North Carolina State and Texas faced off on a court during Sunday’s NCAA Women’s Tournament with uneven 3-point lines, adding an unwelcome layer of drama to the Elite Eight.
The issue wasn’t isolated – five of the six games played at the Portland regional featured mismatched 3-point lines, with one reportedly being a significant six inches longer.
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
Despite the social media uproar and the monumental oversight, the NCAA’s initial statement offered little explanation. And despite the error, both teams opted to play the game after being informed of the discrepancy, which saw analysts like Chiney Ogwunmike credited the women’s game(s) for keeping their composure amidst the chaos.
Other analysts, like CNN host Rachel Nichols, highlighted the NCAA’s oversight by suggesting that a similar error in the men’s Tournament would liTournamentve far greater scrutiny. While Nichols wasn’t aiming to create a gender divide, it’s a valid question.
Five of the six women’s tourney games at the Portland regional were played with mismatched 3pt lines (one was an estimated six inches further out than the other.) TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. Can you imagine what would happen if the 3pt lines were off for five MEN’s tourney games?? pic.twitter.com/8KJqrNKnpe
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 1, 2024
“It’s just unbelievable that at this level, it’s allowed to happen,” she said. “And Texas, which lost the game, the coach (Vic Schaefer) said afterward, he said, ‘I’m sorry to have to say this, but a lot of my colleagues would tell you, only in women’s hoops; only in women’s basketball. The NCAA still has a long way to go in the way that they treat these women, especially as this Tournament has become so popular that there is no excuse for the fact that the women playing it don’t get the same benefits.
“It was only a few years ago that the Women’s Tournament was allowed to use the term: March Madness. I want you to let that sink in. The NCAA’s own women’s basketball tournament wouldn’t allow the women to use the term ‘March Madness’ because that was for the men. Apparently, making sure that the court was proper dimensions is still for the men, too. And we hope that that changes. This should be incredibly embarrassing for the NCAA. And it should never happen again. ”
Her focus on the discrepancy raises the bar for consistent accountability across the NCAA, implying a heightened reaction to a similar mishap in the men’s Tournament without tournament tournaments against each other.
[Rachel Nichols on Twitter/X]
