The gimmick is over.
The Big 12 Conference was met with skepticism as soon as it introduced the high-tech glass basketball court and announced it was to be used at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City for the women's and men's conference tournaments.
The technology was cool, but gameplay and player safety should undoubtedly be favored over flashy gimmicks that try to catch eyeballs.
That skepticism - coming throughout the two weeks of tournaments play - has finally reached a breaking point with the conference.
Commissioner Brett Yormark announced Thursday evening that the event will revert to a traditional hardwood playing surface for the two men's semifinal games and the championship this weekend. The entire women's tournament and most of the men's had taken place on the glass, and numerous teams expressed concerns about player safety.
For Texas Tech, that concern translated into injury scares in their quarterfinal bout with Iowa State on Thursday.
With under nine minutes to play, Red Raiders starters LeJuan Watts (ankle) and Christian Anderson (groin) both went down and were ruled out for the remainder of the game. These specific injuries, however, likely wouldn't have done much to dictate the final outcome as the Cyclones coasted to a 75-53 win.
"I'm feeling good," Anderson said postgame. "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. That's what it was."
Thankfully, Anderson and Watts are not expected to miss time with injury in the NCAA Tournament.
The ASB GlassFloor features a high-tech LED display that can project graphics, statistics, and advertisements directly onto the court. It is all controlled via a handheld device.
While visually impressive, players and coaches acknowledged the surface feels different from traditional hardwood. That has ultimately led to Yormark making a switch mere hours before the next game day.
"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," Yormark said in a statement. "We look forward to a great Semifinals and Championship Game."
No. 5-seed Iowa State is set to face top-seed Arizona after both teams enjoyed blowout wins prior. The other semifinal features No. 2-seed Houston and No. 3-seed Kansas.
Jayhawks coach and respected veteran perspective Bill Self was careful not to bash the court's makeup following his team's quarterfinal win, but his relief is notable in the reaction to Yormark's decision for a change.
"I think it's the right thing to do," Self said. "The narrative [Friday] needs to be about the two games and not somebody slipping on the floor."
"I don't think the court was as good as we're used to, but I didn't think it was awful. I thought it was probably not perfect, but not awful," he added. "But with guys, if there's a chance anybody's going to slide or slip, I think the league is smart — the commissioner is smart — to make sure that's not the story."
For the Red Raiders, they just wish this change could have come a round earlier.
