If you’ve been a fan of Stiletto Sports you’ve probably checked out the Differences Between NFL and College Football article, which took me hours to research and write.

Basketball, on the other hand, is a lot easier to break down and explain. The hardest part for me is presenting the facts in an unbiased manor so you can make your own decision on which you prefer. You are allowed to like both but most people have a fave. Personally, I prefer college. I was a huge NBA fan waaaaay back in the dark ages high school before someone introduced me to the joys of college basketball. At the same time it seemed like the NBA went to hell and became full of money obsessed players who no longer cared about team loyalty and the fans.

But that’s just me and I will not let that filter into my breakdown of the two. Much…

For the most part, it’s the same. If you understand high school basketball you can understand college and pro. Put ball in hoop. Try to stop people from putting ball in hoop. Same concept across the board. It’s just subtle little details that make them different!

GamePlay

NBA:

• Four 12 minute quarters
• 24 seconds to take a shot
• 8 seconds to move the ball from the backcourt to the front
• Overtime is 5 minutes long

NCAA

• 2 20minute halves
• 35 seconds to take a shot
• 10 seconds to get the ball from backcourt
• Overtime is five minutes long

The Court

In both college and pro ball the courts are the same length and the baskets are the same height off the ground. Also the foul line (where the players take their “penalty shots” from) are the same distance from the hoop.

NBA:

• Three Point line is 23’9 feet away from the basket (22 feet in the corners of the court)
• The Paint, or middle lane of the court under the b’ball hoop is 16 feet

NCAA

• Three Point Line  is 19’9″ way from the basket all the way around. In other words, closer to the basket.
• The Paint is only 12 feet wide.

Oops My Bads (also known as Fouls)

Personal Fouls: each player is allowed to commit only a certain amount of fouls  before they are kicked out of game:

• NBA (remember, this is the PRO level): 6
• NCAA (not pro level): 5

Meaning the pro players get more “oops my bads” then the non-pros. Go figure. And get paid millions.

Shooting vs. Non-Shooting Fouls

Shooting Foul: If a player is fouled in the act of shooting , he automatically gets free throws.

Non-Shooting: When a player is fouled not in the act of shooting–like a reach-in foul when the defense attempts to steal or guard the ball illegally–the team only gets free throws when they are “in the penalty”. In other words, a team can actually commit a certain number of non-shooting fouls per quarter or half and basically say “oops, my bad.” They do add up though and once they hit the penalty, it doesn’t matter if it’s a shooting foul or not—the other team is getting the free throw.

In the penalty

I actually found a great website that explained it in a very concise way:

In the NBA, it’s simple. The fifth team foul per quarter puts a team in the penalty. After that, every foul – in the act of shooting or not – is worth two free throws.

In the NCAA, the penalty kicks in on the seventh team foul of each half.

But wait, there’s more.

The “one-and-one” versus “double bonus”

• During the 7th, 8th and 9th team fouls, the  fouled player gets one free throw. If he makes it, he gets a to have another one. Hence, one…and one…
• If the player was fouled while shooting during those fouls, he gets to shoot 2.
• 10+ team foul = “double bonus” The fouled player will always shoot two free throws.

The bonus situation becomes crucial at the end of games. When trailing, teams will often foul to stop the clock. When in the one-and-one, that strategy is less risky – there’s a chance that the opposing team will miss the first free throw attempt and give up a possession without increasing the lead. Once in the double-bonus, fouling to stop the clock is a riskier play.

Possession of the Ball

Sometimes basketball players think they are playing football  or something. They tackle each other and wrestle over who has the ball. But unlike football officials, basketball refs want no part in sorting out who got their hands on the ball first instead:

NBA: A jump ball is used to determine possession.

NCAA: The posession arrow. Never question the arrow. Team A gets possession, then Team B, then Team A, then Team B. This is critical towards the end of a tournament game when there is :30 left on the clock and the score is tied!

About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!

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