The Arizona basketball team is in the Big 12 tournament championship game after defeating Iowa State on Friday. The Big 12 had decided to change the court before the league's semi-final games. After using a LED glass floor for the tournament's first few days, the Big 12 changed back to hardwood.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd gave credit to the league for making the change.
“Tommy Lloyd gave credit to (Big 12 commissioner) Brett Yormark postgame for having the “cajones” to try something new, then go back to the hardwood,” The Field of 68's Sam Lance posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Added the balls were over inflated yesterday because of the floor.”
Lloyd said the change back to hardwood helped make for a very competitive game, between Arizona and Iowa State on Friday. Arizona won the game after Jaden Bradley hit a buzzer-beater.
“It allowed for a platform for a beautiful basketball game to happen tonight,” Lloyd said.
Arizona plays Houston on Saturday in the Big 12 tournament final. Houston defeated Kansas in the other semi-final.
The Big 12 decided to change the court after complaints about injuries
The LED glass floor was used for the recent Big 12 women's conference tournament. The floor didn't last long though during the men's tournament.
“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,” commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement after the quarterfinals concluded, per ESPN. “We look forward to a great Semifinals and Championship Game.”
Big 12 players said the glass floor made it hard for them to keep a grip on the court. There were slipping issues. An injury also occurred when Texas Tech star Christian Anderson went down in a quarterfinal game against Iowa State.
“Obviously the floor is a bit slippery, so I think I just kind of misstepped or did a movement that caused me to slip and kind of ended up in a little unnatural position,” Anderson said. “That's what it was.”
The Big 12 championship is Saturday night at 6:00 ET.
