Home Court advantage = Not an advantage now because of no-live audience?

[chaser15]

Home-court advantage is one of the factors that some sports bettors are looking for picking a team alongside stats, match history, injuries, and current standings.

Not that the team with that advantage will win 100% but the psychological contribution of a live audience really boosts the morale of any players, at any sports, making it an effective recipe to win.

Looking at the home-away stats in the previous season at these leagues at different sports, we can see how being in a home advantage benefited a team.

Baseball (2018 Major League Baseball)
Home team won 1,277 games (52.6%)
Away team won 1,149 games (47.4%)

Basketball (2018-19 NBA Season)
Home team won 1,230 games (71%)
Away team won 501 games (29%)

Soccer (2018–19 Premier League)
Home team won 181 matches (47%)
Away team won 128 matches (34%)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_advantage

With some sports likely to resume in next month or few, or being resumed recently, after being suspended or halted due to Covid-19 pandemic spread, one safety measure that will be imposed is a no-live-audience, literally playing without audience presence and we can see some sports already feel the experience of playing on that environment.

What do you think, does this home-court advantage, still an advantage now? Do you think Moneyline odds will now be different from now on especially if both teams are equal in strength?

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[stomachgrowls]

With some sports likely to resume in next month or few, or being resumed recently, after being suspended or halted due to Covid-19 pandemic spread, one safety measure that will be imposed is a no-live-audience, literally playing without audience presence and we can see some sports already feel the experience of playing on that environment.

What do you think, does this home-court advantage, still an advantage now? Do you think Moneyline odds will now be different from now on especially if both teams are equal in strength?

We cant really deny that Homecourt advantage thing not only just basing up on the stats/percentage but we can actually say it directly if we do see teams play into their own homecourt.
 
and now we are on that no-crowd venues then it will really have that slight impact towards players full performance compared when there are people around them which do cheer and support.

Home court advantage? We can say that it wont matter that much now but at least players do now on where they do play and might still have that confidence in mind that they are playing on their home town.
Who knows.

[asianguy845]

Honestly, even with no live audience, I think home court is still an advantage, just by less.
NBA had a consistent 55-65% win chance on home court, while it has now decreased to 52-55%, which is still an advantage.

[ralle14]

What do you think, does this home-court advantage, still an advantage now? Do you think Moneyline odds will now be different from now on especially if both teams are equal in strength?

Home court could still be an advantage to some leagues mainly the NBA teams. Several players are used to playing and practicing in the same court where they get a slight advantage against their opponent. On other leagues like the MLB and NHL I think it'll be an even playing field because of other factors. I don't follow NHL that often but whenever I do watch a few there's always a visiting team that would win or pull a come back after trailing the entire game.

[Timelord2067]

The Australian NRL (National Rugby League - which isn't National, but this isn't a thread for that topic) has restarted playing without any spectators in the grandstands.  So far the games are being played in mostly neutral stadiums (Lang Park here in Brisbane for example) and the games have been described as "very good games" for the very reason the players and organisers want the League to recover and they are itching to prove themselves.

The NRL State of Origin is definitely an electric game when it is played and the "home team advantage" is put to the test when it is "State Vs State" - Queensland at Lang Park, New South Wales at wherever they play.  The other team is viewed as the invader/the enemy etc, so both teams put their all into the game.

[pakhitheboss]

Most players practice at their home court, they know the advantage and disadvantages of the court. I do not think non live audience will affect them in any ways. Playing in their home court automatically will boost their morale, having audience is an added advantage.

[Darker45]

The advantage might be lesser now without the live cheers of your hometown fans, but there might still be some kind of "this if my turf" mentality among the players. So, there might still be a little advantage after all. Not to mention that the court they are playing on is the one they are most familiar with.

[Kemarit]

I think this is just one factor though, but remember, games like NBA, top tier teams vs the lower one? Which you would you pick and beat without home court advantage? Obviously, it will still be the top team. Doesn't matter at all I guess, the team with the most wins have a higher chance of winning regardless if they are playing home court or not, just saying.

[plvbob0070]

Even if there's a home-court advantage, it does not give an assurance that the home team will the game. The outcome still depends on the performance of the players. But even though there's no live audience in the coming games, I think that they still have the advantage because of the environment. Home-court advantage is not just about the number of fans, there are also other factors and one of that is the environment. Since they are familiar and comfortable with the place, they won't have to make adjustments.

At the end of it, even if the other team has the advantage, the opposite team can still win if they played better than the other. Even if there is no audience, players can still boost their energy if they are in good condition. And knowing that there are fans supporting them even though they can't be inside the game.

[Rosilito]

Home court or not home court a team will always have an advantage, because of the team composition, players win games not the crowd, great team focus on team efforts and plays, they do not and cannot rely on crowds to do it for themselves, they can be motivated but their greatest motivation is within themselves, so no even if there is no live audience the best team will always win.

Yeah at some point. But it ain't all about the fans though. Sometimes being in your comfort field or court makes you play at ease what I mean you got the feeling that you knew where you could throw nice shots at a certain spot. Well, technically the court ain't no different from the opponent's but the thing is the surrounding or the environment itself makes you feel you're on the edge. I once been a basketball player in a small league in our town. I really don't know psychological stuff about this but whenever we have a match on our home court it made me/us feel we're on the winning side already. Maybe confidence, crowd vocals have an effect or maybe we are more accustomed playing in our field simply because we convinced ourselves that it really has an effect.

[Bttzed03]

Cheers from fans would certainly boost players confidence but even without live audiences, the team's pride to protect their turf is still intact. None of them would want to be embarrass. Another factor we have to look at is that home teams don't need to travel. They can just preserve their energy and that in itself is an advantage.

~
Home court could still be an advantage to some leagues mainly the NBA teams. Several players are used to playing and practicing in the same court where they get a slight advantage against their opponent. On other leagues like the MLB and NHL I think it'll be an even playing field because of other factors. I don't follow NHL that often but whenever I do watch a few there's always a visiting team that would win or pull a come back after trailing the entire game.

This. While it is true that court/field/ring measurements are standard, there's a different feel when you are playing in your home court (but I don't know if that's just me). 
 

[swogerino]

The home advantage will still be there as the players will feel psychologically better when they are playing at home and also is a well know. fact that any referee gives and advantage of 5% to the home team in soccer games.So for soccer it won’t impact anything but I am not sure in Baseball or Basketball.

[serjent05]

What do you think, does this home-court advantage, still an advantage now? Do you think Moneyline odds will now be different from now on especially if both teams are equal in strength?

Home court advantage still exist.

1.  They are familiar with the place.
2.  They don't have to have a long trip for the match so they are kinda not stressed out due to the effect of long trip.
3.  There is no feeling of awkwardness or uneasy because as said, they are familiar with every corner of the court.  Feeling of awkwardness because of having no audience of course is an exemption.

[0x456]

The home advantage will still be there as the players will feel psychologically better when they are playing at home and also is a well know. fact that any referee gives and advantage of 5% to the home team in soccer games. So for soccer it won’t impact anything but I am not sure in Baseball or Basketball.

I don't agree with you, It likely will have almost a similar impact in Basketball and Baseball as it does with Soccer. The big teams now have even a better chance at winning games away from home because one of the best advantages the underdogs usually have when facing a better opponent is their home crowd. Playing Liverpool, Dortmund or Barcelona at Anfield, Signal Iduna Park or Camp Nou with the crowd is not and will never be the same.

[Lakai01]

Home court advantage still exist.

1.  They are familiar with the place.
2.  They don't have to have a long trip for the match so they are kinda not stressed out due to the effect of long trip.
3.  There is no feeling of awkwardness or uneasy because as said, they are familiar with every corner of the court.  Feeling of awkwardness because of having no audience of course is an exemption.

We had a similiar discussion here, initiated by tyKiwanuka.
Your points hit the nail on the head, but the most decisive factor was the so-called "referee bias" (speaking of soccer):

The second article lists a lot of factors which influence home advantage. According to this article the so called "Referee Bias" is the most influental factor on home team advantage:

There is overwhelming evidence that referees decisions are biased towards the home team. Moskowitz and Wertheim (2012) found that the referee was the most influential factor on home advantage, and that home teams gained a small bias from the referee. They did make it clear that this is not done consciously, instead, the referees were affected subconsciously by the emotion of a home crowd.

This point is certainly not necessary in games without any audience, because there are simply no fans the referee has to "fear".
The points you have listed are of course equally true even without fans in the stadium. For example, the teams still have to travel to the stadium and therefore have travel stress.

[NavI_027]

What do you think, does this home-court advantage, still an advantage now?

No longer at all. Let's accept that this is now the new normal. Expect that sports events will be held with few to no audience at all. And you may also think that it is actualy the main reason why sports orgs. don't resume their business yet because large portion of their revenue came from ticket sales.

Guys check this out. Even Joe Rogan of UFC feeling new with the silent ambiance https://www.facebook.com/587803194998190/posts/933322233779616/?app=fbl. What more for the figjters lol .

[imstillthebest]

you wont mind the audience if you are a pro player because you can always win the game based on your skill and not because of the crown but to some , audience can give them a small boost   .

 playing during these season can be thier disadvantage so why would still continue if they know that they can loose ? better if they can ask for postponement  of the match and return only when all things come back to normal   .

[Ucy]

Guess the chances for home teams are high because they feel at home and the pressure/cheering from supporters is pushing them to win. Besides, the players will likely play harder to impress their supporters and community.

 Imagine wrestling without the audiences... the motivation will be low for the wrestlers. They will probably perform well without the audiences if there are other incentives to get them perform.
So, maybe the footballers incentives (without audience) have to be modified abit to reward them for playing well

[Latviand]

The home advantage will still be there as the players will feel psychologically better when they are playing at home and also is a well know. fact that any referee gives and advantage of 5% to the home team in soccer games.So for soccer it won’t impact anything but I am not sure in Baseball or Basketball.

It is still a different feeling playing with audience who support a certain team, the noises, the chants and the shouts of the people who are urging a team to win. The true advantage of a homecourt is when it is full of a people who lives in that city cheering the players to win. A players are getting determined and strong when they know that there are people who are believing in them. But in terms of percentages and statistics, it is true that homecourt can really affect the winning percentage of a certain team when it comes to a game. It includes all of the game that are played in different city courts like that, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and other sports that include audiences.

[rhomelmabini]

you wont mind the audience if you are a pro player because you can always win the game based on your skill and not because of the crown but to some , audience can give them a small boost

The thing is, these kind of games are not only played by an ace player of the team, it's played by the whole. Just even on the stats given on the OP that will surely give you an idea how home court advantage really drives the win for the game home court players.

Much more if there are crucial plays the crowd really do make a difference to change the pace and momentum of the game especially in basketball most likely the NBA. Under the new normal of less or no fans in an arena I think home court advantage will really not make a difference.