On Sunday, those who tuned in to the Elite Eight clash between NC State women's basketball and Texas women's basketball witnessed a game that was played on a court with uneven measurements. In a statement released by the NCAA, it was made known that the three-point lines at the Moda Center in Portland were not of the same distance. The head coaches of the Longhorns and the Wolfpack knew about the issue but decided to continue the game anyway, as opposed to waiting for a correction and delaying the outing. (per ESPN's Pete Thamel)
NC State would go on to claim the 76-66 victory, but the flawed measurements continued to be a topic of discussion after the final buzzer. During the postgame press conference, Texas head coach Vic Schaefer voiced his thoughts on the matter.
“I hate to say this, but I have a lot of colleagues that would say, ‘Only in women's basketball,'” Schaefer said, via The Sporting News. “It's a shame…really…that it even happened. But it is what it is.”
What makes the issue even more concerning is how Moda Center already hosted four Sweet 16 games prior to Sunday's matchup. While the league did mention that the court would be fixed ahead of Monday's game, the entire ordeal made people speculate if there would have been differences in previous results had the measurements been noticed much earlier.
NC State takes down Texas on Sunday
Nevertheless, mismatched downtown lines didn't pose an issue to the Wolfpack on Sunday. Led by Aziaha James' hot shooting, NC State used a fiery first half to book their ticket to the Final Four.
James sank seven three-pointers en route to a 27-point outing. All in all, the Wolfpack made their presence felt from downtown, shooting 9-0f-18 (50%) from deep as a team.
James swished five of her seven threes in the first half to give NC State a 12-point lead entering the third quarter. The team managed to maintain a comfortable cushion until the final quarter, where Texas cut the deficit to seven points with 4:42 remaining. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, James would respond with her final three to bring the lead back up to 10. NC State would make sure to keep a safe distance until the game's conclusion.
Looking ahead, NC State now faces Kamilla Cardoso and undefeated South Carolina in the Final Four.
Can NC State basketball win in both the women's and men's tournaments?
It's been quite a March Madness run for the NC State teams. Besides the women's squad, the men's team just defeated Duke to put themselves in the Final Four as well. Throughout NCAA history, only one school has managed to win both the men's and women's National Championships in the same year: UConn. The Huskies did just that in 2004 and 2014.
Now, the Wolfpack is close to achieving the same feat. Both teams have two more games each, but it won't be smooth sailing. As mentioned, NC State women's basketball will be facing South Carolina, who are arguably the most dominant team in the NCAA this season. On the other side, LSU, Iowa, USC and UCONN are all vying for a Final Four appearance.
As for the men's team, their Final Four opponent is none other than Purdue, who are led by the towering Zach Edey. Assuming the Wolfpack somehow make it past the Boilermakers, either UConn or Alabama will await them in the finals.
All things considered, NC State has defied the odds again and again. And as underdogs in the final four, they'll have more motivation to surprise the doubters once more.