How NC State defeated Texas to advance to the Final Four

Wes Moore has finally got over the hump at NC State and is going to his first Division I Final Four. He's had some really good NC State teams. The 2021 and 2022 teams were both No. 1 seeds. The Wolfpack lost in the Sweet 16 in 2021 and in 2022 lost to UConn in the Elite Eight in double overtime. They lost in the first round of the tournament last year, reshaped the roster in the offseason, weren't even ranked in the preseason and got to this point led by a group of dangerous guards.

The Portland 4 all-tournament team includes Saniya Rivers, Aaliyah Moore, Shay Holle, Kiki Iriafen, and most outstanding player Aziaha James. No surprise here.

The Carolinas will have two representatives in the Final Four, as the NC State Wolfpack wrap up a 76-66 win over the Texas Longhorns here in Portland in a game that they controlled the whole way. Aziaha James led all scorers with 27 points.

NC State will play No. 1 South Carolina on Friday.

More to come.

Texas coach Vic Schaefer just pulled Shaylee Gonzales in a for a hug as the fifth-year senior steps off the court, presumably for the last time, as a Longhorn. Gonzales fouled out with 2:18 to play, and Baldwin's free throws put NC State up 70-60.

The court used at Portland’s Moda Center, one of the sites for the women’s NCAA Tournament Regionals, has dimension discrepancies for the 3-point line, according to the NCAA. The NCAA said that they were informed Sunday that the 3-point lines on the floor were “not the same distance.”

“The two head coaches were made aware of the discrepancy and elected to play a complete game on the court as is, rather than correcting the court and delaying the game,” the NCAA said in a statement.

The court will be adjusted before Monday’s Elite Eight matchup featuring UConn and USC, per the NCAA.

According to the ABC broadcast, the NCAA notified NC State coach Wes Moore and Texas coach Vic Schaefer at approximately 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. local time) of the issue. Moore and Schaefer went onto the floor during pregame shootaround to see the discrepancy, measuring out in steps the distance from the free-throw line to the top of the arc.

Following the coaches’ request, the NCAA measured from the baseline to the top of the 3-point line and discovered a discrepancy at one end of the court from the other, per the broadcast. Despite this, Moore and Schaefer agreed to play the game, avoiding lengthy delays.

Continue reading.

Sophomore Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda has given Texas a nice lift off the bench, with her block on Madison Hayes highlighting a 9-3 spurt that pulled the Longhorns within six. However, Texas is still down nine entering the fourth quarter because of an inexcusable defensive mistake, when over-help in the paint left Aziaha James open in the corner for her lone points of the period. NC State is up 57-48, ten minutes away from its second Final Four trip in program history. The first came in 1998.

Baylor coach Nicki Collen comments on the different 3-point lines:

Texas has kept Aziaha James off the board in the third quarter, as Shay Holle is essentially face-guarding the Wolfpack guard in the half court, but the Longhorns haven't cut into the halftime deficit midway through the third quarter. They're still down 12, and Shaylee Gonzales — who averaged 36.7 minutes per game in Big 12 play — has to sit with four fouls.

The statement from the NCAA on the 3-point line discrepancy in Portland:

"The NCAA was notified today that the 3-point lines on the court at Moda Center in Portland are not the same distance. The two head coaches were made aware of the discrepancy and 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 tomorrow’s game in Portland."

ESPN's Elle Duncan, on the ABC halftime show, said that teams shooting on the deeper side of the court are shooting 3 percent lower from deep than the other side.

USC and Connecticut play in Portland on Sunday.

About the only thing that has slowed Aziaha James is a stoppage to determine who to assign a third foul to for Texas near the end of the half. Otherwise, James is on a two-day-long heater, and Texas is lucky to be within 12 due to a couple missed bunnies from Saniya Rivers.

Whatever the 3-point distances are on the court, Aziaha James is having zero difficulty locking in from distance. She has scored 44 points over the last 17 minutes of game action, including eight 3-pointers in total. The Wolfpack are on a 17-2 run and lead by 17 with 3:14 to go in the half. Vic Schaefer and the Longhorns only have two timeouts remaining.

Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers are outscoring Texas by themselves. The duo have combined for 28 points and Texas has just 22 points with 3:14 left in the second quarter. James is nearly unstoppable right now making all five of her shots from deep. Texas coach Vic Schaefer is known for his defensive mind, he'll have to dig deep to slow down James and Rivers today.

A wide look at the court in Portland … where the distances between the top of the key and top of the 3-point line don't quite look the same.

At the end-of-quarter interview, NC State coach Wes Moore was asked about what he learned before the game regarding the 3-point line changes and said "they were measuring some things, that's all I want to say at this time."