Seen and heard in KC: On Kharchenkov's glass experience, Chief celebs and waiting for San Diego

After all, if an Arizona-based fan could only choose one postseason weekend to attend, would it be Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament … or San Diego, where the Wildcats are all but locked into playing next week as the West Region’s No. 1 seed?

“I think our fans all waited to buy tickets,” Lloyd said Thursday. “They all assume that we're going to San Diego. They're making a lot of assumptions now, and they've saved all their money. I just didn't feel like we had a great presence in the arena today.”

On Friday, when Arizona was scheduled to play Iowa State, empty seats weren't expected to be a problem for the Wildcats as much as seats full ... of Cyclone fans.

Like Arizona used to have with a “McKale North” atmosphere at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, Iowa State enjoys what’s known as “Hilton South” at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center, which is about a three-hour drive from Ames and Des Moines, Iowa.

In Las Vegas, “we were Iowa State. We were Kansas. So it obviously feels really different for us now,” Lloyd said. “But listen, it's what we signed up for, so there's no complaints. I'm not going to be bitter towards Iowa State fans or Kansas fans for coming to support their team. It's not an easy haul to get from Tucson to Kansas City.”

Well, Arizona as an institution signed up for it, anyway. The school had little choice when the Pac-12 imploded in 2023, with the Big Ten having ripped out its Pacific Coast core, leaving UA, ASU, Colorado and Utah to jump in the Big 12’s lifeboat starting with the 2024-25 season.

That meant traveling through the Big 12 during conference play, and Kansas City at the end for the conference tournament.

“Would I want this in Vegas? Yeah, 100% I would,” Lloyd said of the Big 12 Tournament. “But you know what? I didn't ask to be in the Big 12. We got put in the Big 12. I didn't have any input on it, but I love being in the Big 12.

“So if they tell me we're going to play in Kansas City, we're loading up the plane and going to Kansas City. We're not going to sit there and overthink it. You guys can do all that stuff or have another coach give you opinions on what he would want. I just want to get on the floor and try to kick ass and play 40 minutes. That's it."

Glass slippers

Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov brought a scouting report to the Big 12 Tournament that none of his teammates or coaches could duplicate.

He’s the only guy who had played on the German-designed glass floor similar to the one the Big 12 used through Thursday, doing so last season at the home arena of his Bayern Munich club. 

However, Kharchenkov mostly kept the knowledge to himself.

“They didn’t even know I played on it,” Kharchenkov said of his teammates. “I told them, and they’re like 'How did you like it?' I said 'I like it a lot, especially because it doesn’t have stickers.'”

Stickers? Kharchenkov said there were lots of logo stickers on the floor at his games in Germany, while the glass floor conveniently has a consistent playing surface, with only the LED backlights throwing up graphics.

"I don’t know if it’s a European thing or whatever, but stickers are horrible,” Kharchenkov said. “They just don't have the grip. You slide above the sticker, and then you get traction with the floor again. It's really dangerous.”

That’s one upside to note of a floor that received mixed reviews over both aethestics and safety, ultimately resulting in the Big 12's decision to replace it with a standard hardwood floor for Friday's semifinals and Saturday's championship game. While some players noted that the floor had more grip, there were some complaints that it was slippery.

Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson didn’t even really have to put it in words, spreading apart and injuring a muscle when he slipped in the Red Raiders’ loss to Iowa State on Thursday.

“Obviously, the floor is a bit slippery,” Anderson said later, according to the Kansas City Star. “I just kind of misstepped or did a move that caused me to slip and kind of ended up in an unnatural position.”

But at least through UA's first game Thursday, guard Brayden Burries said it mostly just took some getting used to it during warmups, finding it only bothered him when he shot free throws.

“If you're shooting a free throw and you're on the other side, the LED lights get in your eyes a little bit,” Burries said. “But ain't no big deal, really.”

After Thursday's four games were completed, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark announced the glass floor was out.

"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," he said in a statement. 

Chief celebs

There isn’t as much celebrity and glamour around the Big 12 Tournament as there often was at the old Pac-12 Tournaments, but there was a splash of local celebrity flavor during the week when Chiefs coach Andy Reid sat on the sidelines and quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in the stands.

Mahomes played for Texas Tech while Reid was an offensive tackle at BYU who started his coaching career there under legendary former BYU coach LaVell Edwards.

"I dapped coach Reid before the game. He's a great guy,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I've been able to chat with him a little since I've taken this job. It was awesome seeing him courtside."

BYU standout freshman AJ Dybantsa said he also greeted Reid after the Cougars’ second-round win over West Virginia, though he said he didn’t know Mahomes was also there.

Teammate Kennard Davis said he knew even less.

“I didn't see either one,” Davis said. “I was locked in.”

KC rallies

Arizona tried making a home away from home for Wildcat fans in downtown Kansas City.

Before the Wildcats’ first game Thursday, the school’s alumni association hosted a late morning pep rally across the street from T-Mobile Center in the Power Light district.

Fans were also invited to a pregame meetup at the KC Hooley House, an Irish pub inside the Power and Light District.

Veesaar honored

While Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas and Koa Peat dropped off the watch lists for their respective Naismith positional awards this week, former UA big man Henri Veesaar was one of five players named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul Jabbar award for the top center in college basketball.

Having transferred to North Carolina after last season, Veesaar is averaging 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game for the Tar Heels. Others named to the finalist list of centers were Florida’s Alex Condon, Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, Kansas’ Flory Bidunga, and St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor.

Krivas had been listed on a midseason watch list of 10 centers for the award, while Peat was one of 10 on the midseason Karl Malone power forward list.