Changes coming to Matt Court

Oregon's court didn't exactly draw rave reviews when it debuted back in January.

The brightness of the court is blinding on an HD TV. The glare from the ribbon board is not only visible, it changes colors. And the trees? Yeah.

But the biggest complaint had to do with the half court line -- you can't see it. The players, the refs, the fans in the arena and watching on TV. And it cost Creighton fans the CBI title (jump to the 1:10 mark):



Creighton's leading scorer Antoine Young committed a back court violation with 17.2 seconds left in a tie game. On the ensuing possession, Oregon's EJ Singler hit a shot with two seconds left to give Oregon the title. Needless to say, Creighton fans were not happy.

Well, according to Ron Bellamy of the Register-Guard, change is in the wind ... err, on the court:

The surface of Matt Knight Arena has been refinished, with a single three-point line, to reflect the fact that the women have moved back to the men's distance of 20 feet, 9 inches. And, lo and behold, there is now a mid-court line that can actually be seen, sort of. It's two shades of brown, to match the floor design, and stops at either end of the "O" in the middle of the floor, but it's actually one that's visible without standing directly on top of it. It should satisfy the critics of last season's near-invisible line that actually led to a key Creighton turnover in Oregon's win in the CBI.

Who would have thought that being able to see half court was important in basketball?

(h/t the latest Atlien to return home)