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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.