KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Nowhere is it tougher to win a road game this season than in the Southeastern Conference.
Home teams have won 71.4 percent of the time in SEC games this season, the highest home winning percentage in league play of any Division I conference according to STATS LLC. The league is on pace for its highest home winning percentage in league competition since 2006-07.
“Every game we’ve played on the road is an absolute war,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “I understand it’s us, and it’s the Super Bowl for everybody. But then I look around the league and I’m thinking teams are playing well at home. They’re playing with great confidence. Maybe young teams are better at home than they are on the road.”
It’s a dramatic change from last year, when SEC home teams won only 53.2 percent of league games. That was the SEC’s lowest home winning percentage in league competition since 1996-97, according to STATS.
When SEC coaches discuss the reasons for the home dominance this season, one word keeps coming up: Parity.