One of the more under-the-radar stories of the college basketball off-season was the repositioning of the camera at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center for basketball games. Before, the camera used to sit behind the Rowdy Reptiles, the name of the basketball student section. Now, that camera has been flipped and focuses on the Rowdy Reptiles.
It’s a testament to how dedicated the Rowdies are, and how much of an impact they’ve had in the men’s basketball team’s success over the years. It seems like 247Sports agrees, as Grant Hughes recently put the Gators’ on a list of the top-15 home-court advantages in college basketball.
Here is what 247Sports’ Hughes said about naming the Orange and Blue the No. 14 home-court advantage in the nation:
Home record since 2005: 239-54 (81.6%)
The “O’Dome” opened in 1980 and currently seats 10,500 after the building underwent a $64.5 million renovation in 2016. On Dec. 23, 2006, a then-record crowd of 12,621 watched the No. 5 Gators defeat No. 3 Ohio State, 86–60. The two teams met again in the National Championship game that season, with Florida emerging as the first back-to-back NCAA Champion since Duke (1990-91). The attendance record was broken in 2011 when Florida topped No. 11 Kentucky in front of 12,633 fans. Florida drew a crowd of 11,255 on Feb. 19, 2022, when the Gators defeated No. 2 Auburn, the largest attendance post-renovation.
While it may come as a surprise that the Gators have racked up a nearly 82% win rate since 2005, it shouldn’t. The relative struggles since Billy Donovan’s 2015 departure to the NBA play a part, of course, but back-to-back national titles and 2013’s undefeated SEC record elevate the Gators’ home record in that time, showing how good the Gators’ home-court advantage can truly be.
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