Moda Center not to blame for mismatched 3-point lines in Women’s NCAA tournament

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A third-party company contracted by the NCAA is responsible for a painting error, which made the 3-point line roughly a half-foot closer to the basket on one side of the court for five of the women’s NCAA tournament matchups played at the Moda Center on March 29, 30 and 31, sources said.

Moda Center spokesperson Walt Scher told KOIN 6 News that the Moda Center had nothing to do with the court’s design.

“The NCAA controls the production, painting, design of the courts with a third-party vendor that creates the courts for all NCAA tourney sites,” Scher said.

The company contracted to paint the courts for the NCAA tournament is Connor Sports. The Michigan-based company issued a statement apologizing for the discrepancy in the 3-point lines, which affected the distance at the top of the key.

“We apologize for the error that was found and have technicians on site at the Moda Center in Portland who were instructed to make the necessary corrections immediately following [Sunday’s] game,” the company said in a statement.

Four women’s Sweet 16 games were played on the flawed court before the issue was addressed during warmups for the Elite Eight matchup between the University of Texas and North Carolina State University on Easter Sunday. NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball Lynn Holzman said in a statement that each team was given an opportunity to delay the game or play on the mismatched court. The teams agreed to play on.

“The NCAA was notified today that the 3-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance,” Holzman said in Sunday’s statement. “The NCAA staff and Women’s Basketball Committee members consulted with the two head coaches were made aware of the discrepancy. All parties elected to play a complete game on the court as is, rather than correcting the court and delaying the game.”

The court will be corrected before Monday’s Elite Eight matchup between the University of Connecticut Huskies and the University of Southern California Trojans, Holzman said.

The regulation NCAA 3-point line is at 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches for both women and men. The teams that played on the flawed court were equally affected by the issue. Per NCAA rules, all teams switch directions at halftime.

The NCAA said that it is investigating the cause of the error and working to ensure accurate court markings for future games.

“We are not aware of any other issues at any of the prior sites for men’s or women’s tournament games,” Holzman said. “The NCAA regrets the error was not discovered sooner.