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.
When this news emerged, everyone reacted as you might think they would. Many were dumbfounded and mystified that something like this could even happen.
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.
Others opted for jokes!
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.