HOOPS UNDER PRESURE

In pro basketball, home-court advantage coexists with a phenomenon known as the "home choke," a study suggests. Researchers looked at free throws (for which play stops). In general, "home" players made a slightly higher percentage of such shots than "away" players. But with games on the line, the performance of home players slipped below that of away players, whose performance stayed the same. The authors suggest that the crowd's silence when home players are at the line could heighten physical self-consciousness.

"Effort vs. Concentration: The Asymmetrical Impact of Pressure on NBA Performance," Matt Goldman and Justin M. Rao, paper delivered at the M.I.T. Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (March)