PORTLAND, Ore. — In a postgame news conference that lasted more than 12 minutes at the Moda Center on Sunday, Texas coach Vic Schaefer was asked 11 questions.
Few of those questions were about what went wrong in a 76-66 loss to North Carolina State that ended UT’s season. Just one question was about North Carolina State guard Aziha James, who scored 27 points against the Longhorns. Schaefer had a few opportunities to talk about UT forward Taylor Jones and guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda.
No, the big topic of conversation at the postgame press conference — at least the topic of seven questions — was about 3-point lines at the Moda Center.
During Sunday’s Elite Eight game, the NCAA released a statement that read: “The NCAA was informed today that the three-point lines on the court at the Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance apart. Both head coaches were informed of the discrepancy and chose to play a full game on the field as is, rather than correcting the field and delaying the game. The field will be corrected before tomorrow’s game in Portland.
Before the game, ABC cameras showed replays of Schaefer and North Carolina State coach Wes Moore measuring the distance from the top of the key to the 3-point line with their feet. The NCAA did not reveal the incorrect measurements, but Moore clarified during his press conference that the 3-point line on the Texas bench was correct and the line on the North Carolina State side was measured short .
Schaefer was certainly hesitant to start the match, but both teams ended up taking the field without too much delay. So why did Schaefer agree to play when there were discrepancies in the 3-point lines?
He explained that the Longhorns had already warmed up and it would have taken an hour to resolve the problem. Additionally, there was concern about a long delay in starting the game on ABC. Schaefer also noted that the two teams had already played on the court on Friday, when Texas beat Gonzaga and North Carolina State beat Stanford in the Sweet 16.
“If I had objected, I would have been the only one in the room who wanted to do it,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer didn’t tell his team about the discrepancies at the 3-point line, and James said his North Carolina State players weren’t aware of them either. Neither team apparently noticed these issues during their on-field practices Thursday and Saturday or during their games Friday.
So, were the gaps in the 3-point lines significant? Maybe not. North Carolina State shot 6 of 9 from behind one line and 3 of 9 from the other. Texas, which typically doesn’t shoot many 3-pointers, made just one on six attempts Sunday.
“I don’t think it affected the game, the result. Both teams played on it for a half,” Moore said. “If there had been overtime, we might have a complaint.”
Schaefer said he would have preferred to spend time before the game doing his usual routine rather than trying to measure the field. Schaefer refused to use the 3-point line as an excuse for Texas’ loss, but it was clear he wasn’t happy with the issue either.
“I hate to say this, but I have a lot of colleagues who would say it’s just in women’s basketball,” Schaefer said. “It’s really unfortunate that this happened. But it is what it is.
“I’m not the culprit here. You’re asking me about something I have no control over. So Vic Schaefer is not the problem. But anyway, that’s the way it is. It’s too bad. That’s all I can say.”
