NCAA apologizes and fixes errant 3-point line in Portland

The NCAA identified Connor Sports as the supplier that produces and installs all men’s and women’s courts at predetermined tournament sites.

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“For all NCAA courts, a small hole is punched in the floor at each end of the court that indicates ‘center-of-basket’ during the finishing process,” the NCAA said in the release, signed by Lynn Holzman, vice president for women’s basketball. “A calibrated vinyl-tape device is then placed in the hole, which lays the 2-inch game line to be painted.”

Following the conclusion of the Texas–NC State game, which both programs had agreed to continue despite the discovery of the asymmetrical 3-point arcs, the NCAA worked with a technician from Connor Sports to inspect the court markings. 

“Review of the Portland court found the center-hole was punched in the wrong position, which resulted in the incorrect arc measurement for the 3-point line,” the release read. “The center-hole was placed approximately 9 inches from the center of the basket, causing the arc of the 3-point line to be approximately 9 inches short at the apex of the arc. Connor Sports and the NCAA found the inaccurate line was the result of human error by the finisher contracted by Connor Sports.”

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The review also found the sides of the 3-point line were accurately painted, as were all other court markings.

The incorrect 3-point line was repaired overnight and painted over with a color that closely resembles the wood grain. The correct 3-point line was painted in black. The court is now in compliance with NCAA rules.

Both courts for the women’s and men’s Final Four have since been inspected and are in compliance. All other courts at predetemined sites were also deemed to be in compliance.

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, whose team played on the floor Friday night, falling to North Carolina State in the Sweet 16, called it a “definite problem” and issued a statement.

“What happened with the court in Portland is inexcusable and unfair to every team that played on it,” VanDerveer said. “When you arrive at a gym, especially in the NCAA Tournament, at the very least you expect the baskets to be 10 feet and the floor markings to be correct.

“For an error of that magnitude to overshadow what has been an incredible two weekends of basketball featuring sensational teams and incredible individual performances is unacceptable and extremely upsetting.”

Additionally, the NCAA released the 3-point shooting statistics for games already played on the court, both in the accurate and inaccurate side.

In five games, teams shooting from the inaccurate line shot a collective 23-of-89, for 25.8%. From the accurate line, teams collectively shot 29-of-87, for 33.3%.

“The error in Portland was an isolated incident,” said the release. “We apologize for this error and the length of time for which it went unnoticed. Simply put, this court did not meet our expectations, and the NCAA should have caught the error sooner.”

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