Rush The Court

John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats ended its traditional rivalry with Indiana this offseason because of squabbles over where the game would be played in future years. But as a whole, the SEC should strive to play at home if it is seeking victories. That is the goal, after all? While Kentucky’s stated goal is to prepare itself for the NCAA Tournament while playing in large neutral site arenas to simulate the experience of the Big Dance, the Wildcats and the rest of the SEC did very well in the comforts of home during the 2011-12 season. The NCAA released 2011-12 men’s basketball attendance numbers a couple of weeks ago, and the SEC was amongst the leaders. All twelve SEC teams finished in the  top 100 of men’s Division I attendance. Below is how each SEC team ranked in terms of overall attendance:

But as we all know, size matters, and some venues are larger than others. I broke each attendance figure down into the percentage of capacity filled over the course of the season:

Some notes thus far:

• Tennessee did surprisingly well considering this was a year of transition for the Vols. Fans still showed up to support.
• South Carolina has the most room to grow, and with its recent hire of Frank Martin it will be interesting to see if there is a significant jump in attendance for the Gamecocks.
• Mississippi State had the second largest increase in attendance from 2010-11 to 2011-12 with a 2,309 person jump per game. The Bulldogs were only behind Creighton in terms of the largest jumps nationally.
• In fact, three SEC schools were in the top 10 in overall increase. LSU and Alabama joined the Dogs with an average addition of over 1,500 fans per game.

But it wasn’t just that fans filled the stands this season in the SEC, teams overwhelmingly played well at home. SEC teams protected their home court not only in conference, but overall as well.

A few more notes:

• Only one SEC team finished below .500 at home during conference play (South Carolina).
• And South Carolina had the worst overall home record of all SEC teams at .500.
• Other than that, most SEC teams won consistently at home, losing to Kentucky and maybe one or two other teams.
• Tennessee ONLY lost to Kentucky in Knoxville during SEC play, helping the Vols secure a tie for second in the conference overall.

While it is not uncommon to win more often at home, the SEC did abnormally well in comparison to its overall win percentage. SEC teams won 61 percent of its overall games this year. Yet at home, those same teams won over 80 percent. In comparison to other power conferences, the SEC topped the list.

Why is this such a big deal? It wasn’t like the SEC was abysmal this year, but the conference also wasn’t at the top of its game. While the SEC teams won at home, it didn’t always win elsewhere. The SEC was fourth out of the six power conferences in overall non-conference winning percentage.

In 2011-12, the SEC fared well in attendance, and that translated to winning at home. A home court advantage may not help teams much come March, but in the SEC it sure helped teams find success in the weeks and months building up to the Big Dance. One thing is clear, going on the road in the SEC is no easy task no matter what month it is. And the 2012-13 conference participants will have to find a way to win at a few more difficult venues (here and here) on the road to a conference championship.