NCAA says inaccurate 3-point line in Portland 9 inches short

The NCAA said Monday one of the 3-point lines on the court used for the women's basketball regionals at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, was 9 inches short of regulation at its apex, a mistake made by the contractor that makes the courts used throughout the NCAA tournament.

The line has been corrected, the NCAA said. UConn and USC will play the final Elite Eight game of the tournament Monday night on that court.

The NCAA uses Connor Sports to supply and install the courts. The NCAA said the marking used to draw the line at the top of the arc in the center of the court was marked too short.

"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. A calibrated vinyl-tape device is then placed in the hole, which lays the 2-inch game line to be painted," Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president for women's basketball, said in an email update that went out to members.

After reviewing the Portland court, it was found that the center hole was punched about 9 inches short of where it needed to be at the apex of the 3-point arc.

"Connor Sports and the NCAA found the inaccurate line was the result of human error by the finisher contracted by Connor Sports," Holzman said. "The review also found the sides of the 3-point line were accurately painted, as were all other court markings."

The discrepancy in distance was discovered Sunday when Texas and NC State played an Elite Eight game to determine a spot in the Final Four. Four games already had been played over two days with the mismatched 3-point lines.

One of those games at Moda Center featured Stanford, who fell in the Sweet 16 to NC State. Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer called the incorrect 3-point line "inexcusable and unfair."

"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," she said in a statement Monday. "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."

Both coaches for Texas and NC State agreed to play Sunday's game as scheduled with one line shorter than the other rather than delay it. NC State beat Texas 76-66 to advance to the Final Four.

The NCAA 3-point line is at 22 feet, 1¾ inches for both women and men.

"We apologize for this error and the length of time for which it went unnoticed," Holzman said. "Simply put, this court did not meet our expectations, and the NCAA should have caught the error sooner.

"We will work with all of the NCAA's suppliers and vendors to establish additional quality control measures to ensure this does not happen in future tournaments."

ESPN's Alexa Philippou contributed to this story.