Big 12 Ditches LED Glass Court for Hardwood at Men's CBB Tournament over Injury Concerns

The Big 12's attempt to experiment with an LED court for this week's conference tournament has come to an end after three days.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark (h/t ESPN's Tim Bontemps) announced on Friday that they will install a traditional court for the final two days of games:

"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."

As ESPN's Scott Van Pelt pointed out on SportsCenter, there were growing injury concerns stemming from players slipping on the glass LED surface:

The conference announced earlier in the year that it would be installing the specialty court for this year's tournament at T-Mobile Center.

Even though the aesthetics of the court were unique and different, players and coaches expressed concern primarily about the inability to get traction on it.

Kansas State's Taj Manning described the court as "pretty bad" and the lights caused one of his teammates to get a headache after his team's loss to BYU on Tuesday:

"It's slippery. The lights and stuff caused (Kansas State forward Khamari McGriff) to get a migraine. It's a bad floor, they shouldn't bring it back, if you want my honest opinion ... It's just an eyesore, it's constantly changing and stuff. With flashing different lights and all that. Nobody wants to play on that thing, just want the normal hardwood."

Arizona State's Allen Mukeba also said he got a migrane and the lights were "messing up with my head."

There were previously concerns raised about the court last week during the women's tournament that was also held at T-Mobile Arena.

Semifinal play at the Big 12 men's tournament will take place on Friday. Arizona will take on Iowa State in the opener at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Houston vs. Kansas at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The winners will play in the championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.