NCAA Tournament Floors

[fufkin]

Judging from some photos I've seen, it looks as if the standardized floors used in the Regional Semis and Finals will be used at some First and Second Round locations. I'm guessing that unless the floor is permanently affixed (i.e. Dayton), the generic floor will be used.

Greensboro and Portland are definitely using the standardized floor (Black baselines and sidelines, NCAA logo at center court).

[SmoothieX]

Do they have the annoying non-painted paint are this year?

[BBTV]

The other day they showed the crew putting down the huge "NCAA" decal on the center of the Wachovia Center floor. I was surprised to see how many pieces the decal was - it must be hard to line all of them up perfectly.

Couldn't see the lane or baselines... for Villanova games, they just put stickers over the Sixers wordmarks (which looks incredibly crappy FWIW.)

[Brauny1280]

All the sites I've seen so far (KC, Philly, & Greensboro) all have the same court design. Black sideline, big NCAA logo at midcourt. NCAA wordmark insed 3pt arc, patriotic ribbons and host logos (Big XII, SJU & ACC) just inside mid-court line. Except for Philadelphia, they all have a non-painted "paint" area. Philly also has the NBA "box" and 3pt line.

On another note... Does anyone else think that the Final Four logo completely sucks this year? The "tire" is horrible. For a while I thought it was a hockey puck. The logo has a cold feeling to me. Whether it be the dark colors or blue flames, I am not sure.

[Yac12]

The host logos seem smaller than last year.

I miss when the courts all looked different. I looked forward to seeing the different courts every year.

I don't like that you can see that they taped over the NBA 3 pt line in Philadelphia.

On the positive side, it is nice that the courts so far only have the NCAA men's 3 pt line.

[gingerbreadmann]

Edit: Unintended post.

[saturn93]

Portland also will have the standardized floor.

I thought I saw this in the USA Today online, but I think Boise will also have the standardized floor for tomorrow's games. I think the others will have their normal courts. I don't know what Miami is going to bring, whether it is the Heat's court, or a different court with the college markings.

Personally, I despise the new standardized floors all together. I'm just wondering how those with Mega March Madness watching on the Mix station is doing. If it weren't for the endlines, conference/school logo, and whatever is on the scorer's table, it would look exactly the same.

Here's what I think they should do...

1) If no center court logo or sponsored arena logo/wording (due to the limited use of the arena name during the tournament), have the NCAA logo on center court.

2) If logo, especially if it goes past the center circle, leave it alone.

or...

Have the arena send a photo of the court and have it replicated with the NCAA markings, so they could have them without the slippage they had last year.

I don't know if anyone noticed this, but on the standardized courts (I got the game in Greensboro now (12:54 PM), on the opposite sideline (closest to the camera shots), there is "THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR" in white. You can see it from the behind the basket shots.

[vikmurphy]

I think it's dumb every game looks the same it takes the uniqueness away from the floors

[BRice16]

I think it's dumb every game looks the same it takes the uniqueness away from the floors

That's the idea. The NCAA wants it to be as neutral and bland as possible.

[Yac12]

I think it's dumb every game looks the same it takes the uniqueness away from the floors

That's the idea. The NCAA wants it to be as neutral and bland as possible.

They have become bland for women's volleyball. The last two Final Fours have basically had the same logo. A change to the year and the host city was about it. They also used to have the SportCourt surface in different colors each year. The last 3 or 4 years the court has been blue with a gray outlining the court.

[blueclad]

I was at KU's public workout this afternoon in Minneapolis. The Metrodome will have maroon baselines and paint with yellow lettering.

[Cuse2000]

Jack Carey had the story in the USA Today a few weeks back.

Vinyl logos in NCAA tournament slip-sliding away

The main reason is to get rid of all the temporary vinyl floor logos they put down on existing courts. Even in the Big East Tournament, you saw players slipping on the center court logo, and Jay Bilas spoke about how much the coaches hated them.

I can only guess that personalized paint jobs on each floor would be cost prohibitive to use year after year.

Watching four different games on MMOD, however, was a major pain in the rear. Especially with the Wachovia Center floor being so similar to the NCAA design.

[The_Admiral]

It's not the same without the Greensboro Coliseum's gaudy sea foam green/purple court. I love that someone thought that was a good idea.

[Cuse2000]

Portland also will have the standardized floor.

I thought I saw this in the USA Today online, but I think Boise will also have the standardized floor for tomorrow's games. I think the others will have their normal courts. I don't know what Miami is going to bring, whether it is the Heat's court, or a different court with the college markings.

Personally, I despise the new standardized floors all together. I'm just wondering how those with Mega March Madness watching on the Mix station is doing. If it weren't for the endlines, conference/school logo, and whatever is on the scorer's table, it would look exactly the same.

Here's what I think they should do...

1) If no center court logo or sponsored arena logo/wording (due to the limited use of the arena name during the tournament), have the NCAA logo on center court.

2) If logo, especially if it goes past the center circle, leave it alone.

or...

Have the arena send a photo of the court and have it replicated with the NCAA markings, so they could have them without the slippage they had last year.

I don't know if anyone noticed this, but on the standardized courts (I got the game in Greensboro now (12:54 PM), on the opposite sideline (closest to the camera shots), there is "THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR" in white. You can see it from the behind the basket shots.

The floor in Miami will be the Heat's floor with the NCAA vinyl sticker at center court.

http://photos.syracuse.com/gallery/4456/Sy...NCAA%20Practice

http://photos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2...practice_4.html

Didn't see the near sideline writing. The biggest disappointment I have in these floors has been the word "Basketball" on the far sideline.

Also, found an interresting read from Greensboro about the NCAA trying to make all tourney venues look consistent.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/features/arti...2&catid=216

[dennisbergan]

Absolutely HATE the standardized floors.

You wanna use a standardized, lame "NCAA floor" at the Final 4? Go for it. But, not for every site throughout the tournament.

Every game, in every arena, looks the same. Its terrible.

The Rose Garden in Portland should have its own unique look, from the UD Arena, in Dayton.

Throw in the INTERMINABLE amount of time-outs, and half-empty, no-atmosphere arenas, and its tough to stay into these games, no matter how close they are.

[dfwabel]

Absolutely HATE the standardized floors.

You wanna use a standardized, lame "NCAA floor" at the Final 4? Go for it. But, not for every site throughout the tournament.

Every game, in every arena, looks the same. Its terrible.

The Rose Garden in Portland should have its own unique look, from the UD Arena, in Dayton.

Throw in the INTERMINABLE amount of time-outs, and half-empty, no-atmosphere arenas, and its tough to stay into these games, no matter how close they are.

I disagree. I really like the standard floor (for today). The nobody complains about soccer pitches during Champions League, so why complain about 12 hours of television coverage. Wait, most don't watch soccer. It is about the game and drama, not the floor graphics.

The "under 16, under-12..." timesout are a product of TV around for two decades. Not a full house + the economy and those who prepaid for seats could not attend or sold to others who could not attend or flip. Greensboro, Miami and Minneapolis are the only three sites yet to sell out as of March 1. Greensboro is the second-largest venue among this year?s eight early-round sites, behind only the Metrodome in Minneapolis, which holds about 39,000 fans.

Nice touch with Coca-Cola with "Vitamin Water" coolers as opposed to PowerAde. Nice touch to appeal to the youth of America who may have spent time on spring break.

[cheo25]

Absolutely HATE the standardized floors.

You wanna use a standardized, lame "NCAA floor" at the Final 4? Go for it. But, not for every site throughout the tournament.

Every game, in every arena, looks the same. Its terrible.

The Rose Garden in Portland should have its own unique look, from the UD Arena, in Dayton.

Throw in the INTERMINABLE amount of time-outs, and half-empty, no-atmosphere arenas, and its tough to stay into these games, no matter how close they are.

I disagree. I really like the standard floor (for today). The nobody complains about soccer pitches during Champions League, so why complain about 12 hours of television coverage. Wait, most don't watch soccer. It is about the game and drama, not the floor graphics.

The "under 16, under-12..." timesout are a product of TV around for two decades. Not a full house + the economy and those who prepaid for seats could not attend or sold to others who could not attend or flip. Greensboro, Miami and Minneapolis are the only three sites yet to sell out as of March 1. Greensboro is the second-largest venue among this year’s eight early-round sites, behind only the Metrodome in Minneapolis, which holds about 39,000 fans.

Nice touch with Coca-Cola with "Vitamin Water" coolers as opposed to PowerAde. Nice touch to appeal to the youth of America who may have spent time on spring break.

I wish someone would clue in the NCAA to the fact that black and blue don't complement each other well, and that the wordmarks on the baselines are hard to read. If they're going to insist on making the baselines look as if they were drawn in a room with no lights, at least put a white outline around the wordmarks.

[Yac12]

Absolutely HATE the standardized floors.

You wanna use a standardized, lame "NCAA floor" at the Final 4? Go for it. But, not for every site throughout the tournament.

Every game, in every arena, looks the same. Its terrible.

The Rose Garden in Portland should have its own unique look, from the UD Arena, in Dayton.

Throw in the INTERMINABLE amount of time-outs, and half-empty, no-atmosphere arenas, and its tough to stay into these games, no matter how close they are.

I disagree. I really like the standard floor (for today). The nobody complains about soccer pitches during Champions League, so why complain about 12 hours of television coverage. Wait, most don't watch soccer. It is about the game and drama, not the floor graphics.

The "under 16, under-12..." timesout are a product of TV around for two decades. Not a full house + the economy and those who prepaid for seats could not attend or sold to others who could not attend or flip. Greensboro, Miami and Minneapolis are the only three sites yet to sell out as of March 1. Greensboro is the second-largest venue among this year?s eight early-round sites, behind only the Metrodome in Minneapolis, which holds about 39,000 fans.

Nice touch with Coca-Cola with "Vitamin Water" coolers as opposed to PowerAde. Nice touch to appeal to the youth of America who may have spent time on spring break.

I wish someone would clue in the NCAA to the fact that black and blue don't complement each other well, and that the wordmarks on the baselines are hard to read. If they're going to insist on making the baselines look as if they were drawn in a room with no lights, at least put a white outline around the wordmarks.

They also need to make the host logos bigger. It was difficult to see the Oregon logo even in High Def.

[saturn93]

It's not the same without the Greensboro Coliseum's gaudy sea foam green/purple court. I love that someone thought that was a good idea.

Same thing with Boise without the dual colored area outside the paint, but inside of the three point line.

[Cuse2000]

Taking a second look at the floor in Miami, it isn't the Heat's floor at all. They use black baselines and sidelines, with a red and yellow key. The floor down for the Syracuse game this afternoon had red baselines and sidelines with a natural key outlined in black. Also, no NBA lines were down on the court.

The biggest design difference between this floor and the NCAA standard floor, aside from color, was the lack of any wordmarks on the baseline or sidelines, and the addition of "American Airlines Arena" underneath the logo of the host college, FIU.

Could this be an old court of the Heat that they keep around for college basketball? I seem to remember the Meadowlands doing this with an old Nets court for Seton Hall and the NCAA tournament.