Brooks: Road Never Been Tougher In Big 12

BOULDER - As for going on the road in Big 12 Conference basketball, most of the league's coaches view it as a step into the abyss.

That's hardly a new sentiment, but this season that pervasive road dread has been magnified by what occurred during non-conference play.

Here's a statistic that's fairly staggering, however you want to spin it: The Big 12's collective home record during non-league play was 105-1. The lone home court defeat was suffered by Iowa State, which lost by three (63-60) to in-state rival Northern Iowa.

Dissenters might argue that the league's teams took a homey ride on the dessert cart through November, December and into 2010. And, granted, there were some visits by opponents who haven't yet ascended into the Who's Who of college hoops.

But in scheduling, Big 12 schools usually can get away with banking on relatively pain-free non-conference work and allowing league play to heal any anemic RPIs.

It doesn't always work that way, and, of course, it puts the onus on winning (home and away) once the conference schedule gets underway.

This season, top-to-bottom, the league might the strongest it's ever been. Kansas (14-0) and Texas (14-0) are ranked Nos. 1-2, respectively, and give the league two 14-0 teams for the first time ever. Kansas State (13-1) is at No. 11, Texas Tech (12-2) at No. 22 and Texas A&M (11-3), Baylor (12-1) and Oklahoma State (12-2) also are receiving votes in the Associated Press weekly poll.

Playing on any of those teams' home court - really, on any home court in the conference - isn't an experience that most Big 12 coaches relish.

"I always felt winning on the road (in the Big 12) was extremely hard," fourth-year K-State coach Frank Martin said, noting most of his peers now have been employed long enough to "establish their programs, their cultures . . . and with the incredible venues in the league, it creates a recipe for winning on road now being extremely hard."

Jeff Bzdelik is fashioning a Colorado team he believes is his best in his three seasons in Boulder. But, Bzdelik concedes, "Everything is relative."

His theory of relativity means that although this, indeed, could be his best Buffaloes team, it might find itself again under everyone's thumb in a muscled-up conference.

"Without question, we've gotten much better, but obviously, the league has, too," Bzdelik said. "There are awesome players, great coaches and fans, top to bottom. Maybe our timing isn't so good . . . but I understand what I'm up against. It doesn't make me fearful.

"We're getting better (and) I feel good about where we're headed . . . . We're making strides physically and mentally, understanding what it takes to win. Has it been quick enough? No. Slow and steady is where we're at."

The Buffs won't ease into Bzdelik's third run through conference play; they visit No. 2 Texas Saturday trying to end a 29-game road losing streak in league play and a string of 21 road losses on Division I opponents' home court.

Coach Rick Barnes, whose Longhorns team is 14-0 for the first time since the 1981-82 season, calls Bzdelik "truly one of the great coaches . . . he gets as much out of his players as anyone you can see."

The Buffs, in Barnes' view, are "very much improved; they drive the ball, get to the (free throw) line and execute. We all knew (Bzdelik) was going to do the job there, and no doubt he's going to win some games."

Winning Saturday and thereafter in league play, though, is the most formidable challenge Bzdelik has faced. The Buffs can shoot very well most nights and defend reasonably well many nights.

But the Big 12's "bigs" - such as Texas' 6-foot-10, 290-pound Dexter Pittman - won't encounter any comparable bulk on CU's roster. Consistent rebounding and strong inside play continues to be a work in progress for the Buffs.

One big question looming for Bzdelik is how his new players will adjust to the heightened emotions and physicality of league play.

Freshmen Alec Burks, Shane Harris-Tunks and Keegan Hornbuckle, along with junior college transfer Marcus Relphorde, will be introduced to the Big 12 in Austin.

K-State's Martin said this of his newcomers: "We've got five first-year guys; they have no clue, no idea of what they're going to walk into."

The 6-6 Burks, who's proving to be one of Bzdelik's best finds and an able wing player alongside gifted junior Cory Higgins, has scored in double figures in all of CU's non-conference games, including a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in Tuesday's 67-65 win against Miami (Ohio).

Burks, said Bzdelik, won't arrive in Austin (or any other Big 12 stop) as a well-kept secret: "I'm sure he'll be a focus of our opponents . . . he'll have to understand that real quick."

The quicker, the better . . . how does Saturday sound?

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU