Cameron Crazies
This is a controversial one; there are a lot of players and coaches out there who don’t think that home-court advantage is a thing. Fans think otherwise and think their building is the best building in the sport, especially if your favorite team wins there a lot. If you sit down and look at the numbers, and I mean really look at the numbers, you will see that Duke rarely loses at home. I can count on one hand the number of teams that I have watched beat them on their floor, not North Carolina.
Okay, I did all the research for you on this topic. The Blue Devils are 961-173 all time at Cameron and have only lost 37 times since the 1997-1998 season. Duke has won 84% of their games on their home floor. Another way to break this down is no team in the country has had more success in a building than Duke, the Blue Devils have won more games at Cameron than some schools have won in their history.
It usually bodes well for Duke when they are playing at home; there is one thing that could make this a little easier for Pitt, though. Classes don’t resume at Duke until Wednesday, so the normal student section may not be as full. However, given that Coach Jeff Capel at Pitt is a former Duke player, things have not always been fun for Pitt while at Cameron.
The Cameron stands to extend right down to the sidelines; there is no space between the fans and the floor; 9,314 fans screaming right in your face all night long or screaming when you are trying to get the ball in on an out-of-bounds play is nerve-wracking and something many players are not used to. So, while this key isn’t a player, for some teams, it is the most important. Give the home fans something to cheer about and keep them in the game to make the night hard for Pitt to communicate and make them frustrated. Cameron is where great teams go to lose, and Pitt is not exception to that rule. Sometimes, the building you play in means everything in College Basketball.