Home court advantage; where does it come from? Do fans matter?

[PimpMario]

I was thinking about this last night after reading the board a lot.  People seem to think that since we are playing well recently and we are a "home court" team that wins against Penn State and Purdue are foregone conclusions.  

 

So I started thinking about the concept of home court advantage where the advantage comes from.

 

First I thought about this team.  We are 11-1 at home.  But really we are more like 5-1 at home because aside from the Miami game all of our home non con games were against 150+ RPI teams.  Miami is 111 so it is not like they are exactly setting the world on fire.  But still we are 4-1 in top 100 RPI teams and that is pretty good.

 

Maybe we should just schedule some easy road wins next year.  Why not go to the Citadel if road record matters so much?

 

So I would say that we do indeed have a home court advantage.  Although I could see someone making the argument that we had more road games to start conference and that we may just be a good team now who can win on the road or at home.

 

The real question is why do we have a home court advantage.

 

Is it player sleeping in their own beds?

Is it knowing the rims, hoops and being accustomed to the depth perception when shooting in their home arena?

 

Is is the fans?

 

Is it the locker room?

 

Obviously it is some combination of factors.

 

On Big Ban Theory Leonard pointed out to Penny that "why do sports fans say "we won;" when people watch Star Wars they don't say "we defeated the empire."  I think the obvious answer is fans view themselves as an active participant in sporting events.

 

Do home court fans matter?

 

That is what I really want you guys to expand on, do we matter and affect the game?

 

If we do matter than doesn't our attitude and feelings going into the game matter?  In other words, if we go to the game expecting to win isn't that going to affect how much we sit on our hands vs try to actively help the team?

[Silverbacked1]

Norm found some good articles on this last year. Maybe if you ask him nicely he can dig them up to help you with your questions.

[Cookie Belcher]

Is it player sleeping in their own beds?

Is it knowing the rims, hoops and being accustomed to the depth perception when shooting in their home arena?

Is is the fans?

Is it the locker room?

Do home court fans matter?

Yes.

[HuskerFever]

It's more intimidating to play in a palace than it is to play in a gym.

[Jadler]

It's more intimidating to play in a palace than it is to play in a gym.

I'll give you that but only so far. 'Cuse in the dome isn't as intimidating as Duke in Cameron. 30k fans at binocular range just doesn't have the intimidation factor of a couple thousand packed into a tin can.

[PimpMario]

Norm found some good articles on this last year. Maybe if you ask him nicely he can dig them up to help you with your questions.

 

I read them all, but I don't know if it is really about the fans.

 

Big Ten Road Warriors:

Big Ten road teams have posted a 34-42 record during conference play, a winning a percentage of .447. Since Feb. 1, a total of 14 Big Ten games have been won by road teams, including five of the last seven and all three decisions on Sunday. All 12 Big Ten teams have posted at least one road victory during conference play, with six teams boasting at least three Big Ten road wins.

[aphilso1]

There have been multiple studies performed on this over the years, and the answer is always officiating.  We as fans do have an influence on the outcome of the game, but the effect is that we get into the refs' heads more so than the visiting team's brains.

http://thefixisin.net/homefield.html  

[KZRider]

One of the B1G announcers, don't remember which, commented several times that home court was worth 10 points but he didn't elaborate as to why he thought that was so. Don't know if that is a generally accepted notion or not.

[hhcmatt]

One of the B1G announcers, don't remember which, commented several times that home court was worth 10 points but he didn't elaborate as to why he thought that was so. Don't know if that is a generally accepted notion or not.

 

KenPom values it at 4 over a neutral court which would be 8 over an away court.