AUSTIN, Texas – As Texas head coach Sean Miller seeks to make the Longhorns a consistent college basketball heavyweight capable of competing with the nation’s elite, Miller has a major weapon at his disposal in the form of his team’s home arena, Moody Center.
Built at a cost of $375 million dollars, Moody Center hosted its first basketball game on November 7, 2022 and in three short years, the venue has drawn the envy of some of the biggest names in the sport – who haven’t been shy about being effusive in their praise of the Longhorns’ digs.
“We walked in here and I couldn’t believe it, this place is sick, it’s an amazing place to play basketball and it must be awesome for the fans and players to be in such a beautiful building,” said UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who has guided his Huskies to two out of the last three national titles.
After the venue’s debut season saw the Longhorns go 29-9 including a home record of 16-1, Texas has gone 40-29 (.579) with a 25-11 mark in Austin. Of note has been the level of success in-conference foes have had on the Horns’ home floor, winning nine times since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
Miller, who has the second-most trips to the Elite Eight amongst all-time coaches without reaching a Final Four in NCAA history, is fully cognizant of the value in having a home-court advantage.
“There’s no game that benefits more from a home court advantage than college basketball,” Miller said earlier this month during his preseason media availability.
“I think the history and the tradition of some places back me up when I say that. Of course, you have to have a good team and you have to have a good product. You have to play an exciting style.”
Having a home-court advantage was on full display when Miller’s Xavier team ended Texas’ season in last year’s NCAA Tournament First Four contest.
The University of Dayton Arena hosted the two teams, which is a mere hour drive from Xavier’s home floor, Cintas Center – and calling it a glorified home game for Xavier would be a massive understatement.
Several times in the Musketeers’ 86-80 win over the Longhorns, Texas struggled to deal with the crowd noise generated by the Xavier faithful, especially in the second half of the loss.
Miller believes a similar type of atmosphere can be created at Moody Center.
“The first thing is the [size] of the facility. You can’t manufacture something that is not there and I think when you look at the size of the arena and obviously the world-class nature of the building itself, we have that,” Miller said.
Moody Center (Photo: University of Texas, 247Sports)
His peers agree as to the state-of-the-art nature of Moody Center.
“The technology was crazy. I couldn’t keep up with all of the shit on the videoboards, so I just tried to keep it simple and I kept looking at the score and the clock,” Hurley said in reference to Moody Center’s high-definition video boards which display various team and player stats during game action.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team finished as last season’s national runner-up shared his thoughts on the venue.
“This place here is special and it’s a real advantage, it’s unique,” Sampson said.
“It’s beautiful and when I say that, I mean it. [Texas Athletic Director] Chris Del Conte and I worked together before and I knew he was going to maximize this thing, the way they have their fans and students on top of you. It’s [as] nice of a building as you’ll play in, and I was in the NBA. What it is, really, is a mini-NBA arena. It’s such a huge aid in recruiting, I’m sure of that for Texas in terms of it makes their recruits and players feel special.”
Hall-of-Fame head coach John Calipari, who ranks 20th all-time in NCAA history in coaching victories with 835, heaped praise on Moody Center.
When I walked in, I thought to myself what a great building this is,” Calipari said after his Arkansas team played at Moody Center last season. “Then I looked up and saw the video boards and was like what in the world, because I couldn’t see beyond it, this place is crazy.”
LSU women’s basketball head coach and Hall-of-Famer Kim Mulkey shared her thoughts with Horns247.
“I haven’t seen all the Moody Center, but I’d like to someday to go up there and look around,” Mulkey said. “From what I saw on the floor at practice and what I saw during the game today, it looks like a venue that’s multipurpose, not just a basketball arena. It really speaks for itself, it’s incredible.”
The aforementioned success visiting teams have had over the last two seasons is noteworthy. Calipari, Hurley and Sampson all saw their clubs leave Moody Center with wins – and it’s not uncommon to hear visiting teams jubilant in the immediate aftermath of victories – noting how they were able to feel at home despite being on the road.
With his team opening training camp this week, Miller is shaping both the competitive and entertaining team he referenced. If recent history is any indication, Texas fans will have plenty of reason to get excited about watching the product on the hardwood.
Last season, Xavier ranked sixth in the nation in three-point percentage shooting (39.1%) and over the previous three years, Miller’s teams ranked among the top-third of Division I teams in points scored, while Texas finished 10th in Southeastern Conference play in points per game amongst teams in the league.
All of those qualities make for a Texas team that won’t be nearly as hard to watch as the Longhorns’ offense was during several stretches of the 2024-25 campaign.
Miller, whose previous stops (Arizona, Xavier) have been basketball-crazed, noted the need for an imposing atmosphere at home, while also being aware of the relationship between on-court success and creating an imposing home-court advantage.
“I acknowledge there are steps to this, what comes first, the winning or the great atmosphere,” Miller said. “I think to some degree, the great atmosphere has to show up at the forefront of it to spearhead a lot of great things on the court. So, I recognize that’s important.”