As the Big 12 Conference Tournament has been taking place, a number of complaints have been aired about the LED court surface teams have been playing on in the tournament. After many complaints and significant player injuries, the conference leadership has ordered the LED court to go away.
Big 12 Conference Drops LED Court Amid Player Complaints
On Thursday, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark issued a statement indicating the changes were going to be made ahead of Friday’s action. One specific injury instigated these talks.
Texas Tech Red Raiders star Christian Anderson suffered a strained groin after slipping on the ASB glass floor in a game against Iowa State. “It’s slick,” Anderson said after the Red Raiders’ 75-53 loss. “It was pretty slippery. I just slipped and extended and got put in a position that was a little unnatural.”
University of Houston and Big 12 reporter Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle posted Yormark’s statement in a post on X.
“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 his statement.
He added, “We look forward to a great Semifinals and Championship Game.”
Official statement from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark:
“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…— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) March 13, 2026
A number of players have aired their grievances about playing on the Big 12’s tournament court.
“It’s pretty bad, to be honest,” Kansas State forward Taj Manning told reporters. “It’s slippery. The lights and stuff caused Khamari (McGriff) to get a migraine. It’s a bad floor, they shouldn’t bring it back… Nobody wants to play on that thing, just want the normal hardwood.”
“It’s nice,” BYU center Keba Keita said. “It’s cool. Good-looking court. But I don’t know how I feel about playing on it.”
Media Reaction to Big 12 Court Switch
When news of the Big 12 Conference making this switch started making the rounds in the NCAA world, many people had reactions to it. Pat Forde, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, posted on X about the court switch and added a comment from Kansas head coach Bill Self.
The Big 12 announced it is switching back to a wood floor for the remainder of the tournament.
Bill Self: “I think it’s the right thing to do.”
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 13, 2026
“The Big 12 announced it is switching back to a wood floor for the remainder of the tournament,” Forde wrote. “Bill Self: ‘I think it’s the right thing to do.'”
Jeff Goodman, basketball analyst and co-founder of the “Field of 68,” shared a post on X where the court was being taken up. Goodman wrote, “The floor is already being replaced. Good. Riddance.”
The floor is already being replaced.
Good. Riddance. pic.twitter.com/hiCBR0odZL
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 13, 2026
CBB Kings’ account on X also posted Yormark’s statement and added, “BREAKING: The Big 12 is getting rid of their glass court overnight and replacing it with a real court for the remainder of the tournament.”
BREAKING: The Big 12 is getting rid of their glass court overnight and replacing it with a real court for the remainder of the tournament 🙌 pic.twitter.com/iXcVRKkwbV
— CBB Kings (@CBBKings) March 13, 2026
Harold R. Kuntz, sports anchor at Fox4 News Kansas City, shared his thoughts on X about the move: “Big 12 announced they’re going to hardwood and the KU players just heard while we’re in the Locker Room. Shocked but relieved, to say the least.”
Matt Grossenbach, a former assistant coach at Mary Baldwin University who calls himself a “Mid-major & small college basketball enjoyer” on X, had some pointed thoughts on the LED court and its use in the Big 12 Tournament. Grossenbach posted on X, “This is absolutely brutal for the company showcasing their glass court through the Big 12 tournament. Hopefully that’s the end of this experiment in college basketball.”
Longtime college basketball writer and columnist Dick Weiss, who is in the National Sportswriters Hall of Fame and a previous winner of the Curt Gowdy Award, posted on X: “big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has seen the future and it is not led glass floors. conference will switch back to hardwood overnight for semis and finals.”
ESPN’s SportsCenter account on X shared a clip of SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt breaking the news about the Big 12’s decision on Thursday night.
The Big 12 is getting rid of the LED glass court 👀
(via @PeteThamel) pic.twitter.com/oR5C4lZQzF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 13, 2026
Frank Kaminsky III, who won National College Player of the Year honors in 2015 when he played for Wisconsin, was not a fan of what the Big 12 did regarding the LED court before the tournament started. Kaminsky shared his thoughts in a post on X.
“Turning the floor into a glass Jumbotron is not something you test out during the conference tournament with NCAA tournament implications,” Kaminsky wrote. “1st team all stupid decision. Somebody needs to go to jail for this. 200k (guess) totally wasted too. Dumb!”
So, it’s goodbye LED court and hello old-fashioned hardwood, the way college basketball was meant to be played.
