KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 announced late Thursday night that they would be swapping out the LED glass floor with a normal hardwood for the rest of the Men's Basketball Tournament at the T-Mobile Center.
In a statement, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark says it came after consultation with coaches of the Semifinal teams.
“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,” Yormark said.
“I personally didn’t have any involvement (in the decision to go to hardwood),” Kansas coach Bill Self said after the Jayhawks beat TCU 78-73 on Thursday night in the last game played on the glass floor. “If the other coaches are doing it, (they) have juice and they got more than I got because I didn’t have any any involvement with that at all.”
Self then added, “I think it’s the right thing to do.”
The glass court made its debut for the women's tournament last week at the T-Mobile Center.
ASB GlassFloor, a German-based manufacturer that specializes in sports flooring, is the company behind the court.
The glass floor got mixed reviews from players, with the biggest difference being the traction.
“I will say it was a little slippery in some areas,” Kansas women's player Elle Evans admitted.
Numerous players have slipped when trying to plant.
On Thursday, Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson strained a muscle slipping in the Red Raiders' 75-63 loss to No. 7 Iowa State.
“Obviously, the floor is a bit slippery," Anderson said. “I think I just kind of misstepped or did a movement that caused me to slip.”
KU men's basketball player Darryn Peterson said Thursday the glass court didn't really bother him. Self added that he didn't really notice the players slipping as much, but said some steps seemed to slid "one or two inches" during the games Thursday.
While Self noted the glass court looked cool, he went on to say he was "excited that the talk tomorrow (Friday) will be about the semifinals as opposed to the court."
The Semifinals of the men's tournament begins Friday night.
No. 5 Iowa State will play No. 1 Arizona at 6 p.m., and No. 3 Kansas will play No. 2 Houston at 8:30 p.m.
The winners of those games will play in the championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday.
—
