangled in still another marathon game. Each team scored two points in each of the first five overtimes. Finally, Coe scored three points to none in overtime six, and won, 65-62.
Since 1957 no six-overtime games have been reported. But sooner or later some teams somewhere will deadlock again. Seven overtimes, anyone?
From Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
This book was published in 1976. In 1981, the longest basketball game ever played took place between Bradley and Cincinnati. Seven overtimes. Seventy-five minutes of play.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Bradley_vs._Cincinnati_men%27s_basketball_game
I was gonna say, I stayed up through 6 OTs of Syracuse and UConn in the Big East tournament in 2009!
Um, yeah, the 2009 Big East tourney would like a word.
I once saw the Knicks beat the Bullets in 3 overtimes. When we went into MSG it was sunny and like 50 degrees. By the time we left there was almost a foot of snow on the ground. This was way before smart phones, so we had no idea what was going on outside the arena. It was like we had been there a month.
I remember those days, when you’d go someplace with no windows–like a movie theater–and then walk out and the whole world has changed.