Oakland vs Illinois: men’s game, women’s ball?
For 7 minutes, officials couldn't tell the difference
Normally this site tries to give you information or background into something people are or will be talking about, but this time around, we found something interesting that won’t exactly make front page headlines but is worth mentioning. If anything, YOU can start the conversation out with this trivial anecdote.
Last night, Oakland played Illinois in a men’s college basketball game. Despite a few complaints from players, it took a full 7 minutes of playing before the referees realized that they were using a women’s basketball! Officials made the switch to a regulation size ball and Illinois went on to win the game (they were trailing 15-6 before the ball switch). For those unfamiliar with basketballs, the women’s size is about an inch smaller and two ounces lighter. Any basketball player can recognize the difference immediately.
We don’t like to just repost stories at Dinner Topics, so to give you a little more understanding of the story, it’s important to note that the inch difference between basketball sizes refers to the circumference, not the diameter. Women’s balls measure close to 28.5 inches in circumference while the men’s ball is closer to 29.5 inches. I was hoping to find some history about the origin of the smaller women’s ball (I don’t recall it being around forever), but I can find any documented source, so feel free to make it up as you go along!
Read on:
CBSSports.com – Illinois wins, first 7 minutes played with women’s ball
NBCSports.com – The night a men’s game played with a women’s ball
(image above from articlesbase.com)
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