Rush The Court

As we get into the heart of the conference schedule, where games are played begin to have as much importance as which teams are playing in a game. To that end, we asked our Pac-12 experts the following:

“Which team has the most fearsome homecourt advantage in the conference?”

Parker Baruh: The Colorado Buffaloes have always had an advantage at the Coors Event Center because of the high altitude in Boulder, but it never was a place that was consistently at full capacity. That has all changed since the arrival of Tad Boyle. Boyle brought his up-tempo style of basketball with him to CU and promised to take advantage of the altitude. And he has lived up to his promise. In the Buffs’ first year in the Pac-12, they went 14-2 overall at home and 8-1 in league play. This year they are 7-1 at home. Overall, Boyle has coached the Buffaloes to a 39-5 record at the Coors Event Center in his tenure and his coaching ability combined with the crazed student section known as the “C-Unit” has made the building arguably the hardest place to play in the Pac-12. The noise never stops and the crowd never differs no matter the opponent. Ultimately, it’s obvious that the Coors Event Center certainly doesn’t have the reputation or tradition of the McKale Center in Tucson or Pauley Pavilion at UCLA, but if the Buffs can continue to play like this at home under Boyle and if the fans keep cheering “you can’t win at altitude,” it could be on its way.

Adam Butler: Ever since Lute Olson came to Arizona from Iowa in 1983, it has been a priority to ensure that the McKale Center off of Campbell Avenue is rocking. Olson would make appearances at any and every public event he could, encouraging people to come watch the most exciting ticket in town. Soon he made believers out of all of us and the McKale Center was indeed the place to be. And then it all fell apart. The Wildcats missed their first Tournament in 2009 but still managed to lead the conference in attendance. That, however, was the first year of Sean Miller. Welcome a man who inherited the program of legend and the first few words out of his mouth as a Tucsconan were “we” and “home court.” He cited the Wildcats’ 71-game winning streak from the early 90s; a streak he fell victim to as a player at Pittsburgh and a home court advantage he didn’t soon forget. Filling to 14,000-plus to play on Lute and Bobbi Olson court in the McKale Center is far more than to bounce a round ball and to put it into a basket. It’s to walk onto the court of Elliott, Kerr, Reeves, Stoudamire, Geary, Dickerson, Simon, Terry, Wright, Jefferson, Iguodala, Arenas, Gardner, Walton, Frye, Bayless, Budinger, Hill, and Williams. Because walking down the halls means looking at those names and the history of a program few have achieved. And trying to outscore an opponent that believes it will win for that screaming 14K. Come to McKale and I wish you luck.

Connor Pelton: Stanford’s Maples Pavilion may not have the night in and night out noise like Coors or McKale, but I think it has to be one of the best big game atmospheres on the west coast. The 6^th Man Club brings it every game, but when a ranked opponent or conference rival ventures into Palo Alto, the entire crowd makes for a very intimidating venue. Maples has seen arguably the conference’s best court rushing ever, starting out as a dogpile (one of the lost arts of court rushing, I might add) before the kids realized they could seriously injure the player who just extended their undefeated season. But most importantly, the Cardinal are dominant at home. Johnny Dawkins and company went 28-8 in Palo Alto in 2010-11 and 2011-12, while mustering just a 7-14 mark away from home. So, Maples may not bring the noise like some of its conference counterparts, but there is no denying the advantage Stanford has while playing there.

Andrew Murawa: In Lorenzo Romar’s decade at Washington (prior to this season), his Huskies have gone 68-22 (.756) at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (less attractively known as American Airlines Arena). Away from the Hec Ed, they are just 41-50 (.456), a difference of nearly two wins per year better at home than away. If you limit it to just the five seasons when Romar’s teams have made the NCAA Tournament, the Huskies are 38-7 at home (.844), compared to a slightly above average 25-20 (.556) record away from home. What makes Hec Ed so tough? Well, as Romar puts it, “it’s very intimate,” meaning the home crowd is right on top of the court. And loud. And like the best of the best home courts in this venerable conference, it is old as sin (opened in 1927) and houses plenty of ghosts intent on erring in the home team’s favor. It doesn’t hurt that the Washington two-fer is often the most dreaded road trip in the conference, with the trek out to visit Washington State on the Palouse a whole different nightmare. And Romar’s ability to stack his team with a bunch of athletes with limitless energy makes the prospect of facing the up-and-down Huskies and the often deliberate Cougars in the span of a few days quite a challenge for opposing coaches. And, if nothing else, the fact that the Grateful Dead played the longest ever version of Playin’ in the Band in the cozy confines of the Hec Ed way back in 1974 ought to be good for a couple extra bonus points, no?