The buildup to Sunday night’s March Madness showdown between NC State and Texas’ women’s teams was pretty interesting as a peculiar discovery was made just before the start of the game.
Said teams faced off in an Elite Eight matchup on the night, which marked the fifth fixture hosted at the NCAA Tournament Portland Regional.
The players were warming up at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon when it was discovered that one of the three-point line distances was longer than the other. The difference was noticeable to the naked eye, and NCAA officials confirmed as much after taking measurements.
The governing body issued a statement in which it revealed that NC State head coach Wes Moore and Texas head coach Vic Schaefer were informed of the discrepancy and that they both agreed to go ahead with the game without any adjustments being made.
The NCAA also noted that the error would be corrected before Monday’s game.
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“The NCAA was informed today that the three-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not uniform in distance,” a statement sent to CNN 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 Teams Participating In The Last Four March Madness Fixtures Shot Better From The Shorter End
The women’s three-point line in the NCAA is 22 feet, 1 ¾ inches, but it wasn’t made clear whether one side of the court was longer than the regulation length or if the other side was shorter. Still, it’s surprising that it took five games before anyone noticed the difference in lengths.
ESPN said during the broadcast that teams shot three percent better from the end of the court with the shorter distance in the previous four games.
Fortunately, there were no overtime games at the arena, so no team had a marked advantage over the other as both sides would have gotten to shoot from either end of the floor.
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack are headed to the Final Four on the back of a 76-66 win over the Longhorns.
