OT - The Road Wins Theory (long)

[shandeezy7]

This is a little off-topic and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with SU, but I think after watching college basketball all week, I got sick of hearing all the analysts talk about road win this and road win that and essentially discrediting home wins as meaningless. So it got me thinking about the champions of the last 10 years and looking up what their road win/loss record was and whether or not it really signifies a great team (Neutral site games are not road games, regardless of the location). Here are the results:

2010-11 University of Connecticut:
32-9 Overall, 5-4 Road
Notable road win(s): #12 Texas
Bad road loss(es): St. John's

2009-10 Duke University:
35-5 Overall, 5-5 Road
Notable road win(s): #17 Clemson
Bad road loss(es): NC State

2008-09 University of North Carolina:
34-4 Overall, 7-2 Road
Notable road win(s): #5 Duke
Bad road loss(es): Maryland

2007-08 Kansas University
37-3 Overall, 7-3
Notable road win(s): #24 USC
Bad road loss(es): None

2006-07 University of Florida:
35-5 Overall, 5-4 Road
Notable road win(s): #18 Kentucky
Bad road loss(es): Florida State, LSU

2005-06 University of Florida:
33-6 Overall, 6-4 Road
Notable road win(s): Kentucky?
Bad road loss(es): South Carolina

2004-05 University of North Carolina:
33-4 Overall, 8-3 Road
Notable road win(s): #19 Connecticut
Bad road loss(es): Santa Clara

2003-04 University of Connecticut:
33-6 Overall, 6-4 Road
Notable road win(s): None
Bad road loss(es): Notre Dame

2002-03 Syracuse University:
30-5 Overall, 6-3 Road
Notable road win(s): Michigan State
Bad road loss(es): Rutgers

2001-02 University of Maryland:
32-4 Overall, 7-3 Road
Notable road win(s): #21 Wake Forest
Bad road loss(es): None

The team with the most road wins was the 04-05 UNC team with 8. Every championship team in the last 10 years has had at least 3 road losses, except for the 08-09 UNC team, who only had 2. Every team except for the 01-02 Maryland team and the 07-08 Kansas team has also had a bad road loss, and no teams had more than one "notable" road win in a season.

The last 2 champions, UConn and Duke, have been very mediocre road teams, despite the fact that analysts love to hammer home that if you can't win games on the road, then you won't win a championship. Obviously, no team in the last 10 years with an under-.500 road record has won a title, but that is not surprising.

On that note, I think it's time to crack my first beer for the day.

 

[Cusefan95]

I've never really understood the whole "gotta beat good teams on the road" mantra...it's been repeated so often it's just accepted as fact. What you've done here is shown it really bullsheet lazy analysis.

 

[shandeezy7]

There are no "road" games in the tournament, so what does it really matter? Most of the upper-echelon's road wins are against crappy teams anyway.

 

[shandeezy7]

Our boy Dougie just brought this issue up yet again. Said we had all our good wins at home. Beat no one on the road. We're not the only ones he's said this about. Seriously, let's just schedule 30 away games next year. We may only win 15 games, but I figure at least 7 or 8 of those would have to be considered "quality" road wins, right?