A shocking blunder was discovered prior to tip-off of the Elite Eight game between NC State and Texas at the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
The NC State-Texas game was the fifth to be played at the NCAA Tournament Portland Regional. As the two teams were warming up at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, it was discovered that the three-point lines were not the same distance on either side of the court. The mistake was visible to the naked eye, and NCAA officials measured and confirmed it.
The three-point lines are different on each side of the court in Portland for the Elite Eight. The NCAA measured pregame and confirmed one side is a different three-point length than the other. 🤦
NC State and Texas agreed to play through it. 🏀 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UnBo13kBUi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 31, 2024
Prior to the game, the NCAA said in a statement that NC State coach Wes Moore and Texas coach Vic Schaefer were made aware of the discrepancy and opted to leave it as is. The issue will be corrected prior to Monday’s game.
“The NCAA was notified today that the three-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance,” the NCAA said. “The two head coaches were made aware of the discrepancy and elected to play a complete game on the court as is, rather than correcting the court and delaying the game. The court will be corrected before tomorrow’s game in Portland.”
The NCAA women’s three-point line is supposed to be 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches. It is unclear if one side of the court was too long or the other side was too short. Either way, it is amazing that it took five games for someone to notice.
How are they just now figuring out the court has been jacked up in Portland? It was the same for every other game there too.
This was Baylor/USC last night. Can clearly tell it’s shorter distance on left. pic.twitter.com/baGkWLRIMk
— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 31, 2024
ESPN reported during the broadcast that teams shot 3% better from the three-point line on the shorter end during the previous four games. You could probably make the argument that the team using the short three-point line in the second half has an advantage. There was no overtime in the first four Portland games, however, so each team spent equal time shooting at both sides of the court.
