On Monday, the NCAA stated that one of the 3-point lines on the court used for the women’s basketball regionals in Portland, Oregon, was approximately 9 inches shorter than what it should have been at its highest point. This was a mistake made by the contractor responsible for making the courts used during March Madness.
The NCAA mentioned that the line on the court at Moda Center was fixed before the UConn-USC game on Monday night, which would decide the final spot in next weekend’s Final Four.
Connor Sports is used by the NCAA to provide and set up the courts. According to the NCAA, the marker used to draw the line at the top of the arc in the center of the court was marked too short. It did not specify the contractor responsible for the mistake.
Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president for women’s basketball, explained in an email to members that for all NCAA courts, a small hole is punched in the floor at each end of the court to indicate the 'center-of-basket' during the finishing process. Then, a calibrated vinyl-tape device is placed in the hole, which lays the 2-inch game line to be painted.
Upon inspecting the Portland court, it was discovered that the center hole was punched about 9 inches short of where it needed to be at the highest point of the 3-point arc.
Holzman mentioned that Connor Sports and the NCAA found that the inaccurate line was due to human error by the finisher contracted by Connor Sports. The review also confirmed that the sides of the 3-point line were accurately painted, along with all other court markings.
The discrepancy in distance was noticed on Sunday before Texas and North Carolina State played their Elite Eight game. Four games had already been played over two days with the mismatched 3-point lines.
The coaches for Texas and N.C. State agreed to proceed with the game as scheduled, with one line being shorter than the other, instead of delaying the start. N.C. State won against Texas 76-66, earning a spot in the Final Four.
The NCAA 3-point line measures 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches at the highest point of the arc for both women and men.
Holzman expressed regret over the error and the length of time during which it went unnoticed. She stated that this court did not meet their expectations, and the NCAA should have detected the mistake earlier.
Holzman also mentioned that they will collaborate with all of the NCAA’s suppliers and vendors to establish additional quality control measures to prevent such incidents in future tournaments.
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament set records for television viewership, driven by the popularity of Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark, along with other stars such as LSU’s Angel Reese, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, and USC’s JuJu Watkins, as well as the dominance of undefeated South Carolina.
However, the games have been overshadowed by controversies and off-the-court issues at times. The NCAA had to replace one official at halftime when it was found that she had a degree from one of the schools whose game she was officiating, and Notre Dame star Hanna Hidalgo missed part of the Fighting Irish’s Sweet 16 game against Oregon State when officials made her remove a nose ring, which she had played with earlier in the tournament.
Utah players and coaches said they faced racist harassment near their Idaho hotel while playing in Spokane, Washington, which is about 40 minutes away.
The incorrectly drawn 3-point line was the latest problem for the NCAA, which has been trying to address disparities in how it runs the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments since issues were raised during the 2021 events in Indianapolis and San Antonio.
The issue at Moda Center, where the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers play, was another embarrassing mistake.
During each game, teams played one half shooting from the short 3-point arc, as they switch baskets at halftime.
According to NCAA statistics, teams shooting from the 9-inch short 3-point line in Portland were 23 for 89 (25.8%), while teams shooting on the accurate line were 29 for 87 (33.3%).
N.C. State coach Wes Moore mentioned that they shot better on the normal line in both games, but he did not blame the issue, highlighting that players often shoot from a distance behind the line.
The Wolfpack made 11 of 19 3-point shots from the correctly measured line in two games and 5 of 16 with the incorrect line.
Moore acknowledged the unusual situation but did not see it as an advantage or disadvantage, as both teams played a half on each end.
Baylor, Gonzaga, Stanford and Duke also played in Portland this past weekend.
In its Sweet 16 game against USC, Baylor went 3 for 12 on 3s from the wrongly marked side and 6 for 14 on 3s from the correctly marked side. USC won by four.
Connor Sports provides hardwood sports flooring for over a dozen NBA and WNBA teams for their practice venues and game arenas, as stated on the company’s website.
The company apologized for the error, stating that technicians were on site at the Moda Center in Portland to make immediate corrections following Sunday’s game.
At arenas hosting different types of basketball events, multiple courts are often used. For example, Madison Square Garden has a court for Knicks games, and the Big East Tournament brings in a premarked court specifically for college basketball.
The main difference between an NBA court and a college court is the distance between the 3-point line and the basket, with the NBA line being a foot farther at its longest point.
