It’s not every day that you have a monumental screw-up. But such was the case on Sunday in Portland, Oregon. The NCAA Women’s Tournament has been an outstanding affair, but on Sunday, an inexcusable mess unraveled.
It turns out that the three-point lines on each side of the court in Portland, for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of the NCAA Tournament… were asymmetrical. Seriously. They were found not to be aligned with each other and the NCAA measured before the game to find the two lines were completely different lengths.
North Carolina State and Texas decided to play through that mess… but that’s a royal screw-up if there ever was one.
The three-point lines are different on each side of the court in Portland for the Elite Eight. The NCAA measured pregame and confirmed one side is a different three-point length than the other. 🤦
NC State and Texas agreed to play through it. 🏀 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UnBo13kBUi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 31, 2024
When this news emerged, everyone reacted as you might think they would. Many were dumbfounded and mystified that something like this could even happen.
#youhadonejob https://t.co/KSUwcobb17
— Mike Herndon (@okieherndon) March 31, 2024
Unreal. https://t.co/EJyWcNESxz
— Jeff Linder (@jtlinder) March 31, 2024
How can this happen? https://t.co/t0t4XXTUqB
— Mitch (@mitchcoffman) March 31, 2024
Some also were curious why NC State and Texas could have decided to play through it.
My question is how the teams can agree to "play through it."
The rules state the length of the three-point line. They give no remedy for if the line is wrong.
The value of shots should be based on where the line should be, not where it is. https://t.co/62oI87DDnI
— Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) March 31, 2024
Those opinions were fair, and it’s worth wondering what went into that decision. While the NCAA Tournament is fast-moving, these unacceptable conditions were certainly worthy of playing through protest.
Reporter Nicole Auerbach highlighted the differences from last night’s game between Duke and UConn.
From last night's game in Portland: pic.twitter.com/mVruRZYOnL
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 31, 2024
Others opted for jokes!
Norman Dale knew what he was doing https://t.co/pNrDIQ1xbs pic.twitter.com/kGG53SG09u
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) March 31, 2024
You can plainly see that there’s a difference in length between the two photos.
The NCAA will reportedly put out a statement soon… but they probably won’t be able to put out this fire.
