The NCAA is a multi-billion-dollar corporation that has a history of wildly mismanaging women’s athletics. So, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that the organization that just recently allowed the women’s NCAA tournament to use “March Madness” branding also messed up the court for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
No, really. It did.
Ahead of Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup in Portland between NC State and Texas, NC State coach Wes Moore and Texas coach Vic Schaefer convened with officials because it became clear that the three-point arcs on each side of the court were different distances.
It was just a wild scene as tape measures had to be broken out.
What was even more perplexing was that this was the same court used in the Sweet 16, so games were played with incorrect three-point lines and no team seemed to notice until Sunday. And let me tell ya, the difference was quite apparent.
Given that there was not enough time to fix the issue (beyond maybe re-doing the three-point arc with tape, which would have been embarrassing), the teams ultimately agreed to play the game despite the issues.
Monday’s matchup between UConn and USC is still scheduled for Monday in Portland. According to a statement from the NCAA, the issue will be corrected before the next game.
In the meantime, fans justifiably ripped the NCAA for the inexcusable error.
