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The semifinals and finals the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament will be played on hardwood, because glass does not appear to be working out.
The conference announced Thursday it will be abandoning its much-ballyhooed glass LED court for the remaining three games of its conference tournament, the same day Texas Tech star Christian Anderson left his team’s quarterfinal game with an injury from slipping on it.
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Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s statement:
“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.”
That statement is a massive about-face after Yormark’s previous days as the glass court’s biggest cheerleader. Just after Anderson’s injury, Yormark went on ESPN and described the court as “the future,” while saying the conference did its due diligence about a court that has been in use for two EuroLeague teams since 2024:
“Any time you innovate, you never get 100% buy-in,” Yormark said, repeating his sentiment from his pre-tournament press conference. “I like where we are. Obviously, it’s all about the student-athlete’s safety, first and foremost. We did a lot of due diligence with ASB from Europe.
“It’s FIBA certified, it’s used in EuroLeague, and it’s used in other parts of the world as well. We’re excited to be the first, and we’re looking forward to the next couple of days.”
The glass LED court was intended to be the Big 12’s signature splash, giving the conference the ability to effortlessly change its logos and introduce in-game effects like part of the court shattering after a dunk.
The players on the court weren’t so positive. While the glass is finished in a way to mimic the tackiness of hardwood, players and coaches repeatedly complained about how it…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/big-12-abandons-conference-tournaments-glass-led-court-after-texas-tech-stars-injury-goes-back-to-hardwood-050724850.html
Author : Jack Baer
Publish date : 2026-03-13 05:07:00
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