“I hate to say this, but I have a lot of colleagues who say, 'It's just women's basketball,'” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. It's really unfortunate that something like that happened. ”
What a huge failure. What a humiliating telecast of North Carolina State's Wes Moore and Texas' Schaefer walking out from a distance in loafers, squinting at mismatched 3-point arcs. Probably. Imagine Dan Hurley's reaction in that situation. As the good and patient people of this game always do, both women's coaches got political after the game, but were reluctant to damage the tournament they had built with little help. Five games will be played on that court, with no rematches.but of course That was important. It had reputational and competitive implications and was an intolerable injustice to all involved.
And it was just the latest example of bureaucratic misfortune. The referee, named Tomi Paris, was later found to have had a conflict during the early game between North Carolina State and Chattanooga, and she had to be ejected. I mean, she had gotten her degree from the University of Chattanooga. Utah was located a full 30 miles from the competition venue in Spokane, Washington, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, notorious as the longtime home of the Aryan Nation. To their surprise, the players were hurled racial slurs at a revving pickup truck driver and had to move for safety. Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo was benched for more than four minutes by officiating Martinet in the Sweet 16 and had the diamond stud in her nose, which she had worn all season without penalty, including the earlier rounds of the season, removed. I was ordered to remove it.
Even now, these things continue to happen. Even now that the NCAA has started, Already knew The tournament will be watched to an unprecedented extent by a record-breaking audience with renewed enthusiasm. The question of how something like this happens on the court is still unclear in its specifics. Who was the name of the corner cutter at Connor Sports, the company that manufactures, ships, and installs NCAA logo tournament courts? Such shabby, careless work. But the greater responsibility is clear from the passive stance of the NCAA's statements at the time of the revelations.
“The NCAA was notified today that the three-point lines on the court at the Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance,” the organization's statement said. “The court will be fixed in time for tomorrow's game in Portland. The NCAA regrets that this mistake was not discovered sooner.”
Have you been notified? Isn't the NCAA's job not to be informed, but to be aware?
That poorly painted court definitely distorted the players' shooting perspective and hurt their efficiency. According to the NCAA, through five games on the same court, each team shot 33 percent from the standard 3-point line, but only 26 percent from the shallow 3-point line. That's what it means. Does he have a 7% point advantage over the three? That's a big difference. And that almost undoubtedly influenced the final score.
please think about it. How did that affect the momentum and dynamic of the match? Timing was important. In the second half, the team had to attack in a less-than-optimal manner, which put them at a serious numerical disadvantage. It's definitely difficult to maintain a lead or complete a comeback, and such a gap in a close race is a gulf.
In the Sweet 16, Stanford led North Carolina State by 10 points after halftime, attacking with precision on that end of the floor. In the second half, Stanford made just 2 of 13 attempts from behind the shallow arc. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack soared, hitting 50 percent from the arc. Not taking anything away from the Wolfpack. they achieved victory. However, circumstances spoiled the result and it was unfair to everyone.
“You never know how much of an impact it's going to have on the team,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said in an emailed response to questions. “Missed shots, people getting frustrated, etc. Either way, it's cutting corners and a lack of accountability. When you go to the gym, make sure your lines are right and the basket is at the right height. Trust me, it doesn’t look good.”
It's long past time for the NCAA to take some measure of self-responsibility and fix the neglected and underfunded system that produces such amateur hour errors for what is becoming one of the most valuable and prestigious events.
