displacedinMN |
03-31-2024 05:33 PM |
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The NC State Wolfpack and Texas Longhorns played Sunday's Region 4 final on a court with 3-point lines of different distances at the top of the key.
"The NCAA was notified today that the 3-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance," the association said in a statement during the Wolfpack's 76-66 win.
The error on the court, which had been used for four women's regional semifinals Friday and Saturday, was discovered prior to Sunday's game. After consulting with officials, Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer and Wolfpack coach Wes Moore agreed to continue with the game rather than delaying it for a remeasurement.
"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 statement read. "The court will be corrected before tomorrow's game in Portland."
Because teams switch sides of the court at halftime, there was no apparent edge for either team.
A delay would have taken at least an hour, Schaefer said, because someone from the outside would have had to be brought in to re-mark the floor, and it could have forced the game to be bumped from being broadcast on ABC.
"At the end of the day we had already played a game on it and we both won, so we just decided to play," Schaefer said.
Through five games, teams shooting on the end with the closer 3-point arc were 25.8% (23-of-89) on 3-pointers. At the end of the floor that appeared correct, teams shot 33.3% (29-of-87).
On Monday, the Moda Center will play host to the Region 3 final between No. 1-seeded USC and No. 3-seeded UConn.
It wasn't clear whether the lines would be repainted or corrected with tape, Lisa Peterson, chair of the Division I women's basketball committee, told ESPN later Sunday. The court needs to be measured professionally to determine the precise error in distance, Peterson added.
Baylor coach Nicki Cullen, whose team lost to USC in the Sweet 16, posted on social media that with eight teams at one site, the focus was on the game plan, not what the court looked like.
Baylor was 6-of-14 on 3-pointers in the second half while shooting at the end of the floor with the longer arc.
"Guess that's why we shot it better in the 2nd half," Cullen wrote.
Information from ESPN's Alexa Philippou and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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