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Sunday’s women’s Elite Eight NCAA tournament game in Portland, Oregon, took a strange turn when officials discovered before tipoff that the 3-point lines were not the same distance on both sides of the court.
Under NCAA rules adopted for the 2021-22 season, the women’s 3-point line is set at 22 feet, 1¾ inches. But the spacing from the top of the key to the 3-point line at Moda Center looked different. The NCAA was asked to take measurements about 30 minutes before the match between top-seeded Texas and third-seeded North Carolina State, and it turned out that was indeed the case.
The ABC/ESPN telecast spoke with Lisa Peterson, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, who confirmed that the floor would be the same all week and that both coaches had agreed to proceed with the game. Ta.
An NCAA spokesperson said in an email to USA TODAY Sports that “there was no time to take official measurements before the game was tipped.”
Five games were being played on the Moda Center floor during the tournament, which ended Sunday.
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The Longhorns lost 76-66, becoming the first No. 1 seed to be eliminated.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer said he was told the Longhorns had an “inconsistency” at the 3-point line during warmups.
“They gave us the option of bringing someone in to speak, but that would have taken an hour and the ABC (television) window might have gone,” Schaefer said in his postgame press conference. No,” he said.
Schaefer added that North Carolina State head coach Wes Moore wants to play.
“I wasn’t going to be the guy who said, ‘No, I don’t want to play,'” Schaefer said.
Moore said Texas’ bench line was correct and NC State’s line was “a little short.” However, he added, “If it had gone into extra time, there might have been complaints.”
Schaefer didn’t tell his team about the 3-point line, which he said was “unfortunate.”
“But that’s the reality. I don’t think anyone wanted to draw attention to it and delay (the game) by an hour,” Schaefer said.
Peterson told ESPN that the floor will be professionally measured on Monday before top-seeded Southern California is scheduled to play third-seeded Yukon for the final spot in the women’s Final Four. Ta.
In a statement released on social media after halftime of the game, the NCAA said, “The NCAA was notified today that the three-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance. Coach recognized that.” “Rather than fix the discrepancy and delay the game, we chose to play the full game on the court as it is. The court will be fixed in time for tomorrow’s game in Portland.”
The NCAA released an updated statement after the game, saying, “After tonight’s game and practice in Portland, the NCAA will be measuring all court lines and markings on the court at the Moda Center. “An error occurred and we will investigate how this issue occurred in the first place. The NCAA is currently working to ensure the accuracy of all court markings for future games. We are not aware of any other issues at previous venues for men’s or women’s tournament games.” The NCAA regrets that this error was not discovered sooner. . ”
But as Schaefer pointed out while consoling fellow Longhorns, “I have a lot of colleagues who only talk about women’s basketball. It’s unfortunate that that happened.”
Contributor: Lindsey Schnell in Portland, Oregon; Chris Bumbaka
Follow Steve Gardner on social media @SteveAgarner
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