Expect the unexpected during March Madness.
No. 1 seed Texas’ Elite Eight dual with No. 3 seed NC State proved perhaps the most shocking game of the entire NCAA Tournament.
The reason? The length of the 3-point lines were markedly different from each other.
NCAA officials took to the floor before Sunday’s contest at Portland’s Moda Center to measure the arc around each basket. They discovered that the distance of the 3-point line on one side of the floor was shorter than the one on the other side.
NC State coach Wes Moore and Texas coach Vic Schaefer were informed of the issue during the pregame shootaround but elected to continue with the game, The Athletic reported.
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
An official account of the measurements wasn’t released. But once the discrepancy was pointed out, it looked fairly obvious to those watching along in the Moda Center stands and those watching through television sets.
How did nobody in Portland notice this before today? Look at the distance from the top of the key to the 3 point line at each end, they are different! pic.twitter.com/tiNAU0baSP
— Jason (@MittsubishiZero) March 31, 2024
The four Sweet 16 games played on the same court on Friday and Saturday had the same issue, though the discrepancy had not yet been discovered. Texas, NC State, UConn and USC advanced to the Elite Eight from those games, with the Longhorns and the Wolfpack playing Sunday and UConn and USC facing off Monday.
How are they just now figuring out the court has been jacked up in Portland? It was the same for every other game there too.
This was Baylor/USC last night. Can clearly tell it’s shorter distance on left. pic.twitter.com/baGkWLRIMk
— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 31, 2024
It’s unclear which side of the court features the correct 3-point distance and which is in error — or whether both sides are flawed. The 3-point line distance for women’s and men’s college basketball is the same — 22 feet and 1 3/4 inches.
The difference between the NBA three-point marker and the college three-point marker is about one foot and eight inches (23 feet, nine inches vs. 22 feet, 1 and 3/4 inches).
NC State and Texas agreed to take the floor regardless of the discrepancy. The NCAA issued a statement at halftime of the contest.
“The NCAA was notified today that the 3-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance,” the statement reads. “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 court will be corrected before tomorrow’s game in Portland.”
This story is developing and will be updated.