Lines on the Moda Center basketball court were not drawn equally

This picture is of a Blazers game in 2016. Here the lines on the court look equal, but they weren't for a few recent NCAA games in March 2024.

(APRIL 4, 2024) Many sports teams use the Moda Center in Portland, including the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association). The NCAA makes sure that everyone follows the rules and that games are fair. However, there was a problem recently with the basketball court at the Moda Center.

During the women's basketball regionals in Portland, Oregon, it was discovered that one of the 3-point lines on the court was about 9 inches shorter than it should have been at its highest point. This mistake was human error by the company responsible for making the courts used in March Madness. The mistake was corrected, but not before five games had already been played on it.  The NCAA apologized for the error. It acknowledged that it was unfair to the teams that played on the affected court.

The error was discovered just before the game between two colleges: Texas Tech and North Carolina State. Both teams agreed to play anyway. Teams switch baskets at halftime, so each team played one half of the game shooting from the short 3-point arc. Despite the difference, coaches from both teams said that they didn't believe it affected their players' performances significantly.

The incident has raised concerns about the NCAA's to ensure everything is fair. The organization has promised to work with its suppliers to prevent such mistakes in the future. The NCAA expressed regret for the error and the delay in its detection, and it assured that this was an isolated incident. It said that other courts used in the tournament were accurate.