On Sunday, the NCAA revealed that the 3-point lines at the Moda Center in Portland — where Stanford lost to NC State last Friday — were not at the same distance on each side of the court. For four tournament games over a two-day span, it went unnoticed that the apex of one of the 3-point arcs was nine inches shorter than the other. It was not until moments before the Elite Eight matchup between NC State and Texas that the faulty 3-point lines were detected, but both teams agreed to play instead of delaying the game.

In a statement to ESPN and other media outlets, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer lambasted the NCAA for the error.

“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,” VanDerveer wrote.  “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.”

The NCAA apologized for the blunder and the amount of time it went unnoticed. Immediately following the NC State-Texas game, the 3-point lines were positioned appropriately. All other courts being used in the tournament were also inspected and found to have the correct measurements, according to a statement from the NCAA. 

After shooting 2-of-7 in the first half from the shorter and incorrect 3-point line, the Wolfpack went on to shoot 5-of-10 from the correct line in the second half to complete their double-digit comeback against the Cardinal. While the games cannot be replayed, Stanford fans will likely wonder how the game would have turned out if the lines were not mismatched.