The Magic of Bud Walton: How Arkansas Ranks At Home

The magic of Bud Walton Arena isn’t anything new for Arkansas fans. There are few days on Twitter where you don’t see Hog fans debating with other fanbases on the greatness of the Palace. Despite the magic, Arkansas has only made 3 NCAA Tournaments in the last 10 years. That isn’t a recipe for a dominating home record, but what do the numbers really say?

Here are the SEC Home Records of the past 10 seasons. I removed any wins or losses to any non-Division I opponents.

SEC

1) Kentucky 166-11 (.938) 8 NCAAT Bids

2) Arkansas 151-31 (.830) 3 NCAAT Bids

3) Florida 127-30 (.809) 7 NCAAT Bids

4) Alabama 124-41 (.752) 2 NCAAT Bids

5) LSU 126-44 (.741) 2 NCAAT Bids

6) Texas A&M 128-45 (.740) 3 NCAAT Bids

7) Tennessee 124-44 (.738) 4 NCAAT Bids

8) Missouri 123-45 (.732) 4 NCAAT Bids

9) Ole Miss 121-46 (.725) 3 NCAAT Bids

10) Mississippi St. 120-50 (.706) 1 NCAAT Bid

11) Georgia 119-51 (.700) 2 NCAAT Bids

12) Auburn 114-58 (.663) 2 NCAAT Bids

13) Vanderbilt 114-58 (.663) 4 NCAAT Bids

14) South Carolina 109-58 (.653) 1 NCAAT Bid

The results speak for themselves. Bud Walton is arguably the best home court advantage in the SEC. The Hogs have had several underwhelming seasons in the past decade, but still find themselves #2 in the SEC. How does BWA stack up against the rest of the country under the same parameters?

NCAA(min. 100 games and W/L removed against non-DI opponents)

1) Kansas 152-9 (.944) 9 NCAAT Bids

2) Kentucky 166-11 (.938) 8 NCAAT Bids

3) Belmont 118-10 (.9218) 5 NCAAT Bids

4) Duke 153-13 (.9216) 9 NCAAT Bids

5) Gonzaga 145-13 (.918) 9 NCAAT Bids

6) South Dakota St. 109-12 (.901) 5 NCAAT Bids

7) Arizona 152-18 (.894) 7 NCAAT Bids

8) Wichita St. 140-18 (.886) 7 NCAAT Bids

9) New Mexico St. 126-18 (.875) 7 NCAAT Bids

10) Texas Southern 90-13 (.874) 4 NCAAT Bids

11) Virginia 146-22 (.869) 7 NCAAT Bids

12) San Diego St. 130-20 (.867) 6 NCAAT Bids

13) Cincinnati 152-24 (.8636) 9 NCAAT Bids

14) Michigan St. 139-22 (.8633) 9 NCAAT Bids

15) Louisville 162-26 (.862) 7 NCAAT Bids

16) St. Mary’s 149-24 (.861) 4 NCAAT Bids

17) Oregon 159-26 (.8594) 6 NCAAT Bids

18) Akron 128-21 (.8590) 2 NCAAT Bids

19) Stephen F. Austin 103-17 (.858) 4 NCAAT Bids

20) Louisiana Tech 121-21 (.852) 0 NCAAT Bids

21) Villanova 129-23 (.8486) 8 NCAAT Bids

22) BYU 134-24 (.8481) 4 NCAAT Bids

23) Murray St. 111-20 (.8473) 3 NCAAT Bids

24) VCU 138-25 (.8470) 8 NCAAT Bids

25) North Carolina 135-25 (.844) 9 NCAAT Bids

26) Ohio St. 159-31 (.837) 7 NCAAT Bids

27) Colorado 136-27 (.83436) 4 NCAAT Bids

28) Purdue 141-28 (.83431) 7 NCAAT Bids

29) Marylanf 150-30 (.833) 4 NCAAT Bids

30) Arkansas 151-31 (.830) 3 NCAAT Bids

t31) Dayton 140-29 (.828) 4 NCAAT Bids

t31) Wisconsin 140-29 (.828) 8 NCAAT Bids

33) Montana 105-22 (.8268) 4 NCAAT Bids

34) UCLA 143-30 (.8266) 6 NCAAT Bids

t35) Michigan 136-29 (.824) 8 NCAAT Bids

t35) Xavier 136-29 (.824) 7 NCAAT Bids

Arkansas has the least amount of NCAA Tournament bids amongst Power 7 teams in the top 35 listed here. I expect the Hogs to rise on this list in coming years. Head Coach Eric Musselman is building something. In year 1, BWA as wild as we’ve seen in quite some time. I attended 3 games and it was rabid, especially the Kentucky game. I’ll never forget Ashton Hagans plugging his ears due to the painful volume of the crowd. Fans are excited about the future as the should be. Time will be kind to this program.