Road rigors lead to Big Ten's ragged standings

When a Big Ten team hits the road for an intra-conference game, the chances of it picking up a victory are about 22 percent. \nGet struck by lightning or win a Big Ten road game? Sometimes, the odds seem nearly even.\nLast season, Big Ten teams went 32-56 on the road during league play -- a winning percentage of .363. This season, things haven't been so simple. \nFour teams -- expected Big Ten frontrunners Iowa and Illinois and bottom-feeders Purdue and Penn State -- still haven't won a road game in the league. Wisconsin, Michigan and Northwestern all have just one road victory, and every Big Ten team has lost at least one road game. \n"You need to be very much on top of your game when you go on the road," Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien said. "If there are any loose ends and slippage, you're probably not going to win on the road in this league."\nOther leagues provide road tests, but the parity and atmosphere circling the Big Ten make it the most difficult. Of the eight top-ranked conferences (based on Ratings Percentage Index), the Big Ten's 11-39 road record (as of Wednesday) is the worst. The Big 12's 16-35 road record (.313 winning percentage) is second from the bottom, and the Mountain West's 10-19 mark (.344) is third. \nOnly one Big 12 team, No. 2 Kansas, is unbeaten on the road, and five Big 12 teams still haven't won a road game. Utah remains the only unbeaten Mountain West road team. \nPac-10 teams have had the easiest time on the road with a 26-31 mark (.456), followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (17-23, .425) and Conference USA (28-38, .424). \nEvery team in the Pac-10 has at least two road losses, but only two teams -- Washington and Washington State -- are yet to win. In the ACC, every team has at least one road loss. Memphis is C-USA's only unbeaten, while three teams remain winless. \nSitting in the middle of the pack is the Southeastern Conference (18-32, .360) and Big East (26-39, .400), the latter of which often houses games in off-campus arenas and in front of crowds far from those on hand in the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12. \nTherein lies the recipe for road disaster and the secret to home success in the Big Ten.\n"Everybody has a built-in fan base," said O'Brien, who coached at the Big East's Boston College before moving to Ohio State. "A lot of teams play in big cities, where there's competition for entertainment. The atmosphere that surrounds games in this conference really does benefit teams that play at home."\nThe Big Ten averages 13,183 fans per game, while the Big East attracts only 7,178. \nAt IU, wild crowds in games against Illinois, Purdue and Iowa have aided in Hoosier victories. The result is IU's best Big Ten start in nine seasons. \n"(The fans) have been playing a key role for a while in our victories," IU senior guard Dane Fife said after IU pummeled Iowa by 28 points in Assembly Hall Tuesday. \nAnother factor that hasn't escaped coaches and players is the unusual balance of power in the Big Ten this season. \nNearly no one predicted No. 16 Ohio State, IU and Minnesota to man the top three slots in the league, nor did they pick Iowa and No. 21 Illinois to be mired with five Big Ten losses. \nOnly two Big Ten teams are ranked. Five have been ranked during the season, and six were ranked at one time last season. \nThe Big Ten has taken its hits from those inside and outside the conference, and its RPI has provided evidence. It hovers sixth, behind the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big East. \n"There's never a down year in the Big Ten," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "You have great environments, it doesn't matter where you go. But, the parity top to bottom, is a lot greater in my third year than in my previous two years."\nThe result has been cluttered standings and hopes of Big Ten titles still alive, even for teams with four or five league losses half way through the season.\n"(Last season), there was a little bit of a division," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "There's no division this year at all. There's more parity and it will be a harder league to win."\nEspecially if you can't win on the road. Last season's two top teams -- Illinois and Michigan State -- both went 5-3 on the road. The top team this season is Ohio State, which is 2-1 on the road. IU has the most road wins in the league with three, and Minnesota (1-3 away from Williams Arena) would be tied with the Hoosiers or Buckeyes if it could win more consistently on the road. \nIU coach Mike Davis credits his team's success to a rugged pre-conference schedule. Ten games into the conference season, IU has still played only seven games at home all season. In comparison, of Minnesota's 13 wins, 12 have come in Minneapolis. \n"When you struggle and the game is close down the stretch, the home team ends up winning because of the fans," Davis said. "You have to take care of home. If you have 17 games at home, you better win all of them if you want to go to the (NCAA) Tournament"