We know most every team is better at home than the road, but we wonder if the disparity between home and road victories is greater for Arkansas than for other teams. In simpler terms, is the difference between Arkansas' successful home win percentage and disastrous road win percentage a greater difference than other teams?
I studied the numbers and came to some pretty sad conclusions. You can see all the numbers for yourself in my article at Sporting Life Arkansas.
The latest spin around this particular merry-and-mercy-me-go-round took place last week. A rousing, signature win against #2 Florida, then a catatonic walk-through at Vanderbilt resulting in 49 points and an 18-point loss.
Of course, the usual platitudes have been trotted out in advance of this evening’s game at Auburn (8 p.m. on CSS). The Hogs are taking it one game at a time, the players believe they can win their first road game of the season, and as always the coaches believe Godot, NCAA tourney berth in hand, is coming any game now.
Problem is, it’s been a process now for more than a decade. And the process hasn’t been going too well for Arkansas, which has been the worst SEC road team in that time.
If Arkansas were an overall bad team, these stats wouldn’t be surprising or noteworthy. But Arkansas has the SEC’s third best record at home this season. And, in the last decade, only Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee have been consistently better at home.