By Declan Healey

Hollers from Section 112, lobster and Luigi costumes, and an array of blown up celebrity head posters set the scene for one of the best spectacles to watch in the world of College Basketball.

A feeling of resurgence and rejuvenation is in the air at the newly renovated Moody Coliseum, where the Mustangs have posted a record of 24-3 the past two seasons.

Legendary head coach Larry Brown has taken notice as well.

“We’re just fortunate to be able to play in this kind of atmosphere,” Brown said.

There’s no doubt that the chaotic crowd of Moody Coliseum plays a role in helping the Mustangs play so well at home.

But exactly how much does The Mob contribute to the team’s on-court success?

Calculating the advantage of playing at home compared to on the road starts with looking at the metric of True Home Court Advantage, the average difference between a teams home and away scoring margin.

Crunching the numbers for the 2014-2015 season, the Mustangs have scored 244 more points than their opponents at home compared to just 22 points more while on the road.

This 222-point differential averages out to an 8.54-point per game advantage when the Mustangs play at home compared to an away or neutral court. By comparison, the average true home court advantage for every Division 1 NCAA team is around 3.6 points.

The legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium provides the Duke Blue Devils with a true home court advantage of only 4.3 points per game.

But True Home Court Advantage is not the “be all end all” for determining home court advantage. Some teams just play poorly on the road, or face weaker opponents at home.

For the Mustangs, this 8.54-point advantage should come as no surprise. Moody Coliseum’s compact seating gets fans closer to the action compared to the 18,000-20,000 seat stadiums at many large state universities.

That gives The Mob an opportunity to have a greater impact on the game.

This was apparent in the SMU-Temple game, where during the second half, Moody Coliseum seemed to shake as the mustangs went on a 7-0 run to help erase a 10-point deficit and win.

8.54 points is a great True Home Court Advantage score, but there’s no reason it can’t be 9 or 10 points.