Men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman said that the home team wins 66 percent of college basketball games. However, his Jays have succeeded at an even higher rate.
The Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball team has won 84 percent of the games they have played at Qwest Center Omaha.
The impressive play has continued this year, as the team has won 10 of its first 12 games at home. The team has struggled on the road this year, owning a 4-4 record.
Junior guard Cavel Witter feels that playing at home provides the team with an added advantage.
“When the crowd of 15,000 people is on their feet cheering for you non-stop, that can work as a sixth player on the court because it help provide energy and confidence,” Witter said.
Last year, the Jays averaged over 15,000 in attendance, which ranked 15th in the nation for attendance. Redshirt sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr. feels playing in the Qwest is special.
“The only other environment better may be NCAA tournament games or Missouri Valley Conference tournament games, but as far as regular season games no other place is comparable to the Qwest Center,” Lawson said.
Witter agrees. When asked if he had ever played in a better environment, Witter gave an emphatic, “No.”
When the Jays do lose a home game, it is not a good feeling.
“It hurts, we’ve let down our fans that have really supported us, and we want us to win all our home games, it is something we talk about,” Altman said. “Winning your games at home is part of having a good year.”
In recent years, the Jays have used the crowd presence and energetic atmosphere to help them overcome some steep odds.
Earlier in the season, the Jays trailed MVC rival Southern Illinois by four points with under a minute left, and used the crowd’s emotion to send the game into overtime where they won in the closing minutes.
Lawson believes the crowd helps the team to get back into games when they are trailing.
“We are able to overcome being down by a lot because our fans keep cheering us on and we are able to keep our composure and keep fighting our way back into games we have been behind in,” Lawson said.
While playing in front of such a large crowd has obviously had a positive effect on the team, there are also some drawbacks.
“It adds pressure. Guys get caught up in entertainment; they want to make plays. Then sometimes you don’t play your regular game,” Altman said.
Creighton currently sits in fourth place in the Valley. Its only two losses at home have come from MVC leader Northern Iowa and Drake.
The Jays have five home games remaining before the start of this year’s conference tournament. Lawson takes comfort in knowing that so many fans will come out and cheer on the Jays in each of those games.
“It’s a good feeling to know thousands of people are pushing for you, and it just generates energy on the court and motivates us to play even harder,” Lawson said.
It is safe to say that players, coaches and fans agree that the Qwest benefits the Jays’ winning ways.
“Well it’s a beautiful facility. The people have been great to us,” Altman said. “The teams have usually responded well and played with a lot of energy and finish games. College basketball is a home court sport and for the most part we have taken advantage of it.”