NCAA unveils court design for 2017 Final Four

The NCAA Tournament officially tips off this week, which means that we are now officially in the throes of March Madness. While you’re busy setting up your bracket, the teams involved are going to be busy trying to figure out how they’re going to make their way to Arizona for this year’s Final Four.

Speaking of the Final Four, this year’s edition will be held at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The road to the Final Four ends in the desert, and the court design for this year’s event has a rustic look that would remind you of the desert.

The court design is very similar to the courts that we’ve seen the NCAA come up with for their most recent Final Four events. Other than the center court logo, there isn’t much paint in between the lines, and there’s more of a reliance on parts of the court being stained in a different shade than using actual color to distinguish particular areas.

Instead, the unique design elements are relegated to the sidelines and baselines. Again, I’m guessing that they were going with a desert motif with this particular design, so the result is a barebones-looking court that reminds me of, well, a desert. If that’s what they were going for, then I guess that they succeeded.

But what do you all think of this year’s Final Four court? Where does this rank in your mind when it comes to the court designs from the past?