Big 12 Tournament ditches LED glass court after complaints
The Big 12 will switch back to a regular hardwood court for the rest of its men’s basketball tournament after many complaints about the LED glass floor.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark issued this statement shortly after TCU lost to Kansas 78-73 in Thursday’s last quarterfinal:
“After consultation with the coaches of our four Semifinal teams, I have decided that in order to provide our student-athletes with the greatest level of comfort on a huge stage this weekend, we will transition to a hardwood court for the remainder of the Tournament. We look forward to a great Semifinals and Championship Game.”
No. 1 seed Arizona will face No. 5 Iowa State in the first semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by No. 2 Houston vs. No. 3 Kansas at 8:30 p.m.
The LED floor provided eye-catching graphics, but some players complained about slippery footing, creating fears of injury. The women’s Big 12 Tournament was completed on the same LED floor last week despite some complaints. No major injuries were recorded.
Kansas coach Bill Self agreed with the decision to switch back to hardwood.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “I didn’t notice us slipping as much, I didn’t think it was as big a deal, but if you study it and watch the games throughout the day, it seemed to me there were a lot of steps that ended up sliding one or two inches. It just didn’t look quite as clean. I’m excited that the talk tomorrow will be about the semifinals as opposed to the court.”
In the news conference after the TCU game, Self asked Kansas players Flory Bidunga and Darryn Peterson if the court affected them, and they said no.
Star-Telegram reporter Steven Johnson contributed to this story.
