A startling error was unearthed just before the start of the Elite Eight matchup between NC State and Texas at the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
The game between NC State and Texas marked the fifth contest to be held at the NCAA Tournament Portland Regional. As both teams were going through warm-ups at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, it became apparent that the distance of the three-point lines on either side of the court differed.
This discrepancy was visibly noticeable and was confirmed by NCAA officials upon measurement.
Ahead of the game, the NCAA issued a statement stating that NC State coach Wes Moore and Texas coach Vic Schaefer were informed of the inconsistency and chose to proceed with the game without making adjustments. However, the error will be rectified before Monday’s game.
“The NCAA was informed today that the three-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not uniform in distance,” the statement read. “Both head coaches were informed of this disparity and decided to proceed with playing the game on the existing court layout, rather than delaying the game for correction. The discrepancy will be addressed before the upcoming game in Portland.”
The NCAA women’s three-point line standard is set at 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches. It remains unclear whether one side of the court exceeded the regulation length or if the other side fell short. Nonetheless, it’s remarkable that it took until the fifth game for the discrepancy to be noticed.
During the broadcast on ESPN, it was reported that teams shot 3% better from the three-point line on the side with the shorter distance in the previous four games. While it’s arguable that the team using the shorter three-point line in the second half might have an advantage, it’s worth noting that there were no overtime periods in the initial four Portland games, ensuring each team had equal time shooting from both ends of the court.
