why do the last 2 minutes of a basketball game seem to take forever?

While watching the BYU-Florida game tonight, it reminded me how good basketball can be, but sometimes how painful it can be.

The end of the 2nd half of the game had great drama as the teams were tied at 68.  Each possession was meaningful and could change the result of the game.  The game ended up in a tie at the end of regulation.

BYU and Florida duke it out on Thursday

Overtime went Florida's way right from the get-go.  The overtime period is 5 minutes long, and about half way through, BYU needed a miracle, and turned to one of the oldest strategies in the book.  BYU started fouling the Florida players.  The hope was that Florida would start missing free throws and that BYU would start making the 3-point shots that would quickly close the deficit.  This strategy didn't work as Florida made free throws and BYU missed their shots or turned the ball over.  When BYU fell behind by 10 points in overtime, they finally threw in the towel and let the game clock expire.

In the end, the BYU fouling strategy probably added only 5 more minutes to the time of the game, but it always feels much longer to the casual fan who just wants the next game to start.